In preparation of the creation around this vision on nature restoration, an exploratory analysis was carried out to find out which initiatives were already taking place in the Belgian part of the North Sea and surrounding waters. Furthermore, the opportunities and challenges with regard to nature restoration were examined, as well as the vision and future plans of our neighbouring countries.  Based on this, three priority nature restoration objectives were selected for further investigation:

  1. the restoration of gravel beds,
  2. the restoration of oyster banks,
  3. the enhancement of other biogenic reefs such as Laniche conchilega and Sabellaria reefs

For each of the priorities, we then considered what measures would be needed to achieve the stated objectives. These were placed in two matrices, one ranking the urgency and importance and the other the impact and cost of a measure.  A score between 1 and 4 was given for each of these four parameters, namely urgency, importance, impact and cost.  Thus, urgent and important measures along with impactful measures with low cost will score higher than less important, non-urgent tasks and costly measures with low impact.  The sum of the scores ultimately determines the urgency of the measure.  Determining the scores was carried out with the help of KBIN's scientific support. The result can be found in the appendix at the bottom of the page.


Each measure was subjected to the following questions:

When is a measure important?

  • Contribution to MSFD and Habitat Objective directives
  • Contributes to the ambitions of the federal government
  • There is certainty about the effectiveness of the measure

When is a measure urgent?

  • Other measures depend on this measure 
  • Risk of certain environmental aspects being at risk 
  • ​Provides essential knowledge to make key decisions on further nature restoration policy

When does a measure require high effort?

  • High (in)direct costs
  • Much effort is needed to create support among stakeholders
  • Labour-intensive

When does a measure have a high impact?

  • High (in)direct costs
  • Major positive effects on certain environmental aspects
  • This measure significantly increases knowledge about the system and the measures to be taken in the context of nature restoration

After prioritisation, the measures were further elaborated and transformed into an effective nature restoration plan working towards the different objectives.


This timeline may of course still change and depends heavily on the funds available for nature restoration and how the procedure around fisheries measures unfolds.