Five of seven reptile species are declining
New figures from CBS and RAVON show an increase in the sand lizard.
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The populations of five of the seven Dutch reptile species are declining. This is shown by the latest trend figures from CBS, which conducts the monitoring together with RAVON.
The species concerned are the native snakes and lizards followed in the national monitoring programme. According to CBS, the figures describe trends over a long period, while also distinguishing between developments since 1994 and more recent developments since 2014.
The sand lizard is the exception in the new figures: its numbers are increasing. For the other species, the picture is predominantly negative. According to CBS, the precise trend differs by species and is calculated by CBS and RAVON from observations and counts in fixed monitoring areas.
The figures describe population trends, not the number of animals living in the Netherlands at a particular moment. Nor do they show that every local population is undergoing the same development. The national trends alone cannot establish what role weather conditions, search effort or changes in habitat play in individual counts.
The trend figures alone do not show what role habitat loss and fragmentation play in the decline. RAVON cites changes in management, desiccation and the quality of open and semi-open nature areas as factors that may be important for different species. The new figures mainly indicate the development, not one proven cause for all species.
The increase in the sand lizard does not in itself prove that targeted measures are having an effect. Nor does the national trend clarify the contribution of any habitat restoration or reintroduction in Limburg around the Sint-Pietersberg. An increase also does not automatically mean that the species is out of danger.
For nature policy, the main question is therefore not only which species is currently increasing, but whether that trend will persist and whether the habitats of declining species can be improved. The monitoring shows where the pressure is greatest, but does not itself determine which policy choices the Netherlands makes afterwards.
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Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article's central point follows current CBS and CLO information. Causes are phrased cautiously and are not presented as one proven explanation.
- confirmed Five of the seven reptile species are declining. — The new CBS headline and publication schedule mention this trend. source
- confirmed The sand lizard is increasing. — The current CLO indicator describes the increase in the sand lizard. source
- confirmed The figures are based on monitoring by CBS and RAVON. — CBS describes the reptile statistics and its cooperation with RAVON. source
Editor's note
The trend distribution and the increase in the sand lizard are based on the current CBS publication schedule and the updated CLO indicator. The causes differ by species and have not been fully established.Sources
- Trend reptielen (slangen en hagedissen) — Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek
- Reptielen van de Habitatrichtlijn, 1994-2025 — Compendium voor de Leefomgeving
- Balans 2025: reptielen en amfibieën — RAVON
More on this in Dutch media
- Het Parool — „reptielen biodiversiteit”
- de Volkskrant — „reptielen biodiversiteit”
- NU.nl — „reptielen biodiversiteit”