Biodiversity and the economy. Compensation obligations and incentives.

Summary Numerous pressures are exerted on biodiversity, leading to the fragmentation, destruction or modification of habitats, primarily those resulting from the artificialization of territories. In order to avoid the degradation and destruction of species and natural habitats, the orientation of development operations so that they integrate these issues is therefore crucial. This is reflected in the emergence in legislation (such as the Biodiversity Law in France) of new compensation obligations, possibly through "supply". These regulations aim to increase the social value of projects, in a logic of "public-private" partnerships. In order for this approach to take off, it is essential to understand the economic stakes of biodiversity preservation that underlie these obligations, and then to identify the conditions for the "bio-economic" success of these new instruments, which cannot function effectively without solidly constructed regulations in both dimensions. Beyond that, we must think more generally about the incentives to invest in biodiversity.