Zone naturelle d'intérêt écologique, faunistique et floristique

The presence of at least one population of critical species (fr:espèce déterminante in French) defines a ZNIEFF.

Up to 9 April 2013, ZNIEFFs were upgraded and validated for the following territories: Limousin, Normandy (Upper and Lower), Champagne-Ardenne, Picardie, Pays de la Loire, Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Rhône-Alpes, Center, Corsica, Languedoc-Roussillon, Ile-de-France (excluding Seine-et-Marne), Auvergne, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Lot-et-Garonne, Guyana and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

[5] This inventory is, in addition to an instrument of knowledge, one of the major elements of French conservation policy and taking into account the environment and spatial planning (green belt, ecological network (including European green infrastructure), protective measures, environmental mitigation, etc.)

and in some projects creating protected areas (including nature reserves) or in the development of departmental career paths for the operation of conglomerates.

French jurisprudence confirms that it is not creating an inventory for measuring regulatory protection and does not prohibit planning.