THREATENED SPECIES AND POPULATIONS: Direct contribution to the preservation of fragile species or populations, through, in particular, the preparation of conservation or recovery plans and a participation in their implementation. Development of methodologies appropriate to the evaluation of extinction risks of populations, to the diagnosis and quantification of risk factors, to the identification and monitoring of corrective measures. A limited number of groups of plants and animals is involved in the programme, their selection determined by contingencies related to conservation priority needs as well as by the expertise accumulated by the Section. Current projects are conducted within the framework of the implementation of the Bonn Convention and concern critically threatened migratory species, Sahelo-Saharan antelopes on the one hand, the curlew Numenius tenuirostris on the other hand. Recently completed projects addressed the conservation of the Mediterranean Monk Seal, Monachus monachus, of the Hazel Hen, Bonasa bonasia, in the Ardennes, of the European Lady's Slipper Orchid, Cypripedium calceolus,Gorilla gorilla.
 

 LONG-TERM EVOLUTIONS: Study and quantification of middle- and long-term dynamic trends of populations or species belonging to sensitive groups. Methodological contribution to the development of data-gathering and interpretation systems. This programme exploits the opportunities for continuity of research provided by the administrative structure of the Royal Belgian Institute and includes projects which have been sustained over several decades. The main components of the programme are the study of populations and movements of European birds through ringing, the study of bat distribution, abundance and ecology in Belgium, the monitoring of forest and peri-urban avifaunas.

 

 IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION OF FRAGILE COMMUNITIES: Contribution to the identification and elaboration of networks of protected areas, established, in particular, within the framework of European directives and international conventions. Identification and characterisation of fragile communities, evaluation of their state of conservation, of their trends, of their range and of the risk factors to which they are submitted. Definition, selection and evaluation of networks of protected areas based on an adequate representation of distinct plant and animal communities. Design of management techniques contributing to the preservation of fragile communities. Conception of management and incitation measures applicable outside protected areas and contributing to an overall improvement of the quality of communities. Currently running projects include the development of a habitat typology, initiated for Europe within the CORINE programme of the European Communities, extended to the Palaearctic Region in collaboration with the Council of Europe and the Barcelona Convention, now adapted to several continents. They also include validation projects, oriented towards relations between habitat typologies and faunal elements and towards the evaluation of scale factors; they use several ensembles of bio-indicators, among them the litter fauna, orthopterans, amphibians and reptiles, birds, bats, primates.

 

 BIOINDICATORS: Evolutionary biology, eco-ethology and biogeography of species and groups of species of high relevance to nature conservation and with strong bioindicator characteristics. Development and  experimentation of methodologies of biodiversity evaluation relying on indicators. Study of the applicability of these methods to various approaches of the conservation of the natural heritage. Experimentation of environmental monitoring methods relying on the observation of the evolution of the richness of sample sites in species belonging to indicator groups, or of appropriate parameters and indices related to that richness. Current projects concern mammals, in particular bats, birds, terrestrial orchids and selected groups of invertebrates.

 

 INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT: Integration of the preoccupations of conservation of the natural heritage in land planning policies. Identification of sites of conservation importance, characterisation of ecologically sensitive areas, management techniques. Definition and application of the special protection area concept. Establishment of protected areas, parks and nature reserves. Elaboration of management and action plans for protected areas or species. Inventories. Conception, implementation and evaluation of awareness campaigns in favour of protected areas or species. Site evaluation methodologies. Relations between agriculture, environment and biodiversity. Land planning and impact study methodologies. Biological potential of administrative entities. This programme incorporates in its conceptual core results of projects pertaining to other programmes, but its field of application is situated somewhat downstream, at the level of the integration of biological data in conservation programmes and of their interaction with economical and social constraints. Studies in support of the implementation of the European directives on wild birds and on fauna, flora and habitats, on the one hand, of the Bonn, Bern and biodiversity conventions, on the other hand, fit in this programme. The programme also includes ecological network studies in urban and suburban areas, management, improvement and restoration programmes in favour of sites of importance for the conservation of bats, the elaboration of management plans for nature reserves belonging to non-governmental organisations and a participation in a habitat rehabilitation and monitoring programme in the Hercynian ranges of Central Europe.