Following a summer marked by heatwaves, drought and the fire in the High Fens, the Walloon Government is stepping up its preparation for climate risks. It is preparing the restoration of the Fens plateau, referring the matter to the Concertation Committee to improve crisis management, and adopting the first Walloon Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change.
High Fens: towards a restoration plan within 15 days
Following the fire that affected more than 3,300 hectares, a Restoration Committee will be set up under the responsibility of the Secretary General of the Walloon Public Service.
Its first task will be to carry out a precise assessment of the fire's consequences and identify the work to be carried out, priority actions and the administrations concerned.
The Committee will have to report back to the Government within 15 days with an initial roadmap, a governance proposal and a timetable.
This work will be gradually refined as the different parts of the affected area become accessible again. It can draw in particular on the expertise developed by the Walloon administrations since the 2021 floods and on the coordination provided by the regional crisis centre CORTEX.
Crisis management: several improvements put before the Concertation Committee
The initial feedback from the fire highlights good overall coordination among stakeholders, under the leadership of the Province of Liège, as well as an exceptional mobilisation of emergency services, public services, farmers, businesses, citizens and European partners.
They also make it possible to identify several areas for improvement. The Walloon Government will therefore refer the matter to the Concertation Committee to work with the Federal State and the other Regions on several concrete points:
- improving public alert systems, particularly in light of the difficulties encountered with 112 and BE-Alert, and the analysis of automatic alert systems based on geolocation;
- adapting air quality monitoring mechanisms to one-off incidents that generate local spikes in fine particulate matter;
- better coordination of health alerts and recommendations between levels of government;
- the assessment of the mobilisation of current and future Defence resources during major crisis situations;
- clarifying the use of volunteers in crisis situations, particularly in terms of coordination and compensation;
- recognition of animal rescue in crisis management arrangements, based on the positive experience gained in the High Fens.
The aim is to quickly draw the operational lessons from this fire, without waiting for the full evaluation of the crisis management, which will take place once it has been definitively concluded.
A first Walloon Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change
Beyond these immediate responses, the Government is adopting the first Walloon Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change.
The priorities include preventing flooding, run-off and wildfires, strengthening the territory's resilience to the effects of heatwaves, ensuring water availability during periods of drought, preserving biodiversity, protecting the population and essential infrastructure, agriculture and forests, as well as strengthening the resilience of Walloon businesses.
This strategy sets out a vision for 2060 and nine strategic objectives to be achieved by 2040. It will already be translated during this legislature into a first 2026-2030 plan comprising around twenty priority measures, which will be submitted to the Government before the end of 2026.
Each measure will have a designated person responsible, a timetable, performance indicators and a budget estimate. The aim is to concentrate available resources on the actions with the greatest impact and to measure results concretely.
Reducing emissions and preparing the territory
Adaptation complements the work carried out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which have fallen by 47.8% in Wallonia since 1990. In this context, the Government is continuing to implement PACE 2030 and has begun preparing the future PACE 2040.
Wallonia has not waited for this summer's events to strengthen its capacity to deal with climate risks. Since the 2021 floods, several reforms have been undertaken regarding flood prevention, spatial planning, resilient reconstruction and crisis management. A first cross-sectoral crisis plan dedicated to floods was notably adopted last June to better prepare stakeholders for future extreme events.
Walloon climate action is therefore based on two complementary pillars: continuing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while concretely preparing the territory for the consequences of the climate changes already being observed.
Adrien Dolimont, Minister-President of Wallonia: “The fire in the High Fens requires two things of us: acting quickly to restore what has been damaged and drawing very concrete lessons from managing this crisis. We are therefore setting precise deadlines: initial work on restoring the Fens within 15 days, operational improvements to be discussed with the Federal Government and the other Regions, and around twenty adaptation measures to be finalised before the end of the year. Our goal: to better anticipate risks so we can act more effectively when facing a new crisis.”
Cécile Neven, Minister for Energy and Climate: “Our responsibility is to act on two fronts: continue reducing our emissions and concretely prepare Wallonia for what is already changing. With this adaptation strategy, we don't want yet another catalogue of good intentions left sitting on a shelf. We are aiming for clear priorities, designated persons responsible, deadlines and, above all, measurable results. In short: fewer grand statements, more action on the ground to make our territory, our homes, our infrastructure and our businesses more resilient.”
Anne-Catherine Dalcq, Minister for Agriculture: “With the nature restoration guidance note approved by the Government, we have already set out a clear method: acting and adapting ecosystem by ecosystem, with priorities and precise governance. Our contribution to the national nature restoration plan, which will shortly be submitted to the Government, follows the same course. The fire in the High Fens does not call this into question. A plateau like that of the Fens cannot be restored in a few months. It will be a multi-year effort, carried out with those who know it best: foresters, farmers, scientists, associations. It is this demanding, long-term method that must now guide the reconstruction of the Fens”.