FORESTS IN BELGIUM,    FORESTS IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Surface area:

Today the forest in Belgium accounts for 22 % of the national territory, or 700 000 hectares divided among the three regions of the country:
- 78 % in Wallonia, in the south of the country
- 21 % in the Flemish Region, to the north
- 1 % in the Brussels-Capital Region in the centre.

The area covered by forest has increased by 25 % in 150 years!

Owners and managers

(1)    Private forests
Most of the forests in Belgium belong to private individuals: 58 %. With an average surface area of 2.5 hectares per owner and over 100,000 owners, the private forest is characterised by a relatively high level of parcelling and a wide range of owners. These private forests are run directly by their owners either through a manager or by a cooperative selected by the owners.
Forest management is governed by specific legislation:
- the Code forestier or Forestry Code in the Walloon Region
- the Bosdecreet or Forest Decree in the Flemish Region.
(2) Public forests
Forty-two per cent of the forest is divided among public owners. This includes the national forests belonging to the Regions (11 %), the communes (28 %) and the provinces, public social welfare centres and church councils (3 %). These forests are subject to the forestry system and run by the forestry authorities:
- the DNF or Department of Nature and Forests in the Walloon Region
- the ANB or Nature and Forest Agency in the Flemish Region
- and the IBGE or Brussels Institute for Environmental Management in the Brussels-Capital Region.
On the ground, the forestry authorities are divided into:
- regional directorates, (each covers  approximately 30 000 ha) and
- forest ranges (approximately 9 000 ha) and forest districts (approximately 750 ha).

Taxation and aid for the forest

Silviculture is taxed by means of a flat-rate property tax, whether or not wood is sold. This tax is levied at two levels, on the basis of the cadastral revenue:
- the withholding tax on real estate,
- the tax on natural persons.
In Wallonia, since 2008 and further to the publication of a new forestry code, inheritance tax and taxes on donations are no longer payable on forest stands, but only on forestland value.
In Flanders, inheritance tax and taxes on donations on both land value and forest stands have been abolished for woods and forests managed in accordance with the criteria applicable to sustainable forest management or which are part of the “Vlaamse Ecologisch Netwerk”, the Flemish ecological network. The Flemish Region also offers specific aid for certain plantations, the preparation of expanded management plans and the opening up of paths to the general public.