The French Biodiversity Agency (OFB)

A public State institution to protect and restore biodiversity

The French Biodiversity Agency (OFB) was created by law on 1st January 2020 (Law no. 2019-773 of 24 July 2019) to protect and restore biodiversity in Metropolitan France and its Overseas Territories. It is a public institution under the authority of the ministries responsible for Ecology and Agriculture & Food.

5 complementary roles

• Sharing knowledge, research and expertise about species, habitats and their uses
• Environmental and wildlife health policing
• Supporting the implementation of public policies
• Assisting and supporting protected natural area managers
• Supporting stakeholders and mobilising civil society

Preserving biodiversity also means preserving ourselves

Biodiversity is the planet’s living tissue, the sum of interactions between species and their habitats. Essential to human societies, it supplies the oxygen in the air, food, water, energy, soil fertility, and numerous materials and medicines. However, this biodiversity is in jeopardy. Species extinctions are accelerating due to pressure from human activities: destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats, pollution, over-exploitation of natural resources, introduction of invasive alien species, as well as climate change.