The restoration of biodiversity in France: from words to deeds

Résumé :

This chapter employs qualitative analysis to apply the Index of Policy Activity (IPA) to nature protection and biodiversity policy in France over a twenty-year period. It extends the application of the IPA to include consideration of two critical aspects of implementation that can shape policy ambition: the support of the policy actors and administrative capacity. The chapter reveals that biodiversity policy has been subject to extensive reforms, which have overlapped with a devolution agenda, leading to increased regionalization of this policy sector. One outcome of this process is that under-resourced regional administrations must shoulder the burden of implementing policy. These findings suggest that France may be engaging in dismantling by arena shifting.