Increase in the number of national parks and marine protected areas

The Minister of Ecological Transition "Barbara Pompili and (Secretary of State for Biodiversity) Bérangère Abba confirm that, from 2021, protected areas will benefit from an increase of 40 FTEs which will strengthen the workforce of national parks and parks natural marine resources managed by the French Biodiversity Office (OFB) ", according to a press release.

"During the One Planet Summit of January 11, 2021 (devoted to biodiversity), the President of the Republic announced that the human resources devoted to the management of protected areas by State operators would be reinforced over the next three years ", recalls the press release.

The recovery plan also provides for 60 million euros for protected areas and the 2021 finance law some 11 million for the creation of new protected areas.

In December, the spokesperson for the conference of presidents of national parks, Laurent Grandsimon, was alarmed in a letter addressed to Emmanuel Macron of an "erosion of the means of national parks". "We have lost 15% of our workforce over the past ten years," he warned.

This reinforcement of the workforce "is part of the national strategy for protected areas, which aims to protect from 2022 30% of our land and sea areas, overseas as well as in mainland France", with 10% of land areas and maritime under strong protection, against 1,8% today, indicates the ministry.