Wild pollinators, such as bees, hoverflies and butterflies, play a vital role in both nature and agriculture. They are essential for plant reproduction and food production. However, the decline of these insects in Flanders is of particular concern: more than 32% of the region's 381 wild bee species are under threat, with nearly 12% already having disappeared locally. Similar trends are evident among hoverflies and butterflies.
This decline is closely linked to how the Flemish landscape is used. Flanders is highly fragmented, intensively managed and densely populated. Natural habitats have largely disappeared and are often reduced to small, isolated patches. Combined with a decline in flower resources and pressures such as pesticide use and nutrient enrichment, this makes it increasingly difficult for pollinators to survive and move across the landscape.
In response, the Flemish government has launched the Flemish Action Plan for Wild Pollinators. This joint effort involves multiple administrations, each contributing from their own area of expertise. The Flemish Land Agency (VLM) is playing a pivotal role in translating this policy into practical actions.
How VLM supports pollinators
For VLM, improving conditions for pollinators involves reshaping the landscape in close collaboration with its managers. Across Flanders, small features such as hedges, tree lines, field margins, roadside verges and ponds form an important network. These features provide food, shelter and nesting opportunities, while also reconnecting fragmented habitats. Through targeted programmes such as the Small Landscape Elements Plan, VLM actively restores and strengthens this network.
At the same time, pollinators are being increasingly incorporated into land management and spatial planning projects. Whether the work involves restoring wetlands, creating flower-rich grasslands or improving ecological connections, biodiversity is systematically embedded in landscape design. This approach relies on close cooperation with partners such as the Agency for Nature and Forests, local authorities, and regional landscape organisations to ensure that habitats are strengthened and rare species receive targeted support.
Agro-environmental schemes are another key tool in this process, supporting farmers in implementing measures such as flower strips and adapted grassland management. By combining financial incentives with bespoke guidance, these schemes guarantee the effective integration and long-term maintenance of biodiversity measures in agricultural practice.
Polliconnect: innovating agro-environmental schemes
Although agro-environmental schemes already play an important role, the VLM is using the Polliconnect project to increase their effectiveness on a larger scale. In Flanders, this involves setting up pilot sites in regions such as Oudenaarde and Sint-Truiden, where various management strategies are being trialled and assessed in real-world conditions.
A key focus is testing sinus and phased block mowing. Rather than mowing entire fields uniformly, these methods introduce variation in time and space. This ensures that flowering plants are available throughout the season, providing a more continuous food source and a more diverse habitat for pollinators.
At the same time, the VLM is working beyond individual parcels by engaging with farmers across wider areas. Through targeted outreach, farmers are encouraged to implement pollinator-friendly measures via agro-environmental schemes. Stakeholder involvement plays a central role in this process, with farmers, local authorities and other stakeholders contributing their knowledge and experience through surveys, interviews and workshops. This bottom-up approach is essential for successfully implementing and scaling up measures at a landscape level.
Finally, the project focuses on understanding what works in practice. Field monitoring is combined with innovative tools, such as camera systems at the Oudenaarde pilot site, to track pollinator activity and behaviour. In this way, Polliconnect acts as a living laboratory for innovation, exploring how agro-environmental schemes can be made more effective and impactful in fragmented landscapes such as those in Flanders.