The bombcrater pondscape is located very close to the city of Hasselt and has been created unintentionally in 1944 during World War II. It was designated as a nature reserve in 2006 and became a place for the preservation of biodiversity and for people to enjoy nature closeby to the city .
On September 2021, the mayor and the District Planning Secretary presented the proposal for the Territorial Ordering Plan (POT ) 2022-2035. This POT responds and involves the Sustainable Development Goals in land use planning. Based on these areas, the plan incorporates on four pillars, including sustainable mobility, greening, a care system for women and sustainable economic economy.
Improving the wetland and forest coverage and urban greenspace connectivity and therefore securing important biodiversity;
Providing recreation and educational facilities for local residents and visitors; Enhancing the health and wellbeing benefits gained through the use of the accessible trail built for well-being and recreation facilities.
This pondscape is a NATURA 2000 area. The landscape consists largely of meadows scattered in a dense network of old hawthorn hedges and some forest patches. It contains multiple small ponds, of which several have been recently created as part of a translocation project of Crested newt.
This pondscape of newly created ponds is located in a floodplain meadow on Thames Water's Farmoor Reservoir property, on the banks of the River Thames, near Oxford. It was designed by Freshwater Habitats Trust to maximise freshwater biodiversity and has been closely monitored as a partnership since its creation in 1990.
The results show the exceptional value of the site for wetland plants, aquatic invertebrates, mammals, reptiles and birds, maintained over 35 years.
The pondscape ‘Grote Getevallei’ comprises a variety of landscape characteristics that result in high biological diversity. There is a strong focus on nature and biodiversity conservation, including strengthening biodiversity, restoring eco-hydrology and nature experience.
15 large ponds (5000m2 to 30’000m2) as well as many medium and small sized ponds have been created between 1970 and 2018. Some ponds have been dug to rehabilitate and recreate natural habitats in brownfields and others to create recreational activities such as swimming and fishing. They depict the multiple roles a pondscape can play.
The objective of the spatial delimitation of these pond uses is to promote simultaneously the protection of pond biodiversity and the delivering of numerous NCPs.
The aims of the Green Lungs of the City Project are to build a big botanical garden for the city, create a forest-wetlands park and develop an agricultural park for citizens. GLCP uses urban forest and trees, as well as wetlands as Nature-based Solutions to promote the sustainable development of the city and to provide multiple ecosystem services for human beings in a highly urbanised area.
Objectives further include: