In the Western French region “les Pays de la Loire”, an idea emerged about a decade ago in the minds of some environmentalists. Faced with the dreadful, global, current loss of biodiversity, especially in agricultural landscapes – which accounts for 70% of the regional land – these passionate naturalists strived to preserve ecosystems through agricultural and environmental assessments and counselling.

A French law passed in 1976 related to the preservation of natural areas had led to the creation of protected areas and the successful preservation of a few specific species such as the storks. Nevertheless, did it go far enough regarding agricultural areas?  “All the biodiversity indicators show alarming signals, but the ones regarding agricultural areas are the worst…” says Perrine Dulac, one of the handful of people who initiated the project and who currently manages it.