Presentation
This Policy Brief, focusing on the French case of the regional ecological planning COPs initiated in autumn 2023, examines their contribution to the implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategy and puts forward recommendations for the continuation of the Regions' work. In particular, it could inform the way in which the COPs will mobilize in 2025 around adaptation-related issues following the presentation of the third French National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change.
Read the synthesis of the literature review on ecological planning also produced by IDDRI (in French)
Key Messages
- Biodiversity issues, like climate issues, should be addressed in a cross-cutting manner at the regional COPs. This cross-cutting approach is necessary to ensure consistency between actions to promote the ecological transition from a ‘do no harm’ perspective, but also to identify the solutions provided by biodiversity to promote resilient territorial development.
- The consultation dimension of the regional COPs could be strengthened by combining expertise within the various thematic groups, with a view to building a collective vision for the social, economic and environmental development of the region.
- The identification of specific projects for the implementation of the transition by local authorities should be based on their expressed needs, according to their priority territorial development issues, rather than being a top-down process based on the levers identified at regional level. This approach would improve the appropriation of the levers by the local authorities and the relevance of the proposed projects.
- The consideration of biodiversity in the regional ecological planning roadmaps must be constantly improved to ensure that the French National Biodiversity Strategy is adequately reflected. The implementation of the PNACC, as well as the preparation of the national plan for the restoration of nature, provide an opportunity to address biodiversity issues in the regional COPs and to deploy the governance arrangements presented here.
