Administrative complexity, delay in the adoption of texts, protection not strict enough: two associations believe on Friday that France must improve its policy concerning marine protected areas, while the international congress on these areas (Impac5) has just opened in Canada.
Various levels of protection exist for marine areas worldwide, each country having adopted its own legislation, which generally does not prohibit all human activity, but may restrict fishing or tourism, for example, to a greater or lesser degree.
Delays in commitments
With its 2020-2030 national strategy for protected areas, France, which has the second largest maritime domain in the world, has undertaken to protect, by 2030, at least 30% of terrestrial and marine areas, of which a third under strong protection, i.e. 10%.
However, to date, "
about 4% of French waters are now highly protected
", noted Friday in a press release the French committee of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
And in some DOM-TOMs, it is often even less, notes the NGO.
Thus, only 0.01% of the maritime sub-basin of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, 0.66% of that of French Guiana and 1.52% in Guadeloupe are protected.
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In question, according to the IUCN, a delay in the adoption of texts to serve as frameworks for the implementation of these protections.
Thus, only one strategic document (that of the maritime basin of the Antilles) out of the 3 planned for the territories on the Atlantic seaboard has been adopted, the others still being discussed four years after the start of negotiations.
“
Administrative mille-feuilles
”
"
It is therefore essential to bring about the adoption of (these) documents (...) by ensuring that they have precise and prioritized objectives, as well as action plans aimed in particular at implementing areas of strong protection
", emphasizes the IUCN.
On Bloom's side, the finding is even more severe: the association, which has analyzed the 451 marine protected areas (MPAs) in France and the 721 in all French waters, denounces a veritable "
administrative mille-feuille
“, with no less than 18 different categories of MPAs (marine natural parks, nature reserves, Natura 2000 areas, Unesco sites, etc.), “
while researchers recommend only four to aim for efficiency and clarity
” .
And none of them "
meets the international criteria for defining MPAs
", according to the association.
Read alsoThe shortcomings of “French-style” marine protected areas
In October, Bloom launched an appeal before the Council of State to attack the decree of April 13, 2022 defining MPAs and "
strong protection zones
", accusing the government of "
ecological imposture
" for failing to have formally prohibited any activity. human in some of these areas.