Biodiversity consideration in the French planning documents

Abstract The awareness on environmental issues and the necessity of biodiversity conservation by social and political actors will lead to new policies and territorial planning tools such as the Territorial Coherence Scheme (SCoT). The SCoT is the central French intercommunity urban planning instrument that combines the management of several sectorial policies and multi-scale coordination with the objectives of creating more sustainable cities. Therefore, the SCoTs are expected: (a) to improve urban management efficacy through the institution of territories better adapted to challenges, (b) to improve the dialogue between technical-political actors and civil society and, finally, (c) to act for the cities sustainability. Our goal is to know how biodiversity is taken into account by strategies and guidelines established by two SCOTs – the one of the Agglomeration of Montpellier and the other from the Urban Region of Grenoble. From an empirical analysis, we seek to identify the established strategies and the limits of this planning tool regarding the strategies and their application and the adequacy of the project and action perimeters.