Some 150 actions to stem the “collapse of life”. This is the roadmap for biodiversity, presented this Monday, November 27 by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, calling for “radical results without the brutality of measures”. An initiative which will benefit from an additional billion euros from 2024 in order to put an end to the disappearance of species and “restore nature”. Among the main measures envisaged by the executive: the placement of 10% of French territory under “strong protection” by 2030, compared to around 4% today.
And for good reason, the signs of the collapse of biodiversity are increasing in mainland France. “[Il] is so strong, so rapid, so widespread that a sixth extinction threatens. […] In a word, the collapse of biodiversity is an existential threat to our societies. We must stem it quickly and strongly reverse the trend,” insisted the tenant of Matignon. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the French Biodiversity Office, around a third of nesting birds are threatened with extinction on the territory. A proportion which reaches 19% for freshwater fish and 14% for mammals.
The government is also focusing on reducing subsidies harmful to nature, which amount to 10 billion euros. 400 new protected areas should also be created by 2027 to revitalize struggling biodiversity in France.