Kempen-Broek Biosphere Reserve (Netherlands)

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, inscribed 2024. The Kempen-Broek Biosphere Reserve is part of a transboundary area that straddles the border between Flanders in Belgium and the Netherlands. Once-expansive wetlands have been transformed into farmland since the nineteenth century, but the area retains remnants of its marshes, punctuated by ponds, open marshlands and bog forests. Villages and towns are scattered on higher ground. Diverse bird species flourish across varied landscapes. The area constitutes an important open space with high landscape and biodiversity value.