French Secretary of State in charge of biodiversity Bérangère Abba and Secretary General Alenka Smerkolj met at the Col du Lautaret, France, on 17 September to discuss the continued involvement of France in the Alpine Convention.
Nine months after France passed the Alpine Convention Presidency baton to Switzerland at the XVI Alpine Conference chaired by Ms Abba, and just days after the conclusion of the IUCN Congress in Marseille, France is particularly keen to further the protection of mountain biodiversity in the Alps and beyond.
Indeed France, as incoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), will represent the EU countries in the final part of the UN Biodiversity Conference in spring 2022. France is also strongly involved in transport issues in the Alps as chair of the dedicated working group.
Overall, Abba and Smerkolj agreed that biodiversity and climate are two interconnected and equally important issues in which the Alps have a specific role to play.