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The French Strategy for the Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources is now available online on the website of the National Commission for Forest Genetic Resources (CRGF). The commission advises the ministry responsible for forests on national priorities for conserving forest genetic resources (FGR), proposes action plans and coordinates their implementation, while also contributing to knowledge dissemination and public awareness. The commission brings together multiple actors, including ministries, the scientific community, R&D departments from the public and private forestry sectors, conservation organisations, and nature protection NGOs.

France launched a national policy on FGR conservation in 1991. The conservation of FGR and forest biodiversity is recognised as being of general public interest in the Forestry Code. FGR conservation also forms the basis of several specific initiatives for forest adaptation in the context of climate change. The strategy sets out the overall framework and action plan for a national programme dedicated to FGR conservation under conditions of global change and uncertainty. It is a central component of France’s national policy on sustainable forest management, developed in synergy with wider efforts on nature protection and the sustainable use of genetic resources.

The French strategy is fully aligned with the EUFORGEN Strategy for Europe (2021), developed within the broader FOREST EUROPE framework. It is consistent with France’s commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the FAO Global Plan of Action, and it also links to IUCN Protected Area Category IV sites.

The strategy first aims to conserve the genetic diversity of a limited number of priority species selected for their economic or ecological importance, or due to threats to their diversity at the national level. For these species, the objective is to conserve genetic resources representative of their diversity across France. For other species, conservation actions target specific populations of particular interest without seeking to represent the full diversity of the species nationwide.

Two main conservation approaches are implemented. Priority is given to dynamic conservation in forests under natural regeneration:

• In situ conservation, when populations evolve in their native sites.

• Dynamic ex situ conservation, when synthetic populations are established in new environments and left to evolve and regenerate naturally.

In situ conservation may be compatible with other forms of nature conservation; several gene conservation units are managed within nature reserves, particularly for riparian species. However, dynamic conservation is not always feasible. For some species, it is complemented or replaced by static ex situ conservation in collections.

Finally, the French strategy relies on four key conservation instruments:
• A national network of in situ gene conservation units (GCUs)
• Populations of genetic interest conserved in situ
• Dynamic ex situ populations
• National ex situ collections