Contenu du sommaire : L'administration au défi du développement durable

Forty years of environment policy in France : changes, progress and constant factors – This article takes a look at French environment policy over a period of 40 years, setting it within its historical context, at international and European level, and at political and sociological level. It is a multidisciplinary study, combining political analysis with empirical data, and has three main strands : issues, institutions, and types of pollution. It identifies the changes that have occurred at these different levels, and a series of constant factors present the whole time. The relationship between environmental, economic and sectoral concerns emerges as one of the most decisive factors.

– Continuity of the management of French forests from the ancien régime to the present day : how the State takes long-term issues into account – By nature, the management of forests requires a long-term approach. Two specific principles underpinning French forestry law emerged as early as the 14th century : the protection of forest usage through the rule of the inalienability of the Crown forest land, and rational planning of tree cutting to ensure a sustainable return. These principles have remained valid over seven centuries, in ways that became well-established very early on. The expansion of French forests since the 19th century reflects the effective application of these principles. The legal framework was completed at the Liberation through the creation of a National Forestry Fund, a special appropriation account at the Treasury which has since been abolished.

– How to administrate nature ? – The terms administration and nature would seem to contradict one another. People have a certain idea of what nature entails and try to ensure it prevails. Policies on the protection of the natural environment, which are recent, have undoubtedly been successful : species on the edge of extinction and vulnerable areas have been saved. However, these policies have demonstrated their limits because they are so closely based on economic activities. Current efforts to administrate nature seek to integrate goals into all public and private policies. In 2010, France is trying to ensure it does what is necessary to bring a halt to the loss of its biodiversity. But at global level, the big increase in the size of the ecological footprint due to population growth and development gives cause for pessimism.

– Interview with Michèle Pappalardo, France's General Commissioner for Sustainable Development – This interview with the Michèle Papallardo, the General Commissioner for Sustainable Development, gives a provisional report on what has been achieved in her areas of responsibility. The role of the General Commissariat for Sustainable Development is both cross-sectoral and strategic. It coordinates and ensures consistency between the policies of the different directorates-general of the Ministry of Ecology. As an interministerial official, the Commissioner is also responsible for facilitating and encouraging efforts to have all private and public stakeholders, particularly other administrative departments, take sustainable development into account.

– From Ministry of Impossible Affairs to Ministry of State – The article gives a historical overview of the creation, in the form of a ministry, of a department for environmental and then sustainable development affairs in France, from 1971 onwards. It particularly seeks to show how the administrative set-up has reflected the major public policy shift in the field in question : from environmental protection limited to the creation of sanctuaries in certain areas and efforts to tackle major pollution, to a sustainable development policy that seeks to integrate environmental concerns into organisation of industrial and even general economic activities.

– Is France's “Grenelle de l'environnement” a political innovation ? – This article examines how, since 2007, public environment policy has entered a very important phase, known as the “Grenelle de l'environnement”, a major governmental consultation exercise resulting in a package of legislative measures. The author firstly examines how the Grenelle constitutes a new manner of defining environment policy through the development of original, open structures, which do not however constitute radical changes, and observes that the state has broadly retained control over the process.

– The Copenhague Conference : how to conduct negotiations – This article is chiefly an account of two years of international and European climate negotiations. Most importantly, it seeks to provide an insight into the way climate negotiations are progressing, for better or for worse, and how an administrative department tries to organise itself in order to deal with both the international and European context.

– Sustainable public purchasing : a useful instrument for the regulatory – This article examines how the issue of sustainable development was introduced into public procurement, a field that is both so strategic and technical in nature. More particularly, it shows how a new governmental department, the State Purchasing Department, takes sustainable development into account as one of its criteria, and then how sustainable development has been incorporated into new legislation on public tenders.

– Using ecotaxes as a tool for implementing public policies – Ecotaxation has a sound rationale in microeconomic theory, particularly as an instrument for internalising externalities. In practice, it is an effective public policy instrument at both economic and environmental level. However, France seems to prefer budgetary taxation rather than incentive measures. The author sets out the strategy he developed on incentive taxation and the reforms he achieved in the field of ecotaxation when he was head of the Directorate of Economic Studies and Environmental Assessment at the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development.

– The management of amenities and sustainable development – Amenities (which in the French sense of the term can be used to describe attractive aspects of the environment), constitute a range of tangible and non-tangible values. Their management at territorial level illustrates the problem of sustainable development. Although they have long been taken into account in national and local policies, efforts to ensure they are better valued entail conflicts of use at territorial level. Heritage accounting, impact studies, environmental assessment and public debate can facilitate decisions and determine compensatory measures. However, there is still scope for debate on irreversibilities, efforts to find alternative projects, and the “zero variant”.

– Using information technologies to promote sustainable development at local and regional level – Civilisation in the 21st century is digital. There are 4 billion mobile telephones and 1.7 billion computers on line. Rapid, synchronous, global development is occurring and it will become even more intense. Connectivity is no longer just for machines that communicate with one another. Everyday objects and bodies will increasingly become providers and producers of information. This is essential for sustainable development. It facilitates changes in behaviour, sharing and pooling of efforts, telecommuting, government and education. It offers an opportunity to make buildings, mobility, energy and the (relocated) economy greener. Fundamental and structural decisions need to be made, with a concern for good governance.

– Sustainable development, governance and insularity : the case of the La Réunion Natural Marine Reserve – Marine protected areas (NPAs) make an essential contribution to the protection of global ecosystems and the socio-economic development of the population, particularly so in an island environment. The constant presence of the marine environment, the importance of quality and the urgent need to limit damage caused by demographic growth means that conservation projects on marine biodiversity are fundamental issues for the sustainable development of islands. On the island of La Réunion, the Marine Nature Reserve offers a particularly good example : how does it reconcile governance and sustainable development ? The first step is to identify the different stakeholders in decisions who have authority over this territory, which is a recent territorial development and of a regulatory nature. Several different administrative powers are exercised in the area. Analysis of the different levels of administrative powers reveals a complex pattern of powers and stakeholders, which makes the governance of this NPA, with its multiple layers of institutional decision-making, particularly complicated and even confusing. Some recommendations propose a way of measuring the efficiency of institutional governance in order to promote sustainable development.