PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Protected from urbanisation and intensive agriculture, Europe's military sites are home to a wider variety of biodiversity, that are often rarer than the ones in civilian areas.
The ecological richness of these military sites justified the classification of more than 44,000 hectares in the European Natura 2000 network. To preserve this biodiversity, the French ministry of the Armed Forces has been partnering with the network of Conservancies of Natural Areas (CEN) for 30 years. The organisation and resources of the Ministry of the Armed Forces were then limited to meeting the local needs of managing these sites, requiring the establishment of national governance.
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE Governance and Information NaturArmy project’s goal was to achieve an exemplary management of Natura 2000 sites on military land and to enhance the role of the Ministry in the management of these sites. These actions were to be implemented in particular through the development and implementation of a ministerial strategy for biodiversity by 2030.
On the European side, it appeared that improved knowledge of the biodiversity of military land and the establishment of a European network were necessary for the proper management of Natura 2000 sites. The project also aimed to enable the armed forces in Europe to benefit from the results of this project coordinated by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.
Operational objectives included:
- to reach an exemplary management of the Natura 2000 sites on military fields by developing among other things, a ministerial strategy to preserve biodiversity ;
- to demonstrate the French Ministry of the Armed Forces role among biodiversity stakeholders in France and Europe.
RESULTS
- A thesis carried out by the University of Western Brittany (UBO) as part of the project showed that the conservation status of the studied habitats is often better on military sites, with variations according to ecological contexts, uses (military or civilian) and natural environments. This study confirmed the important role of military land in biodiversity conservation. The levels of disturbance enable a diversity of natural habitats and is beneficial to the species and habitats present.
- A survey of more than 1,000 ha to improve and update knowledge on the nature and status of natural habitats on military land;
- Integration of naturalist issues into an internal GIS portal through the development of procedures for the acquisition of naturalist data (with the National Museum of Natural History) and the creation of a cartographic model cross-referencing military activities and biodiversity challenges;
- Support to the proper application of the Natura 2000 regulations on military land through the update of the practical guide "Military land and Biodiversity" and establishing a procedure for managing environmental offences;
- Better conciliation between Natura 2000 objectives and military use with proper consideration for military activities in site management tools integrated into the Natura 2000 network and beyond (2 Natura 2000 ecological management plans and 9 additional natural habitats management plans);
- Test of an appropriate land tool model and framework to ensure the sustainable long-term management of military land that has lost its military vocation;
- Improved and better structured cooperation with ecological partners first by the signature of 50 partnerships between the French Ministry of the Armed Forces and a CEN, and second by establishing a new model agreement, applied for 10 new military sites in partnership with a CEN;
- Awareness-raising and training tools on biodiversity applied to the professional training of 42 environmental officers and 548 students from military schools. The project provided the Ministry staff with an updated version of the E-learning module on biodiversity shared by the French Biodiversity Office (OFB) adaptated to the military context;
- Role and actions of the Ministry and its ecological partners in favour of biodiversity were promoted through the www.lifeterrainsmilitaires.fr website and during 90 international, national and local events, including 3 international seminars. All the communication tools made it possible to reach up to 1,027,900 people thanks to the broadcast of a video spot during a start of the Tour de France 2024;
- At the European level, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces benefited from a partnership with the Belgian Ministry of Defence, which shared its experience in the management of LIFE projects. Thus, an informal biodiversity club bringing together European and NATO Ministries of Defence stationed in Europe has been initiated. The purpose of this group is to share knowledge and good practices in the ecological management of military land;
- Last but not least, the project led to the definition and publication of the Ministerial Strategy for the Preservation of Biodiversity to 2030 and the creation of a new budget line in the Ministry internal budget, allocated to the funding of multi-year financing of ecological management plans.
