Greenline parks in France: Les Parcs Naturels Régionaux

Abstract

Greenline parks are typically regions of mixed agricultural,grazing, and forest lands of sufficient scenic and/orecological value to merit conservation and preservationunder a land-use management plan for land largely in privateownership. The Parcs Naturels Regionaux (PNR) are anational system of greenline parks created in France in1967 to protect agriculture and other values in less favoredareas (typically hills or low mountains) suffering depopulationand economic deprivation aggravated by the Common AgriculturalPolicy created under the European Economic Community in 1956with a major objective of self-sufficiency in food production.Two developments contributing to creation of the PNR were themechanization of French agriculture and increasing environmentalawareness in France. The PNR emphasizes rural agriculturaldevelopment, conservation, and recreation, but ecologicalpreservation has increased in importance, as reflected inrecent policy changes. The national parks of the United Kingdomare a system of greenline parks slightly older than the PNR.Recent research has allowed comparative studies of the twosystems, leading to the conclusion that the British NationalParks have suffered from heavy-handed centralized planningthat has alienated local farmers and communities, while thePNR, under more local control, has neglected some of itsconservation and preservation responsibilities. However,recent policy reform promises to improve the PNR throughmore rigorous enforcement of conservation and ecologicalgoals by the central government.