Strategic evaluation of an environmental policy with regard to its impact on biodiversity : the french Natura 2000 terrestrial network[Evaluation stratégique d'une politique environnementale au regard de son effet propre sur la biodiversité : le réseau Natura 2000 terrestre français]

Through the Natura 2000 policy, France is committed to maintaining or restoring the good conservation status of a selection of habitats and species throughout its territory. In order to assess the effectiveness of this policy in terms of the objectives assigned to it, it is necessary to translate these objectives into normative terms of reference, and then to describe the constraints on the habitats and species that the policy seeks to conserve. This approach includes an analysis of the system of responsibility and the identification of the various policies, including sectoral policies, which have an impact on these habitats and species. We present here an assessment of the Natura 2000 policy using a strategic analysis framework based on these principles. Our results show the value of developing this type of strategic evaluation, which mobilises and cross-references a large amount of data at different scales.