Nature protection and biodiversity - Drivers and pressures (France)

Evaluation of the conservation status of species on the IUCN Red List for 2008-2009

France lies in eighth position among the countries which are home to the greatest number of animal and plant species threatened at the worldwide level. This finding is mainly the result of the threats hanging over the considerable biodiversity of the overseas territories, but is also due to the Mediterranean communities, which also represent a hot spot in biodiversity terms.

Red List of species in metropolitan France

Of the 119 mammal species studied, 11 (10 continental and one marine species) are in danger of disappearing from metropolitan France and three are already extinct: the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus albiventer), the North Atlantic right whale (Balaena biscayensis) and the Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica). As many as 9% of the mammals which occur in metropolitan France are in danger of disappearing and 21% at worldwide level. Almost one third of threatened mammals are Chiroptera (bats) and seven species are listed as ‘semi-threatened’. They are mainly victims of disruption due to the disturbance of their lairs, the degradation of their habitats and a shortage of prey owing to the use of pesticides.

Almost half of cetaceans fall into the category ‘insufficient information’ owing to a lack of knowledge and available data. However, some of them could be threatened in France. They are affected by various types of pressure, such as sound pollution caused by shipping and military sonars, chemical pollution, accidentally being caught in fishing nets owing to the use of gill nets, overfishing, which reduces their food supply, and climate change.

Of the 277 species of nesting birds evaluated, 73 species are currently threatened in metropolitan France. Moreover, 26% of the species nesting in metropolitan France are at risk of disappearing from the country, while the worldwide figure for threatened bird species is 12%. Some species may occur in France but no longer nest here, and they are therefore regarded as threatened. Five species have disappeared from the country, while 11 are at critical risk of extinction, such as the black vulture (Aegypius monachus), common crane, (Grus grus) and razorbill (Alca torda) and 20 are in danger, such as the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), black stork (Ciconia nigra) and slender-billed gull (Larus genei). A combination of various threats, such as the intensification of farming methods, the destruction of habitats, and pollution, are causing various bird populations to decline in metropolitan France. Global warming many in future cause changes in the range of many species: in some cases causing them to disappear from metropolitan France as they move north, while new species may occur, coming from the south.

Seven out of 37 reptile species (i.e. 19% compared with 28% worldwide) and seven out of 34 amphibian species (i.e. 21% compared with 30% worldwide) are currently threatened in metropolitan France. Six reptile species and six amphibian species fall into the ‘semi-threatened’ category. The number of threatened species in metropolitan France could therefore double in the years to come.

The drying out of wetlands, the filling in of ponds, the pollution of aquatic environments, urbanisation and the decline in pastoral farming have caused a great reduction in the habitats of many species. In addition to these threats, there is also the illegal collecting of individual specimens as well as competition with introduced exotic species such as the red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) and the bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), which are a threat to native species such as the European pond terrapin (Emys orbicularis) and various species of green frogs.

The initial analysis carried out on 160 orchid species studied in metropolitan France shows that 27 are in danger of disappearing from the territory (i.e. 17%), of which four are classified as endangered (e.g. the Aveyron ophrys (Ophrys aveyronensis) and Eleonore’s ophrys (Ophrys eleonorae). Another orchid, Anacamptis collina, has already disappeared, and 36 species are classified as ‘semi-threatened’, in other words one species in five.

The draining of marshland and moist meadows, the abandoning of traditional farming practices such as haymaking in dry environments and non-intensive livestock farming which involves the enclosure of certain environments, have caused a decline in several species. In addition, some species are subject to intense pressure from being picked in their natural environment.

The analysis of threats to freshwater fish shows that 15 of the 69 species studied are at risk of disappearing (i.e. 22% compared with 37% worldwide). Two species have even been classified as extinct worldwide, the true fera (Coregonus fera) and the little fera, or gravenche (Coregonus hiemalis), and two others are classed as extinct in metropolitan France, the Spanish toothcarp (Aphanius iberus) and the Valencia toothcarp (Valencia hispanica). The main threat to freshwater fish is the degradation and destruction of natural environments: the extraction of aggregates, the drying out, drainage and clearing of wetlands, as well as various kinds of agricultural and industrial pollution. The position of amphihaline migratory fish, such as salmon and eels, appears to be particularly worrying. These fish, which spend part of their life cycle at sea before returning to breed in rivers, find their way blocked by dams, and are also the victims of overfishing in estuaries, which makes their populations even more vulnerable.

Percentage of species assessed by the Red List which are regarded as threatened with extinction worldwide and in metropolitan France

Source : IUCN French Committee, 2009.

The results of the IUCN Red List assessment of endangered species show that the overseas territories are particularly vulnerable. Almost all these territories (with the exception of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon) have a sizeable number of endangered species: 372 for New Caledonia, 247 for Polynesia, 119 for Réunion, 77 for Guadeloupe, 74 for Mayotte, 56 for French Guiana, 39 for Martinique, 22 in the Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (French Southern and Antarctic Lands – TAAF) and four for Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. These results are only estimates at the worldwide level, and may therefore vary according to the knowledge available. This explains, for example, the low number of endangered species in French Guiana, whereas the true figure is probably much higher. The island nature of most of these territories (except French Guiana) has resulted in the development of a high level of endemism, which places a great responsibility on France’s shoulders when it comes to conserving this heritage.

Although the number of species which are extinct or at risk of becoming extinct remains relatively limited in most of these territories, this is not the case in French Polynesia, where 90 species are regarded as already extinct (79 being extinct only in Polynesia and 11 also extinct worldwide), and 59 species are regarded as at critical risk of becoming extinct. New Caledonia has 82 endangered species, 248 regarded as vulnerable and 147 species regarded as semi-threatened. Thus the number of endangered species in this territory could quadruple if the situation were to deteriorate.

Invasive species: the slipper limpet, a typical case

According to the DAISIE data basis (Delivering alien invasive species inventories for Europe), which provides a census of species introduced into Europe, 1 919 continental species (aquatic or terrestrial) have been introduced into Europe, of which two thirds are plants. In the marine environment, there are113 introduced species along the coasts of the English Channel, North Sea and Atlantic, and 83 in the Mediterranean. The majority of these are, in the first case, crustaceans and molluscs and, in the second, red algae. Approximately 5% of the introduced species are considered to be invasive in both the continental and marine environments.

The slipper limpet is a North American gastropod accidentally introduced into Europe among imported oysters. Its expansion has been facilitated by oyster farming (the transport of infected spawn) and by  fishing with trawlers and dredgers. The highest concentrations are located in the 0-20 m coastal margins of Lower Normandy and Brittany. The population is estimated at over 250 000 t in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc, with biomass levels of over 10 kg / m². It can cause serious homogenisation of the seabeds that it colonises. This has happened in the banks of maerl (calcareous red algae) which are of enormous ecological value. It may also limit dredge fishing opportunities and give rise to substantial costs for cleaning the oysters that it colonises in some production areas such as those at Cancale.

Distribution of Crepidula fornicata (slipper limpet)

Source : DAISIE (Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe), after © B. Galil, 2007 and © D. Minchin, 2007.