ARBRE Network - Better integration of biodiversity issues on farms: the value of multi-stakeholder support

Abstract

In Maine-et-Loire, a partnership involving an agricultural extension service, a hunting organisation, an environmental protection organisation and an institute for higher education in agriculture has been working for more than ten years to better reconcile agricultural production and the preservation of biodiversity. Unique in France, the ARBRE network (Farming with respect for biodiversity and the environment) brings together volunteer farmers to integrate biodiversity into the functioning of their farms through the conservation, development and management of habitats. Through several personal accounts from involved stakeholders, this article presents the keys to success of this network, which today federates one hundred and sixty-five farms spread throughout the county.