General

Non-domestic animal or plant species and their habitats may be conserved for one of the following reasons:

• Their particular scientific interest
• Their essential role in the ecosystem
• Preserving a natural heritage.

Thus, the following actions may be prohibited when they affect these species:

Concerning animals:

• Destruction or removal of eggs or nests, mutilation, destruction, capture or removal, intentional disturbance, naturalization of animals of these species
• Transport, peddling, use, holding, offering for sale, sale or purchase of live or dead animals of these species

Concerning plants:

• Destruction, cutting, mutilation, grubbing-up, gathering or removal of plants of these species, their fruiting bodies or any other form taken by these species during their life cycle
• Transport, peddling, use, offering for sale, sale or purchase, holding of specimens taken from the natural environment of plants of these species

Concerning habitats:

• Destruction, alteration or degradation of their habitats
• Destruction, alteration or degradation of sites of geological interest, including natural or artificial underground cavities, and the removal, destruction or degradation of fossils, minerals and concretions present on such sites
• Installation of telephone poles and non-clogged hollow avalanche and anti-slip net poles.

Protection orders

The lists non-domestic animal species and non-cultivated plant species subject to the prohibitions are listed in interministerial orders.

For each species, the Orders specify the following:

• Nature of the prohibitions applicable
• Duration of these prohibitions and periods of the year concerned
• Parts of the territory where they apply.

The order depends on whether the species is animal or plant, and the group to which the species belongs.

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Animal

The orders concerning protected animal species differ according to whether they are:

Aquatic vertebrates (fish, mammals, turtles, etc.)

The orders are as follows:

• The species of protected fish
• Some fish and amphibians whose range exceeds the territory of a department
• The specific features of the protection of sturgeon
• The marine mammals
• The sea turtles.

Aquatic invertebrates (corals, molluscs, crayfish, etc.)

The orders are as follows:

• The crayfish
• Some molluscs and echinoderms (sea urchins)
• Others aquatic molluscs
• The coral.

Birds

The orders are as follows:

• The list of birds of metropolitan France and the Drom 
• The conditions for protection and marketing of certain bird species on national territory
• The birds of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (penguins, albatrosses, terns, etc.).

Terrestrial vertebrates

The orders respecting the following, respectively:

• Vertebrates whose range exceeds the territory of a department (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, etc.)
• Terrestrial Mammals
• Specificities in the protection of common hamster
• Amphibians and reptiles.

Terrestrial invertebrates (insects, molluscs)

The orders respecting the following, respectively:

• Insects
• Molluscs.

Vegetable

The orders concerning protected plant species differ according to whether they are plants:

Terrestrial

The orders respecting terrestrial plants are as follows:

List of protected plant species throughout the territory

Legifrance

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Production, import and marketing of protected plant species

Legifrance

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Aquatic

The order respecting marine plants reads as follows:

List of protected marine plant species

Legifrance

Pour en savoir plus

The existence of areas dedicated to the protection of ecosystems may presume the presence of protected species: Natural area of ecological, faunistic and floristic interest (ZNIEFF), area Natura 2000, wetland, etc.

These areas may indicate the presence of protected species: the proponent must then examine the reasons for this classification. In the absence of such areas, the project leader must still ensure that there are no protected species or habitats.

Where interministerial orders provide that prohibitions may be enacted in certain parts of the territory for a fixed period or during certain periods of the year, the date of entry into force and cessation of such prohibitions shall be fixed by prefectural decree.

The Prefectural Order is:

• Posted in each of the municipalities concerned
• Published on Compilation of Administrative Acts (AAR) (available on the department prefecture)
• Published in 2 regional or local newspapers distributed throughout the department.

By way of derogation, for public maritime domainHowever, these measures are the responsibility of the Minister responsible for marine fisheries.

General

Issuance of derogations prohibitions may be imposed on the following conditions:

• There is no other satisfactory solution that can be evaluated by a third-party expert
• And the derogation shall not affect the maintenance of populations of the species concerned within their natural range in a favorable conservation status.

The derogation may be granted for one of the following reasons :

• In the interests of the protection of wild fauna and flora and the conservation of natural habitats
• To prevent significant damage to crops, livestock, forests, fisheries, waters and other property
• In the interest of public health and safety
• For other imperative reasons of overriding public interest, including those of a social or economic nature, and on grounds which would have primary beneficial consequences for the environment. Projects meeting these criteria are: projects for the production of renewable energy or for the storage of energy in the electricity system, including their connections to the energy transmission and distribution networks and projects for the construction of a nuclear power reactor or nuclear fuel storage facility.
• For the purposes of research and education, restocking and reintroduction of those species and for breeding operations necessary for those purposes, including the artificial propagation of plants
• To permit, under strictly controlled conditions, selectively and to a limited extent, the taking or holding of a limited and specified number of certain specimens.

Conditions for the derogation

The derogations granted shall specify the conditions of performance of the operation concerned. They may be subject to the keeping of a register.

General

In order to benefit from a derogation from the protection of protected species, the following steps must be followed:

• Complete the form for the request for derogation corresponding to the protected species and the type of derogation concerned
• Submit request
• Waiting for the decision to accept or reject the request for derogation.

Completing the application form

The form to be completed for the request for derogation depends on the type of protected species (animal or plant) and the type of derogation.

Submit request

Derogations must be sent to the prefecture of the department of the place of the operation for which the derogation is requested:

• Dreal: titleContent (Metropolitan France outside Île-de-France)
• Drieat Île-de-France: titleContent
• Deal: titleContent (within Drom: titleContent).

Contacts for these services are available here:

In the following cases and by way of exception, they must be addressed to the Minister responsible for nature protection:

• Operations with research and education conducted in the territory of more than 10 departments by legal persons under the supervision or control of the State
• Where they concern animals belonging to a protected vertebrate species threatened with extinction in France because of its small numbers and whose range exceeds the territory of a department, for the following operations: removal, capture, destruction, transport with a view to reintroduction into the natural environment, destruction, alteration or degradation of the particular environment of the species.

Decision

Silence kept for more than 4 months on a request for a derogation shall be equivalent to a decision of rejection.

Derogations are granted :

• Either by way of permanent to public or private institutions engaged in scientific research or in the establishment of collections of national interest
• Either for one limited duration, unless renewed at the request of the beneficiary, to other legal persons or to natural persons.

In case of refusal, the decision shall specify the reasons for the refusal.

In case ofgranting of a derogation, the decision shall specify the reasons for the derogation and, if necessary, depending on the nature of the proposed operation, the conditions of the proposed operation, in particular:

• Information on the identity of the beneficiary
• Scientific name and common name of the species concerned
• Number and sex of specimens subject to the derogation
• Intervention period or dates
• Places of intervention
• Where appropriate, any reduction or compensation measures taken which have beneficial consequences for the species concerned and a deadline for forwarding the assessment of their implementation to the decision-making authority
• Qualification of persons called upon to intervene
• Description of the protocol for interventions
• Conditions for drawing up reports on assistance
• Period of validity of the derogation
• Special conditions that may be imposed. In the case of inventory operations on populations of animal or plant species, the granting of the derogation may be conditional on the payment of the data collected to databases and in a specific format.

With the exception of decisions concerning transport between establishments or persons authorized to keep animals of non-domestic species, the decisions shall be published in the Department's Compendium of Administrative Acts.

Substantial amendments

All substantial change an activity, installation, work or work which has benefited from one of the derogations to the protection of protected species must be the subject of the issue of a new derogation.

This applies regardless of whether the change occurs before the project is completed or during its implementation or operation.

A change to an activity, installation, work or work is considered substantial if it:

• This is an extension which needs to be renewed environmental assessment
• Or is likely to cause significant hazards and disadvantages to protected species.

Other changes

Any changes non-substantial an activity, installation, work or work which has benefited from one of the derogations to the protection of protected species must be notified, whether it takes place before the project is carried out or during its implementation or operation.

The beneficiary of the derogation must inform the competent administrative authority (prefecture or ministry responsible for nature), prior to its realization, with all the elements of assessment.

The authority may impose additional requirements in connection with these amendments. It may also issue such an order at any time if it appears that compliance with those provisions is not ensured by the execution of the initial requirements.

The beneficiary of the derogation may request an adaptation of the requirements imposed by the Decision. L'no response to this request for more than 2 months from the acknowledgement of receipt shall be considered as a decision of rejection.