Follow-up to the press release from the Mouvement Ecologique – a jungle of lists

The press release issued by the Mouvement Ecologique on 24 June 2024 has triggered a lot of reactions – from the press, concerned citizens, the Nature Administration (ANF) and the Ministry of the Environment.

The ministry informed the press that the number of actual ‘remarkable trees’ is not decreasing, but actually increasing. The general (!) confusion about the number of trees arose from an ANF list from 2018, which – according to the Ministry of the Environment – was incorrectly labelled as ‘remarkable trees’. According to the Ministry of the Environment, before 2022 (when the Nature Conservation Act was amended), only trees protected by Sites et Monuments were ‘remarquables’, which in turn are listed in another, user-unfriendly list. The ANF list, which can be viewed on the official website, is now called ‘Arbres subventionnables’…

The question remains: why were so few of the ‘arbres subventionnables’ included in the new list? Why should the list now be added to retrospectively, as the ministry writes? Why was an unfinished list then included in the procedure?

Regardless of the semantics, the Mouvement Ecologique is calling for far more than the 250 trees in the current draft regulation to be recognised as ‘remarkable’. The aim is to set an example and to support the population in preserving these special trees!

At the beginning of July, the Mouvement Ecologique therefore once again called on the Ministry of the Environment to revise the new list and expand it on the basis of the applicable technical criteria – with the involvement of the public!

This action has caused a great deal of excitement, but it seems that it has also had a positive effect in some respects.

You can find more information and the press release from 24 June here.

22.07.2024