232 Air France news COP21 For HOP !, understanding airports’biodiversity means being aware and respectful of our environment, while acting to preserve it for the future. Réservoirs de pollinisateurs, les prairies aéroportuaires abritent une faune et une flore riches. Animals and plants flourish in airport meadows, home to multiple pollinators. À Metz-Nancy- Lorraine, des orchidées Ophrys abeille disséminées dans un champ. À Perpignan, un cochevis huppé en bordure de piste. Ophrys apifera orchids scattered in a field at Metz-Nancy- Lorraine airport. At Perpignan, a crested lark at the edge of the runway. Supporting biodiversity HOP ! is convinced that airport biodiversity can be a vehicle for territorial growth. In the fall of 2013, the airline launched a project to assess the biodiversity of several of its network’s airports, a refection of the importance attached to proximity, responsibility and regional implication. HOP ! Biodiversité is an initiative seeking to evaluate and develop biodiversity, identify good practices and linkup airports with the overallaim of promoting a more natural management of biodiversity-friendly spaces while respecting aviation safety concerns and other standards. In France, Castres-Mazamet, Paris-Orly, Metz-Nancy-Lorraine and Perpignan- Sud airports pioneered the initiative. Onsite visits were organized and a rigorous methodology established for a scientifc assessment of a number of biomarkers, providing a global overview of the biodiversity for each space. Participatory science protocols have allowed for in-depth analysis of the results of theseonsite visits, involving personnel from the various partners (those overseeing risks to wildlife, those in charge of aeronautical areas,upkeep and maintenance of the spaces, air traffc controllers, etc.), supervised by an independent Scientifc Committee madeup of multidisciplinary investigators (National Museum of Natural History, CNRS, conservatories). This initiative, launched by HOP ! and continued by HOP ! Air France, spawned the creation of the association HOP ! Biodiversité on June 18, 2015, at the 51st Paris Air Show. The project submitted by HOP ! for 2016 has the backing of the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, as part of the National Biodiversity Strategy (NBS). Roland Seitre |
