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The Belgian Policy Lab is working in the Flemish Ardennes, one of five Flemish landscape parks approved in October 2023. The policy lab is a collaboration between the Flemish Ardennes landscape park coalition, the Flemish Land Agency and the Research Institute for Nature and Forestry.
The Flemish Ardennes are characterised by an interwoven landscape of unique villages, arable and livestock farming, nature areas and important watersheds. The hilly landscape also attracts many cycling tourists!
The landscape is facing various challenges, including grasslands under increasing pressure, which the Belgian Policy Lab will focus on. Grasslands are disappearing in favour of more profitable and intensive agricultural practices, prompted by growing demands from the urbanised regions. For example, there is demand for space to put horses for recreational use. Plus, climate change is an overarching pressure on the local landscape.
The loss of grassland feeds the loss of landscape features that bring many ecosystem benefits, causing issues such as erosion and sedimentation.
The Policy Lab focuses on preserving and conserving the existing grassland.
Throughout MOSAIC, we will address several questions:
- Can we determine the pressure on the existing grasslands?
- How can we best value and conserve our remaining grasslands?
- If land use change is inevitable, what are the most desirable ecological, economic and cultural uses?
- How can we balance the needs of nature, agriculture, tourism and more in a harmonious way?
Our role in MOSAIC is to work with local people to bring together different visions and experiences to preserve and enhance the landscape for the future. By working closely with the Flemish government, we can also translate the lessons we learn to other landscape parks.
Recently, the lab completed extensive research to identify local drivers of land-use change. This involved regular meetings including a workshop on 11 February 2026, where stakeholders, including representatives from the Agency for Agriculture and Fisheries and the Heritage administration, validated "Causal Loop Diagrams". This activity allowed participants to use their practical knowledge to fine-tune research findings on how factors like regulations and technology interact to affect the landscape. Additionally, the Policy Lab has held several workshops to discuss the value and threats of grasslands from various perspectives to ensure the research remains relevant to the local Landscape Park coalition.
Drivers of Land Use Change
Research in the region highlights a profitability gap; converting grasslands to arable crops like potatoes is often far more lucrative than maintaining them for livestock. The landscape is also being physically reshaped by technology, specifically the adoption of automatic milking systems, which encourage farmers to move dairy herds indoors, shifting land use from grazing to intensive mowing.
Many farmers report an "unsupportive policyscape" characterized by the "5-year rule" for permanent grasslands. This regulation, intended to protect grass, acts as a "perverse incentive" because farmers periodically plough up their grass to prevent the land from being legally classified as "permanent," which carries strict protection and limits future operational flexibility. Furthermore, the region faces rising land prices driven by "new" grassland users, such as horse owners, and the conversion of vacant farmsteads into residential housing, which now accounts for 39% of such sites in East Flanders.
Next steps
The lab is now moving toward implementation by identifying specific roles for the Landscape Park coalition to play in grassland conservation. A workshop in late March 2026 utilised role-playing exercises to help stakeholders visualize cross-landscape inspiration and concrete actions. Quantitative choice experiments are being used to test the acceptability of different policy interventions among landowners. These results will be used to influence regional "policy windows," such as the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Flemish "Agromanagement Plan".