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Minister Jean-Louis Borloo Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9G U

Ministère de l'écologie, de l’énergie, du développement Telephone 020-3353 2000


durable et de la mer guardian.co.uk
Grande Arche, Tour Pascal A et B
92055 La Défense CEDEX Paris
France

October 5, 2010

Dear Minister of Environment,

I am writing on behalf of the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom and our readers
worldwide to ask you to consider a proposal for protecting France’s biodiversity.

The action has been proposed by our online readers and developed by professional scientists. It
is based by scientific evidence.

We believe it will both protect an important species and habitat and send a clear signal to the
negotiations at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP10 in Nagoya later this month
that the decisive, concrete actions can and must be taken to halt the alarming decline in global
biodiversity.

Our campaign, Biodiversity 100, has identified 26 achievable actions in a number of countries
and has the support of the international scientific community. We are sharing our proposals with
journalists around the world, who will be able to measure the success of their national and local
governments in implementing the actions we have put forward. For more details of the
campaign please go to guardian.co.uk/biodiversity100.

The specific proposal we request that you consider implementing a reintroduction programme
to double the Pyrenean Brown Bear population within the next five years (more details below).

We kindly request you to react publicly to our recommendation, both through national media
and through your statements to the CBD COP10 plenary. We also urge you to consider
including our proposed action when you revise your National Biodiversity Strategy and Action
Plan after COP10.

As a major international media outlet with a global audience, the Guardian takes seriously its
responsibility to report on the planet’s biodiversity crisis. We would be very keen to hear back
from you about your country’s efforts to protect the natural environment and, especially, to hear
of your reaction to our proposal.
Yours Sincerely,

Alan Rusbridger
Editor-in-Chief
The Guardian
CC: M. Pierre Sigaud, Special Adviser, Department of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable
Development & the Sea
Mr. François Wakenhut, Head of Unit – Biodiversity, Directorate-General Environment,
European Commission
Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive secretary, CBD

The Pyrenean Brown Bear


Action: Set up a reintroduction programme to double the Pyrenean Brown Bear population
within the next five years

Description: In July this year, the French secretary of state for ecology, Chantal Jouanno,
announced that France would halt investment into restoration efforts for the Pyrenean Brown
Bear (Ursus arctos), which currently numbers fewer than 20 individuals. In the past, efforts
included relocating bears from Slovenia. But farmers have objected because the bears do
sometime take sheep. However, the animals have only a marginal impact on sheep farming in
comparison to other environmental factors, taking only a few hundred from populations of
hundreds of thousands each year. European agreements oblige France to sustain the bear
population and research has shown that such a low bear population cannot be sustained, but
the French government has been unwilling to risk alienating farmers. A small but vocal group of
farmers and sheep breeders vehemently opposes restoration of the brown bear. The French
government subsidises the construction of electric fences and training of guard dogs to protect
flocks, but many farmers resist these efforts as accepting them means accepting the bear
presence.

Evidence: Extensive scientific research by Guillaume Chapron and his team in 2003 and
2009 shows that a population of around 20 bears is not viable without intervention.

For the full version of this text with links to scientific papers, please visit the Biodiversity 100 site:
guardian.co.uk/biodiversity100

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