Biodiversity - Liability in France

Although biodiversity in France can not be compared to that of tropical areas, its richness is nevertheless exceptional in several respects: true biogeographical crossroads for metropolitan France, great diversity in the overseas communities (New Caledonia and the Guiana are also part of the "hot spots" of biodiversity in the world) and finally exceptional richness of the vast marine area (France of the three oceans).

Metropolitan France

Several factors contribute to the richness of biodiversity in France:

• the great geological and climate variability, which provide very diverse environmental conditions (France includes four of the six biogeographical zones of Western Europe: the Atlantic, continental, Alpine and Mediterranean areas)
• the geographical location in western Europe, which is a real biological crossroads, firstly for north-south migration (between northern Europe and West Africa) and secondly for the exchanges between the Western Mediterranean (Iberian peninsula) and the Eastern Mediterranean (Italy, Greece).

Overseas Communities

The French overseas communities have a wide variety of location: they are located in three different oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian), from the Equatorial to the Polar zone. This biogeographical disparity, mainly grouped in the tropical zone, is the origin of the great biological diversity both internationally and in relation to metropolitan France. Their insular nature (only Guiana is not an island) is the source of the very high level of endemism of the flora and fauna..

The importance of this outstanding biological heritage is internationally recognized. Almost all overseas communities, and all those located in the tropical zone appear in the analysis performed globally to know the priority areas for biodiversity conservation; some are even regions identified as a whole. Note the exceptional position of New Caledonia which is both an Endemic zone for birds(BirdLife International), a Centre of Diversity for Plants (IUCN & WWF), a Hot Spot (Conservation International), and includes four ecoregions (WWF). French Polynesia achieves a similar and exceptional score. Guiana has for its part been identified as the territory offering the best opportunities worldwide in terms of preservation of large natural forests ecologically intact and relatively undisturbed (forest border, WRI). It is indeed one of the last 15 major massive tropical forest that has not been fragmented by human activities. In comparison, metropolitan France, like most Western European countries, has lost all of its forests border.

Marine area

The marine overseas environment covers a huge area: more than 10 million square kilometres, or 19 times the size of metropolitan France and more than 3% of the seas and oceans of the world. It includes exceptional biological richness, including the presence of some 55,000 square kilometres of coral reefs and lagoons (for a linear of more than 5,000 km) (IFRECOR). New Caledonia has the second largest barrier reef in the world. The French Polynesia comprises almost 20% of coral atolls in the world.

Biodiversity in France - 100 figures explained on species (2019)