“Article 1: The protection of natural spaces and landscapes, the preservation of animal and plant spaces, the maintenance of the biological balances in which they participate and the protection of natural resources against all causes of degradation which threaten them are of general interest. »
1976: Jacques Chirac is Prime Minister and article 1 of the law of July 10, 1976 elevates the preservation of nature to the rank of general interest. 2005: Jacques Chirac is President of the Republic and, although little known for his environmentalist commitment, he obtains that the preservation of the environment is included among the “fundamental interests of the Nation” in an “Environmental Charter” backed by the Constitution.
Legal revolution
The law of July 10, 1976 therefore contributed to the birth and emergence of modern environmental law which, gradually, permeates the other branches of our law. This law also provided us with essential tools which are still useful: obligation to compose an impact study prior to works and developments having an impact on the environment, prohibition of undermining the state of conservation of protected animal and plant species, regulation of their possession or marketing, creation of the legal status of nature reserves, strengthening of environmental policing, etc.
The law of July 10, 1976 will also initiate a legal revolution for animals which are recognized as “sentient beings” which must not be subject to “mistreatment”. Finally, this law will create an approval procedure for nature and environmental protection associations to whom environmental law in general and this law in particular owe so much. Their role is recognized. They are called to participate in public choices in this area and their legal actions are supported.
This law is also important for the historical context it reflects. His vote comes as ecology emerges in the economic, intellectual and political field. We are after the first World Earth Summit in Stockholm (1971), the publication of the Club of Rome report on the limits to growth (1971) and even the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (Cites – 1973).
Duty of enthusiasm
His vote also owes a lot to the commitment of the associative movement, to the creation (1968) of the French Federation of Nature Protection Societies (FFSPN, now France Nature Environnement), and to the creation of the Ministry of the Environment (1971).
Fifty years later, where are we? Is the preservation of nature and the environment always in the general interest? If we look at the progress we have made, we are reassured. There are more and more students and lawyers in environmental law, environmental information is abundant, science is progressing as evidenced by the work of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the IPBES (intergovernmental scientific and political platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services) or the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), solutions exist to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions or better manage our waste, global production of renewable energy is taking off.
If we look at the road that remains to be covered… We have a duty to be enthusiastic. The consumption of fossil fuels remains unsustainable, the consumption of pesticides is not weakening and 65 billion animals are killed each year around the world to end up on our plates or our trash cans.
Amazing modernity
Did the law of July 10, 1976 and those that followed it fail? No. We now have a complete toolbox. All that remains is to use it. Environmental law today needs less new laws or new speeches than means so that men and women in the public or private sector can exercise this “duty of each person to ensure the protection of the natural heritage in which they live”.
This sentence contained in article 1 of July 10, 1976 is astonishingly modern. It reminds us of the obvious: humans live in nature. And one objective: that the Earth remains habitable. If this duty is not respected, the Earth will recover. Not us.
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