A strategic evaluation framework to measure and guide efforts to protect biodiversity

Abstract

Through the Natura 2000 policy, EU member states are committed to maintaining or restoring the favourable conservation status of a list of habitats and species throughout their territory. We show here that evaluating the effectiveness of this policy regarding its assigned objectives requires translating these objectives into normative reference and then describing the constraints on habitats and species that the policy seeks to conserve. We propose a strategic evaluation framework based on this principle, applied at the level of the Metropolitan French territory, by relying on the exploitation of several data sets, whose are generally not mobilised by the standard evaluation procedure. The results are broken down by natural ecosystems and biogeographical regions, providing a dashboard for the policy that is the basis for a comprehensive strategic evaluation.