New mapping initiative to support natural ecosystem area conservation

Protection and extension of wild areas has received a significant boost with the publication of CARTNAT, a high-resolution process to identify and measure levels of naturalness in France.

Although the value of large natural (wild) areas with non-intervention management regimes and minimal human impact is increasingly recognised for addressing twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change, only 10% of those areas so far identified in France currently receive “strong” protection (protection forte). They represent just under 2% of total terrestrial area, echoing a wider situation on the continent.

CARTNAT (CARTographie des espaces français de haute NATuralité) can help improve protection of existing natural areas, and locate potential for restoration and connectivity. Backed by Wild Europe, the initiative offers timely support for policy makers and practitioners, and has potential for replication across Europe.

While operating at national level, CARTNAT adopts three sets of layered criteria at 20m resolution along a ‘continuum of wildness’ and is also applicable at regional and local level:

  • Biophysical integrity: identifying buildings, transport networks, water bodies and vegetation – assigning weights to level of naturalness for the latter
  • Spontaneity of process: the degree of human influence, as measured by indicators such as distance from roads and building density, with assumption of negative correlation with spontaneity
  • Spatial-temporal connectivity: for determining the collective degree and impact of naturalness particularly across landscape scale areas

Applications of CARTNAT

Developed since early 2017, and led by Jonathan Carruthers (Helsinki University) along with Adrien Guetté (Tours University) and Steve Carver (Leeds University), CARTNAT can provide support in a variety of contexts.

Linked to the multi-criteria definition of wilderness and wild areas developed by Wild Europe under commission from the 2019 European Parliament resolution on wilderness, it offers a standardised fast-track tool for identifying potential areas of high naturalness, particularly those not currently receiving adequate protection, and is thus of value to a range of official and NGO conservation endeavours, including the French National Strategy on Protected Areas to 2030 (SNAP).

CARTNAT can in turn help deliver the EU Biodiversity Strategy target of 10% terrestrial area to be strictly protected, relating to the Montreal-Kunming targets in the Global Biodiversity Framework. This could also involve implementation of the Nature Restoration Regulation, and the Forest Monitoring Law once the latter is determined.

In addition to developing the base definition for natural (wilderness and wild) areas, Wild Europe has provided technical input and funding support for CARTNAT, along with IUCN France and WWF France.