How does the geoheritage inventory contribute to the implementation of conservation policy in FRANCE? what is the role for UGGPS?
Résumé
The National Inventory of Geological Heritage (INPG) is a fifteen year old French program. It is included in the National Inventory of Natural Heritage (INPN) which aims to record the ecological, faunistic, floristic, geological, mineralogical and paleontological resources. Established by law, the Ministry of Ecological Transition has committed itself to carrying out and financing this inventory. It serves as a resource for the implementation of public policy. For geological heritage, the objective is not only to record geological sites of scientific, educational or historical value, but also to promote and protect them. Data concerning UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGps) and other place-based designations are also included. For these purposes, an elementary prerequisite was that the inventory should be available in open access (https://inpn.mnhn.fr/accueil/recherche-de-donnees/inpg). Public authorities in charge of land use planning can, for example, be aware of sites of geological interest and consider them in local urban planning. The public authorities also rely in part on this inventory to improve policies for the protection of geological sites. For instance, a new tool for the protection of geological heritage called the Prefectural Decree of the Protection of the Geotope (APPG) was recently created in France. It allows to protect a site relatively quickly by preventing “the destruction, alteration or degradation of sites of geological interest, such as natural or artificial underground caves, and against the collection, destruction or degradation of fossils, minerals or concretions located in those sites”. Currently, a major issue in France is the renewal of the national protected areas policy for the period 2020-2030. This aims to cover at least 30% of the land territory under jurisdiction or sovereignty as protected areas and a further 10% with high-level protection. The national protected areas strategy emphasizes the reinforcement and extension of the existing network of protected areas, the qualitative management issues common to all types of protected areas as well as the mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The INPN contributes this process by providing information about the sites considered for inclusion in the strategy. UNESCO Global Geoparks are not considered protected areas in this national strategy, whereas other UNESCO labels are, such as Biosphere Reserves. France counts seven UGGp’s covering 11 600 km2. They are good examples of national geodiversity and geological heritage in France. They contribute to local economic development and to scientific dissemination and are useful not only for the popularization the links between Man and the Earth but also for raising awareness around current issues faced by society. Therefore, the question of whether UGGp’s should be considered as protected areas in public policies is a subject that deserves to be debated. The aim of this presentation is firstly to show a coupled analysis of the INPG data and the seven geoparks sites to show the heritage value of these sites and to describe the levels of protection that already exist on these sites. Then, drawing from experience, the presentation questions to what extent exclusion from the national strategy impacts UGGps and their technical and practical ability to meaningfully contribute to national conservation policies. Such approach can shed light on the importance of these sites and could in the future open a debate on the usefulness of integrating these sites in public nature protection policies.