A landscape/biodiversity fund for 28 projects and landscape planning

On 25 May, Elia and Ecofirst (an environmental and biodiversity-oriented cooperative) presented the 28 projects chosen by the towns and cities affected by the East Loop project. These projects will be implemented thanks to the landscape/biodiversity fund allocated by Elia to the various municipal authorities. 

Ecofirst will accompany and support these projects with a view to ensuring the funds are allocated to high-quality projects. 

The town of Malmedy will receive €25,000, which will be used to implement three projects: a resilient forest, a project to combat invasive species and the creation of fish caches. 

The city of Spa decided to allocate the €12,500 it received from the fund to study the existing ecological network and the potential of waterways in order to ensure effective and coherent decisions can be taken regarding the town's territory. 

The city of Stavelot will distribute its €100,000 budget among nine projects: developing a resilient forest, redeveloping the Roannay Promenade, managing invasive species, creating an orchard, installing a regeneration fence for young trees, creating a pond in Ster, developing a public reception area and the Stavelot ponds, as well as fighting the Japanese knotweed, an invasive plant. 

The town of Stoumont will use the €162,500 it has been allocated on 10 landscape projects: developing a resilient forest, studying the ecological network and the potential of waterways, ensuring fruit diversification by planting hedges and an orchard, fighting invasive species, developing a viewpoint over the Amblève valley, creating a sluice allowing fish to be channelled underneath a roadway, planting trees, restoring a network of ponds in the forest, installing nesting boxes and installing a regeneration fence in the forest. 

The town of Trois-Ponts will use the €37,500 it has been allocated to implement five projects: managing invasive plants, replacing the footbridge over the Pouhon du Bâleur stream, creating information panels around the stream, organising the area around the municipal bivouac site and installing nesting boxes.