The project
The impact of forest corridors on the landscape
In order to make the transmission of electricity safe, ELIA and RTE are obliged to open safety corridors to a width of roughly 50 m. The visibility of these corridors is extremely harmful for the forest landscape.
The ratification of the European Landscape Convention, brought into effect in Walloon natural parks through the establishment of a landscape plan, places an emphasis on integrating the electricity network in this.
It is necessary to start by identifying the main areas where these corridors pose a problem in terms of their impact on the landscape: natural parks, areas of scenic interest, designated areas or other prominent areas in land development. Ensuring safety is obligatory but a set of innovative practices may be envisaged to lessen the impact on the landscape.
- Installation of graded edges that offer a softer transition between open areas and forestry areas.
- Planting of protected orchards of local forest genetic origin with an emphasis on small-sized species but limiting the marked breaks in forested regions.
- Consideration of a layout that uses a screen made of trees or shrubs to place a limit on the overly long-range sight lines in corridors used by companies.
- Sowing and taking cuttings of herbaceous species and/or regional forest tree species that promote rapid coverage of the exposed forest soil in order to bring about relief from brutal interventions made in the name of ensuring safety; the planting will be of groups or ideally dispersed clusters of trees.