“
The tree, a living being sensitive to changes in its environment, must be respected as such, and cannot be reduced to a simple object.
He has the right to the air and underground space which is necessary for him to achieve his complete growth and reach his adult dimensions.
Under these conditions the tree has the right to respect for its physical integrity.
"This is the wording of one of the articles of the Declaration of the rights of the tree, a text written by an association of"
nature lovers
"and signed on November 24 by the mayor (EELV) of Bordeaux, Pierre Hurmic.
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"
It is to protect them that the city of Bordeaux signs the Declaration of the rights of the tree on November 24, 2021
", explains the municipality in a press release.
“
Written by the ARBRES association with the support of professional arborists, lawyers and parliamentarians, the Tree Bill of Rights was proclaimed before the National Assembly on April 5, 2019. It inscribes the tree in the Code civil as a living being and holder of rights.
"
The text, which has no legal value and whose signature is simply a political coup for the Bordeaux city councilor, actually aims, by the admission of the City of Bordeaux, "
the emergence of legal protection of the tree in France
”.
"Sanitary, even nurturing nature"
In an interview with the local press, Pierre Hurmic specifies his ambition in these terms: “
It is a re-conquest of the city, which seems to us more essential than ever.
It is about moving from a greening of embellishment to a greening for the well-being and the health of the inhabitants.
"His initiative, he adds, echoes"
a demand of a health, even nurturing nature.
"
Since his controversial release on Christmas trees, which he described as "dead trees", the mayor of Bordeaux has deployed a plan called "
Bordeaux grandeur Nature
" and of which he announced this week the second part, in which he promises the planting of 1,626 trees in the city in addition to an “urban forest” which should accommodate 5,000 more.
The text goes further, this time by advocating a real legal and philosophical revolution, to change the status of the tree in French society.
The Tree Rights Declaration will therefore serve to support the town hall's insistence on construction companies that damage trees during their work.
As in this example cited by deputy Didier Jeanjean: “
on a site, 13 trees were damaged.
The operator was required to replant 25 trees.
If no compensation action is taken, the operator is exposed to financial penalties.
"
The municipality also aims to identify new trees protected and classified in the PLU (in two years, the number of classified trees has already been tripled: from 42 in 2019 to 182 in 2021).
But the text goes further, this time by advocating a real legal and philosophical revolution, to change the status of the tree in French society: "
the tree must be considered as a subject of law
", thus states the article. 3 of this text.
This statement was adopted Trees.org
