Green and Blue Network

Technical articles - Biodiversity

The Green and Blue Network is a public policy initiated in 2007 and incorporated into the Environmental Code in 2009, aimed at protecting and restoring terrestrial and aquatic ecological continuity networks by reducing the fragmentation of natural and semi-natural habitats. The green network refers to terrestrial natural and semi-natural environments, and the blue network refers to wetlands and aquatic environments.

Ecological continuity networks consist of biodiversity reservoirs and ecological corridors.

Biodiversity reservoirs are areas where:

• Biodiversity is rich
• Different species can complete at least part of their life cycle
• There are natural habitats of sufficient size to host population nuclei of species from which individuals disperse or which could allow the reception of new species populations

In summary, these are areas where biodiversity is more significant and more representative of the region and serve as natural habitat.

These reservoirs are connected by ecological corridors, which are areas where conditions are favorable for the movement of biodiversity between two reservoirs but are too small to be inhabitable. Their configuration can be linear or discontinuous and they may consist of vegetative elements (hedges, path edges…), topographic features (valleys, watercourses…), and even intangible elements (underwater biological corridor).

Watercourses and wetlands are both biodiversity reservoirs and ecological corridors.

The green and blue network consists of a set of sub-networks. These sub-networks are reservoirs and corridors identified for different environments. This means that the reservoirs and corridors of the network must be linked to the five national sub-networks :

• Wooded environments
• Open environments
• Wetlands
• Watercourses
• Coastal environments

The green and blue network policy is applied at different scales:

• At the national level, there is a framework document called "National orientations for the preservation and restoration of ecological continuities"
• At the regional level, Regional Ecological Coherence Schemes identify the Green and Blue Network on an atlas after a diagnosis and propose an action plan to protect and restore ecological continuities.
• At the local level, urban planning documents integrate ecological continuity issues specific to their territory.

Green and Blue Network and Agriculture

Agriculture modifies and maintains a diversity of natural habitats. It can represent an important lever for the development of the green and blue network.

Agriculture has a role to play in the preservation of biodiversity and ecological continuities, and biodiversity also has beneficial aspects for agriculture by enabling, for example, natural pest regulation through crop auxiliaries.

Agroecology allows reconciling the green and blue network and agriculture by:

• Encouraging the implementation of more environmentally friendly agricultural practices: reduction of IFT …
• Promoting extensive or semi-extensive systems that ensure ecological continuities
• Encouraging the installation of agroecological infrastructures, which are refuges for biodiversity: hedges, flower strips, ponds…

Tools to Facilitate the Implementation of the Green and Blue Network in Agricultural Areas

Contractual Tools for Adapted Management of Areas to Protect

These tools allow optimizing the management of areas where biodiversity is present. They can be used to implement agricultural practices that align with the objectives of the green and blue network.

Agri-Environmental and Climate Measures (AECM)

AECMs allow intervention on a farm or plot through a contract with a willing farmer.

AECMs benefit from EU financial support under the Common Agricultural Policy.

The contract commits the farmer to comply with environmental measures on a plot or their entire farm, for example reducing the use of phytosanitary products or developing agroecological infrastructures.

These AECMs can promote the establishment of the green and blue network by participating in the conservation and creation of spaces conducive to biodiversity development. They compensate annually for the costs incurred by implementing agroecological practices.

Tools for Sustainable Land Control

They are used to protect areas where biodiversity is present, or that could host more biodiversity.

Perimeter for the Protection and Enhancement of Peri-Urban Agricultural and Natural Spaces (PAEN)

This tool can help protect spaces under strong land pressure such as urban sprawl. It allows delimiting protection perimeters for agricultural spaces and is associated with action programs specifying developments and management orientations aimed at promoting agricultural exploitation, forest management, preservation, and enhancement of natural spaces within the intervention perimeter.

Protected Agricultural Zone (ZAP)

This tool allows sustainably protecting the agricultural vocation of an area. Thus, any land-use change that could alter its agronomic, biological, or economic potential must be subject to a request to the Chamber of Agriculture and the agricultural orientation commission.

Financial Tools

European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)

Actions related to the development of the green and blue network in agricultural areas are eligible for EAFRD financial support.

The EAFRD can finance the implementation of actions favorable to maintaining biodiversity and protecting ecological continuities such as:

• Agro-pastoralism
• Maintenance of wetlands
• AECMs
• Non-Productive Investments (NPI): projects located in priority action zones including at least part of the green and blue network elements can be financed by the EAFRD: habitat restoration works, installation of water and soil management infrastructures, biodiversity infrastructures (dry stone walls…)
• Implementation of agroforestry systems

European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF)

Direct CAP aids encourage agroecological practices through the green payment. They are based on ecological criteria linked to the green and blue network:

• Criterion for maintaining environmentally sensitive grasslands
• Criterion for maintaining or creating areas of ecological interest
• Maintenance of topographic features: aid payments are made only if the farmer complies with maintaining topographic features to preserve hedges, ponds, and groves.

Payments for Environmental Services (PES)

Payments for environmental services (PES) in agriculture allow remunerating farmers when they implement practices that contribute to restoring or maintaining ecosystems, from which society derives benefits (water quality preservation, carbon storage, landscape and biodiversity protection…). These benefits are called “ecosystem services.” Farmers' actions are thus qualified as environmental services.

These services can be related to the implementation of the green and blue network.