Protecting the environment

The government will seek to identify new tools and mechanisms to encourage the development of biodiversity within residential areas without creating new cumbersome and time-consuming procedures. In this context, ecological compensation procedures and measures within the conurbation will be analysed in terms of their effectiveness, simplicity and proportionality, and they will then be adapted and reduced within the conurbation, in compliance with European rules.

A draft reform of the nature protection law has been presented, in which the compensation system is to be amended. However, it contains significant weakening of the protection of green areas within localities. In the view of numerous stakeholders, this reform will not lead to more green spaces in settlements in the long term and could even drive the loss of habitats without adequate compensation.

With regard to increasing biodiversity, only very modest measures can be observed so far. For example, a concept for street trees is currently being developed, but implementation of this coalition commitment is still far off. In addition, a “concours” was held towards municipalities for the planning/implementation of various biodiversity projects, but this too is a drop in the ocean.

According to Mouvement Ecologique, the government’s proposal constitutes a serious undermining of nature conservation aspects. Furthermore, there is a lack of technically well-founded data to support the proposal. This has led to criticism from many stakeholders, including environmental organisations, the Observatoire de l’environnement naturel, and even the Architects’ Association.