Summary

The biodiversity of France’s overseas departments and territories is of incalculable ecological, economic and social value, yet it is declining.
Nature conservation organizations have been working for years to fight this trend, in particular in the French Overseas Departments (DOM). Although the challenges facing biodiversity in these regions are well known, the tools to address them are lacking. The European Union’s main legal frameworks for nature protection (Birds Directive, Habitats Directive and Natura 2000) are not applicable in these territories.
The « Life+ Cap DOM » programme aims to provide the human, technical and financial means to take rapid, concrete action in favor of threatened birds and habitats in the French Overseas Departments. It will propose experimental, innovative and reproducible actions.

Réunion National Park, Yabalex

This is the first Life+ project involving the creation of a network of local non-profit organizations and the protection of fauna in the French overseas entities. Réunion National Park is also a partner in the project, in which several nature area management authorities, public institutions and laboratories are participating. The Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) will handle national coordination, in consultation with the local coordinators. The institutional and cultural ties, ecological expertise and creativity of the stakeholders in Réunion, Martinique and French Guiana constitute the strength of the programme and will make it possible to reconcile nature protection and socio-economic activities.
Between 2010 and 2015, pilot actions and appropriate management tools will be developed and put in place in French Guiana, Martinique and Réunion. The results will be translated, shared and disseminated in the other European overseas entities and neighboring ecoregions.

What is a Life programme ?

The Life programme is the European Union’s financial instrument for the environment. Its main aim is to enable the translation of European environmental commitments and policies into concrete actions by co-funding pilot and demonstration projects of European interest.
Life+ is made up of three components, including Life+ Nature and Biodiversity. This call for projects, issued annually, makes funding available to projects whose aim is to improve the conservation status of species and natural habitats, in connection with the Birds or Habitats Directives or the Natura 2000 network. Life+ Biodiversity projects have been open to the French Overseas Departments since 2007 and aim to help check the decline of biodiversity.

For more informations on the Life+:

• Life Programme