sustainable development

Inventory and protect biodiversity on the Sart Tilman campus


In Campus Développement durable

For several weeks, Lilly Gillet and Thomas Coppée have been surveying the 1500 hectares of the Sart Tilman domain and its surroundings, notebooks in hand.

Salamanders, garter snakes, bats, dragonflies, kites, larks ... are some of the discreet inhabitants of our wooded areas that the two researchers list during their expeditions.

"TheBiodiversity and Landscape Unit of the Faculty of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech has been asked by the Administration of Real Estate Resources of the University of Liege to analyze the ecological network of the Sart Tilman site," explain the two researchers. The objective is to complete the campus development plan by taking into account an essential environmental component, ecological connectivity. "We will carry out field inventories of the site's flora and fauna over several months to identify the presence of threatened and protected species. The kite lucanus, the largest of our beetles, is a good example. It is a protected forest species, still present in Liege and the Meuse valley, whereas it is very localized elsewhere in Wallonia

After collecting and analyzing existing data, Lilly Gillet and Thomas Coppée began mapping the habitat and breeding areas of the Sart Tilman fauna and flora and identifying the connections between these areas. " To protect a species, the "routes", the ecological corridors that it uses, must also be preserved. The Sart Tilman site is at the junction of Natura 2000 sites and nature reserves. Ensuring the movement of species is an important issue. "

The Real Estate Resources Administration is already taking action to safeguard the site's natural heritage and manage its 240-hectare nature reserve. One example is the preservation of edge areas for the garter snake, a harmless snake that needs habitats rich in shelter to reproduce.The objective of this project, headed byGrégoryMahy and Marc Dufrêne, is to go one step further, by mapping areas rich in biodiversity or sensitive, which it is important not to weaken by developments (trails, lighting, new buildings ...)," says Luc Schmitz, head of the "Forests and Roads" department of the Administration of Real Estate Resources of ULiège. " The results of this study are expected in early 2024. They will be cross-referenced with urban planning data and the site's development plan. They will also make it possible to identify the areas to be restored and the areas to be created to conserve and improve the natural ecological network of the Liège region, specifying the role of the Sart Tilman campus. "

ULiège in transition
The University of Liège is committed to the transition to a more sustainable world!

As a place where scientific knowledge is produced and transmitted, the University has a major role to play. It must not only support society's transition, but also consider its own transformation. The new rectoral team has placed the environmental and social transition at the heart of its program and made it a transversal and structuring element of its institutional strategic plan.

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ODDs
ODD 15 : Vie terrestre
Préserver et restaurer les écosystèmes terrestres Le quinzième objectif vise à mettre en place une gestion durable des écosystèmes terrestres (forêts et montagnes) en préservant la biodiversité et les sols et limitant les impacts de long terme des catastrophes naturelles. Il appelle à ce que la protection des écosystèmes et de la biodiversité soit intégré dans les planifications nationales et stratégies de réduction de la pauvreté. L’ODD15 souligne l’importance de protéger les espèces menacées via une coopération internationale renforcée pour lutter contre le braconnage et le trafic et mettre en place des mesures de contrôle, voire d’éradication, d’espèces exotiques envahissantes néfastes pour les écosystèmes.

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