This is part of a project in the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse National Park near the French border, where they decided to remove 75 "pointless" lanterns, write The Guardian.
"Having light here is logical," says 77-year-old Andre Detourneau, who has lived in the village for 40 years. "I walk my dog here, and the light gives me a sense of security and protection from theft."
It was the local residents' belief that lighting equals safety that became the main challenge for the project initiators.
Light that harms nature
The idea came about in 2021, when one of the Walloon state administrators estimated that about 6% of the 8,000 lanterns within the national park were located more than 50 meters from the nearest buildings (often between villages where almost no one walks) and at the same time less than 50 meters from Natura 2000 areas - areas with the highest conservation value.
Jacques Monti dismantles a street lamp. He says that before this his job had always been to maintain the lights. Photo: Christophe Smets / The Guardian
The national park has allocated €308,000 to “restore the darkness of the night,” treating it as an ecological resource — just like restoring ponds or forests. By August, dozens of lights will be dismantled by grid operators.
“We can’t tell an elderly woman that we want to put bats before her safety,” explains project manager Nicolas Goethals. “People’s safety is critical.”
However, scientific data shows that artificial lighting at night harms a huge number of species — insects, birds, amphibians — by disrupting their nutrition, reproduction, and spatial orientation.
André Detourne says he needs convincing evidence of significant increases in biodiversity to support the project. Photo: Christophe Smets / The Guardian
More than half of insects are active at night. In France, it is estimated that around 2 trillion insects die each year due to public lighting, mainly from exhaustion or becoming easy prey for predators.
Experts are increasingly talking about light pollution as an environmental pressure comparable to habitat loss or chemical pollution.
Does light really make you safer?
Despite the widespread belief that streetlights reduce crime and accidents, studies have yielded conflicting results.
An analysis of street lighting reductions in England and Wales found no significant increase in crime or road accidents. Other studies also provide no clear evidence that lighting significantly improves actual safety – although it does increase the subjective feeling of security.
Two streetlights in Maze will soon be dismantled. Photo: Christophe Smets / The Guardian
“75 lights may seem like a small thing, but you have to start somewhere,” says Goethals. “It’s wrong to have lights on all night and no one using them. Darkness should be the norm. It’s night!”
He suggests that pedestrians in rural areas use reflective vests and flashlights instead of permanent road lighting.
Darkness as a new infrastructure
Similar initiatives are already emerging in Europe. Thousands of communities in France are turning off their nighttime lights to save energy and reduce light pollution. The EU is developing guidelines to create “dark corridors” for wildlife migration. In the US, a number of cities are also trying to reduce the glow of the night sky.
In April, the Walloon team plans to collaborate with French colleagues to expand this practice to other regions of Europe.
Old supports - new life for storks
Old electricity poles are being retrofitted to help white storks return. Photo: Olivier Colinet
Next to the roads where streetlights are disappearing, other ecological infrastructure is emerging. Old power poles, which previously posed a threat to birds, are being converted into nests for white storks.
If in 2011 it was rare to see a stork here, then in 2025 almost 800 observations of these birds were recorded in the national park. The number is growing every year.
A metal nest costs €500, and they plan to install 30 of these structures by the summer. Branches and even imitation droppings are added to create the impression of an “already inhabited” place.
Power pole nests have helped boost the stork population in the national park, with nearly 800 sightings recorded in 2025. Photo: Erik de Brandt / Handout
Unlike turning off the lights, this initiative has unanimous support from local residents.
"People love these birds. I've never met anyone who didn't love seeing them in their nests," says Goethals.
We previously reported that in Denmark switch to red street lightsThis spectrally justified choice is designed to minimize the impact on natural systems.
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