Ecological expertise
Surveys, regulatory files, a traceable working method — for authorisations that hold

Ecological expertise is no longer a formality. Since 2016 and the strengthening of the Avoid-Reduce-Compensate (ERC) sequence, every real-estate, urban-development, infrastructure or energy project must document its impacts on fauna, flora and habitats in France. ARKENOR structures this process from field surveys to court-admissible regulatory files. Twelve methodological deliverables: surveys, VNEI, CNPN files, Natura 2000, French Water Act, forest clearance, wetlands, ERC, compensation, on-site ecologist, green-and-blue network.

Frame a project See ARKENOR offer (Aix-en-Provence)

The 2026 landscape

Biodiversity is now a first-line risk factor.

What used to be a last-minute formality is now a major risk on project schedule, budget and feasibility. Recent French jurisprudence confirms this:

  • protected-species derogations under article L.411-2 refused or annulled by the administrative judge, for lack of a demonstrated overriding public interest;
  • forest-clearance authorisations challenged by environmental associations, with site suspension;
  • CNPN files returned for insufficient surveys (periods, taxa, sampling effort);
  • photovoltaic, wind or infrastructure projects blocked at the opinion stage of the environmental authority;
  • compensation measures deemed non-equivalent, forcing a reopening of the file and renegotiation of compensation land.

Ecological expertise is no longer an optional deliverable but a legal-securing prerequisite for the project. It conditions both the building permit and the defence in case of legal challenge.

French regulatory framework

The seven articles that structure the process.

  • Articles L.110-1 and L.110-2 of the French Environmental Code — Fundamental principles: precaution, prevention, participation, responsibility. Baseline applicable to any project, including those not subject to an environmental impact assessment.
  • Article L.122-1 of the French Environmental Code — Pivotal article governing both the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and the case-by-case examination. It defines the procedure, content, surveys over the full biological cycle, the deliverable as VNEI (R.122-5).
  • Article R.122-2 of the French Environmental Code — Threshold annex. Depending on project type and scope, determines whether the project requires systematic EIA, case-by-case examination, or no procedure.
  • Articles L.411-1 and L.411-2 of the French Environmental Code — Strict prohibition on the destruction of protected species and their habitats. Any derogation requires a CNPN file demonstrating overriding public interest, absence of alternative, and maintenance of favourable conservation status.
  • Article L.414-4 of the French Environmental Code — Natura 2000 incidence assessment. Mandatory for any project inside or near a Natura 2000 network site.
  • Article L.214-3 of the French Environmental Code — French Water Act file (declaration or authorisation, IOTA regime) for projects affecting aquatic environments, wetlands, waterways.
  • Article L.341-3 of the French Forest Code — Forest-clearance authorisation, required when the project removes the forested status of a parcel above the départemental thresholds.
  • Article L.163-1 of the French Environmental Code — Avoid-Reduce-Compensate (ERC) sequence. National method invoked by each article above: ecological equivalence, additionality, durability of compensations.

Law 2016-1087 on the recovery of biodiversity: reinforces principles L.110-1 and L.163-1, introduces Real Environmental Obligations (ORE), and establishes ecological equivalence as an opposable standard.

Our posture

Produce files that hold.

An ecological file that holds is not a file that ticks boxes. It is a file whose surveys are conducted in the right seasons by the right taxonomists, whose method is traceable and documented, whose compensation measures are genuinely equivalent, additional and durable, and whose legal argumentation anticipates the questions of the environmental authority.

ARKENOR structures this process from the upstream phase (pre-diagnostic, framing) to the defence during the review phase (responses to additional requests from DREAL, MRAe, CNPN), and on-site monitoring (field ecologist, marking, supervision of interventions). Our objective: secure the authorisation and avoid file reopening.

Ecological-expertise benchmarks

Key facts to remember.

7 articles

Core legal framework

French Environmental Code + Forest Code

4 seasons

Minimum survey cycle

Professional practice — UPGE

30 years

Minimum compensation monitoring

Law 2016-1087 — durability

L.411-2

Protected-species derogation

Overriding public interest + alternative + conservation

'Is ecological expertise compatible with CSRD ESRS E4 reporting?', 'a' => 'Yes, and it is a leverage. Data collected for the regulatory file (impacted species, surfaces, ERC measures, monitoring) directly feeds CSRD ESRS E4 indicators (materiality, impacts, dependencies, opportunities). NORMAXIS systematically aligns both processes for large companies and REITs subject to the CSRD, in particular via the proprietary BPS tool (Biodiversity Performance Score) operated by IRICE.'], ]" />

To go further

Linked group pages.

Arkenor

ARKENOR offer — Aix-en-Provence

The NORMAXIS subsidiary executing ecological surveys on real-estate and urban-development operations.

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Irice

BPS — Biodiversity Performance Score

Proprietary biodiversity diagnostic tool with 70+ criteria, aligned with CSRD ESRS E4, SFDR, EU Taxonomy.

Découvrir

NORMAXIS

CSRD — sustainability reporting

Ecological data feed ESRS E4 biodiversity reporting. Synergy with the regulatory file.

Découvrir

Framing a project — ecological pre-diagnostic?

Real estate, urban development, infrastructure, energy: our ecologist team qualifies the site issues upstream and builds the survey schedule tailored to the biological cycle.

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