the government presents its plan, NGOs not convinced

The government pledged on Wednesday to respond to the "urgency" of the accelerated disappearance of biodiversity. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has gathered some of his troops – including Nicolas Hulot and Stéphane Travert – at the Museum of Natural History to adopt this plan to protect natural areas and species. "The current rate of extinction of species is unparalleled since the end of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago," said Edouard Philippe in the dossier given to the press, worried about the "silent disappearance" of birds or pollinating insects in France

It is not easy to mobilize public opinion on a subject that seems distant and impalpable. The first objective of #biodiversity plan ? To make lie @N_Hulot who lamented: "Biodiversity, everyone does not care"! pic.twitter.com/Zr50qx4XYM

– Edouard Philippe (@EPhilippePM) July 4, 2018

At the heart of dozens of measures, with more incentive than constraining spirit, are the management of the plastics the reduction of the artificialization of the grounds the role of the farmers . While France loses the equivalent of a department like the Loire-Atlantique every ten years in natural and agricultural areas, the government sets the goal of zero net artificialization . That means compensating for each concrete or tarmac surface by the same surface rendered to nature elsewhere. But the deadline for this goal still needs to be discussed, with the local authorities in particular.

A plan to 600 million euros over four years

Other concrete measures were evoked:

• The government will unblock 150 million euros by 2021 to help farmers acting to restore environments: hedges, ponds …
• For the oceans, the plan provides for the "phasing out" of single-use plastic products found most frequently on the beaches.
• The ban on plastic bags or cotton buds has already been decided. The ban on straws or tuftettes voted by the Senate a few days ago will be supported by the government.

Nicolas Hulot wants act with biodiversity as with the climate, by mobilizing all strata of society on this theme, citizens, elected officials and companies. The defense of fauna and flora will go through the creation or extension of 20 national reserves by the end of the five-year period, financed by the government. Another measure, a plan, as of this year, to protect cetaceans from the risk of stranding or bycatch . To "stop the silent disappearance of biodiversity", the plan reaffirms the prohibition of glyphosate in its main uses by 2021 and for all uses within 5 years. As foreseen since the law of 2016, the use of neonicotinoid pesticides will be prohibited on September 1st (with possible derogations).

In total, the government figures to 600 million euros over four years the credits "additional" to finance this plan, including 250 million for a vast field ranging from the restoration of environments to the development of nature in the city, through the fight against plastic. But some of these sums were already known.

NGOs not completely satisfied

If the NGOs hail the very existence of this plan, they regret the lack of financial means allocated to the protection of fauna and flora . The fact that a plan is announced is, in itself, important, "said Jean-David Abel, head of biodiversity at France Nature Environment, which federates 3,500 badociations, with AFP.The director general of WWF France, Pascal Canfin, hailed "the unpublished character of this plan" presented at the end of an interministerial committee, which translates in his eyes "a real global awareness of the stake on nature."

In terms of funding, the account is not there, he regrets. "The badociations asked 200 million additional euros per year for biodiversity and 200 million less for the nuisance to biodiversity per year (. ..): we have nothing on the reduction. "The FNE is even more severe.The 150 million annual euros provided by the plan" are not on the scale of what was asked, "denounces Jean-David Abel, who notes that some of these sums will be taken from the budgets of water agencies or have already

"For an ambitious project, it takes resources and courage," adds Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of the League of Birds Protection (LPO). "The government has put 5 billion euros for farmers, 1.5 billion for artificial intelligence, but we will seek 100 million here, 30 million there …", he laments. "I do not see the word wolf, the word lynx and how we live together. (…) Not a word either on the hunt", he continues, while the return of the wolf in France and the announced reintroduction of Bears in the Pyrenees create strong tensions.

"This is not the ideal biodiversity plan that we would have written," acknowledges Pascal Canfin of WWF. However, "it is an advance, an accelerator."

(with AFP)