The French Office for Biodiversity (OFB; French: ''Office français de la biodiversité'') is an

établissement public à caractère administratif An Établissement public à caractère administratif (EPA; literally translating to "public establishment of an administrative nature") is, in France, a public law legal person with a certain administrative and financial autonomy to fulfil a mission ...

within the

Government of France The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

. It is under the control of both the Ministry of the Ecological Transition and

Ministry of Agriculture and Food An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

. It conducts research and enforces government policies on wildlife and the environment. The OFB, located in

Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attached ...

, was established on 1 January 2020 as the new entity succeeding the French Agency for Biodiversity (primarily in charge of

national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

and other protected areas) and the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife. It has 2,800 agents (including 1,900 in territorial entities and in the overseas territories). Of these agents, 1,800 are environmental inspectors exercising the police powers of the OFB.

History

The OFB was founded in 2020 with the merging of the French Agency for Biodiversity and the National Hunting and Wildlife Office of France. The Agency for Biodiversity had been founded in 2016 through a merger of National Office for Water and Aquatic Environments (the former Higher Fisheries Council) with the National Park Service of France and the Marine Protected Areas Agency.''L'Office français de la biodiversité.''
Retrieved 2020-04-17.

Responsibilities

OFB conducts research and provides expertise on

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, environments and their uses. It provides support for government environmental policies and assists managers of national areas. CFB also strives to educate the public on biodiversity issues and gain their support for conservation.

Environmental police

OFB contributes to the exercise of administrative and judicial policies relating to water (pollution of the resource, damage to

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

or the coast), natural areas,

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

and wild

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

(game species or protected, fight against trafficking in species), hunting (counter-poaching, strengthening hunting security) and fishing. The OFB also organizes the review of the hunting license and issues the license.''Police de l'environnement.''
Retrieved 2020-04-17. To fulfill this mission, environmental inspectors have certain

criminal investigation Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include searching, interviews, interrogations, evidence collection and preservatio ...

powers enabling them to search for and find certain environmental offenses. Commissioned by ministerial decision and sworn in by the judicial authority, they exercise their judicial police missions under the authority of the

public prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...

. The environmental police also includes the administrative police. Within the OFB, environmental technicians exercise these missions under the authority of the departmental prefect. They issue technical opinions on projects subject to administrative instruction at the request of the prefect, and carry out administrative checks on compliance with

environmental regulation Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental Legal doctrine, legal principles, focu ...

s.''Le portail technique. Police de l'environnement.''
Retrieved 2020-04-17.

Organisation

* National level, where the policy and strategy of the OFB are defined and managed (bureaus of the OFB) * Regional level, where coordination and territorial variation are exercised (regional bureau) * Departemental and local levels, of operational and specific implementation (departemental services, front offices, nine marine natural parks and the Agoa marine mammal sanctuary, and 26 nature reserves)

References

{{authority control Government agencies of France Law enforcement agencies of France

History

Responsibilities

Environmental police

Organisation

See also

References