A cross-border Walloon nature park shaped by the Scheldt valley, castles, canals, forests and wetlands.
Parc naturel des Plaines de l'Escaut
The Parc naturel des Plaines de l'Escaut (PNPE) is a recognized nature park in the Walloon Region of Belgium, situated within the Scheldt river basin in the province of Hainaut. It lies in the southern part of western Hainaut, near the historic city of Tournai, which is geographically enclosed within its boundaries, and stretches across seven communes that together encompass dozens of former villages.
The park protects a rural lowland landscape shaped by canals, agricultural land, forested areas, marshes and scattered heritage castles. Despite significant industrial, wartime and agricultural pressures, and considerable ecological fragmentation from roads, motorways, canals and high-speed rail lines, surviving natural cores are recognized as an important component of the pan-European ecological network.
Together with its French counterpart, the Parc naturel régional Scarpe-Escaut, the Belgian park forms the cross-border Parc naturel transfrontalier du Hainaut, linking protected landscapes on either side of the Franco-Belgian border.
