France - Overview

Status and trends of biodiversity, including benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services

By virtue of its geographic position in Europe and overseas, France possesses a very rich natural and cultural heritage; it is a “megadiverse” country. French overseas territories encompass a variety of latitudes: the Mascarene islands, the Guyana plateau, the Caribbean, the South Pacific, the Austral and Antarctic islands and the North American boreal environment... More »

Main pressures on and drivers of change to biodiversity (direct and indirect)

Biodiversity is in decline. The objectives set by the Convention on Biological Diversity in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and the European Union’s 2010 objective “to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010” have not been achieved. The international community and the EU have committed to strengthen their action from now to 2020 through the adoption of the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020... More »

Implementation of the NBSAP

The French National Biodiversity Strategy, which is in line with international commitments, is based on three principles:

• Biodiversity is a key social issue and the National Biodiversity Strategy therefore promotes the mobilisation and commitment of all stakeholders. This entails making a major long-term commitment to providing information and educational resources so that everybody can understand why it is important to have as much natural diversity around us as possible.
• Development projects incorporating biodiversity into every activity should be designed and implemented at the scale of territories, especially as local projects promoting biodiversity can have positive and rapid effects at this level... 

Actions taken to achieve the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets

French protected areas already cover more than 20% of the metropolitan (mainland) territory, though with different levels of protection. They are put in place through a national strategy for the creation of protected areas. At present, 12.5% of the metropolitan (mainland) territory is protected in accordance with the Natura 2000 network; 43% of territorial waters and 5% of the EEZ are also under protection... More »

Support mechanisms for national implementation (legislation, funding, capacity-building, coordination, mainstreaming, etc.)

In terms of legislative framework, France benefits from a legal system for species conservation and follows the rules of international conventions, EU legislation (e.g. Birds Directive, Habitats Directive, Marine Strategy Framework Directive), as well as regional conventions. The National Strategy for Sustainable Development constitutes the framework for the National Strategy on Biodiversity... More »

Mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing implementation

The monitoring of biodiversity strategies takes place at national and EU levels. Every 6 years, EU Member States establish national reports regarding the implementation of the Birds Directive and Habitats Directive on their territories. As of 2007, these reports include a section dedicated to the evaluation of the state of conservation of natural and semi-natural species and habitats of EU interest... More »