Did you know that France has a law that helps landowners and homeowners to create a biodiverse, ‘rewilding’ area on their land, in a bid to improve, manage and restore the ecosystem?
Passed in 2016, the loi pour la reconquête de la biodiversité, de la nature et des paysages (the law for the re-establishment of biodiversity, nature and landscapes), requires gardeners to sign - in front of a notaire - une obligation réelle environnementale (ORE, an environmental obligation).
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This ORE is a ‘judicial tool’ that allows the owner of a property to set up “environmental protection attached to their property, for a period of up to 99 years”, as certified by article L. 132-3 of the Code de l’environnement (environment code).
OREs can cover all kinds of natural environments, including forests, wetlands, woods, orchards, or even specific trees hundreds of years old.
Environmental measures can include the planting of wild grasses and flowers, creating a meadow, establishing wetlands, planting thick hedges and shrubs, and installing bird nesting boxes.
One retired engineer, who signed an ORE for his land around his converted windmill home in Deux-Sèvres (Nouvelle-Aquitaine), told Le Monde he had worked to plant wild grasses and wild orchids, and maintained the river to encourage ducks, moorhens, and herons to gather.
“[I’m fighting] the disappearance of biodiversity, which deprives future generations of escape, beauty and benefits,” he said.
Five of his seven hectares are protected after he signed an ORE in 2023, with support of his local commune of Melle.
“Melle has had strong environmental commitments for 40 years,” said mayor Sylvain Griffault. “We have created biodiversity reserves, covering a dozen hectares, all over the area. We would only be supportive when a resident wants to do the same thing in their home.”
Long-term protection
Signing an ORE attaches the obligations to the property and continues even if the owner changes.
The Ministry for the Ecological Transition states on its website: “This legal act creates obligations for the owner of the property, his or her co-contractor and for subsequent owners of the property.”
The law states: “The purpose of the contract must be the maintenance, conservation, management or restoration of elements of biodiversity or ecosystem services.”
An ORE also outlaws the use of ‘exploitative measures’ on the land in question, including the use of motorised machinery and pesticides, as well as the construction of permanent structures or any deforestation.
Read more: Letters: Biodiversity is in decline, but not just in France
How do I sign an ORE?
Firstly, you need to find a ‘co-contracting party’. This can be an establishment or a public authority (often the mairie) or a private legal entity acting for the protection of the environment (e.g. an association).
Once you have a co-contracting party, a notaire must draw up the contract, and register it with the land registry. You must then sign it in the presence of the notaire.
Although the contract is exempt from most of the taxes and other fees usually associated with these acts, it can cost up to €400 to sign an ORE.
However, depending on your intended work, and your co-contracting party, some associations - such as Agir pour l'environnement - can help you to work with notaires, and pay for some of the cost.
Several hundred individuals have already signed OREs in France.
Other measures
Owners can, in addition to an ORE, sign a partnership with an association that protects biodiversity.
For example, the association pour la protection des animaux sauvages (ASPAS) can help you to legally exempt your garden from municipal hunting territory, and help you to create a refuge for birds and other flora and fauna in your space.
With ASPAS’ help you can legally place signs on the boundaries of your property that say, for example: “No hunting”, or “ASPAS wildlife haven”.
Read also: How to help wounded wildlife and strays in France
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This was the route taken by Jacques Debuire and his wife Nathalie, who told Le Monde that they have worked with ASPAS and bird protection group la Ligue pour la protection des oiseaux (LPO), to establish a biodiverse haven for birds, butterflies, insects, small mammals, and plants.
Over the past four years, the couple have created a “dry meadow, alluvial meadow, wood and wetland”, including thick hedges and trees, woodpiles, nesting boxes and brambles.
“No one has walked over there for four years, apart from the animals,” said Mr Debuire, adding that he was “delighted at the speed with which nature is reasserting itself”.
The area now also has daisies, blue thistles, and marjoram, plus walnut trees and small oaks, and the aim is that “there will be a forest here in 30 years’ time”, he said.
