Privacy policy

On this page we explain how we handle your (personal) data.

Who manages the Vespa-Watch website?

The Vespa-Watch website is managed by the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO).

What data do we manage?

1. Web pages, images and documents, offered via https://vespawatch.be.
2. Reports of nests of yellow-legged hornet, offered via https://app.vespawatch.be.

Only the reports can contain your (personal) data.

What happens with my data?

Your data are reports of nests of yellow-legged hornet. A report consists of:

• Non-personal data (location, date, photos, etc.).
• Personal data (name, email and/or telephone number of the reporter).

We process these reports as follows:

1. To collect reports, we make use of our own registration form since April 27, 2026.
2. These reports are stored in the Vespa-Watch database, maintained by INBO.
3. We aim to remove reports with incorrect, inappropriate or sensitive information. This may involve reports with incorrect locations, copyrighted photos taken from the web, etc.
4. The non-personal data of reports are publicly available via https://app.vespawatch.be.

In order to protect the environment, for scientific purposes and in line with the INBO open data policy, we also make non-personal data from the reports available as open data under a Creative Commons Zero waiver. These can therefore appear on other websites (such as GBIF), in a raw or derived form.

The Vespa-Watch database also contains reports from sources, such as Waarnemingen.be, iAsset, iNaturalist or data provided by third parties. These are treated in the same way as described above.

What happens with my personal data?

Your personal data includes the contact details (name, e-mail and/or telephone number) that you enter when reporting a nest of yellow-legged hornet.

Your personal data will only be used in the context of eradicating yellow-legged hornet. For this purpose, your personal data will be accessible to:

• Persons who manage the Vespa-Watch database.
• Persons with an account on the Vespa-Watch database, such as professional eradiators, municipalities and provinces.

Your personal data will not be used for other applications, will not be shared with third parties not mentioned above and will not be shared publicly.