Ministère de l'Ecologie, de l'Energie, du Développement Durable et de l'Amenagement du Territoire - MEEDDAT,(formerly MEDAD) was established in 1971, as the Ministry for the Protection of Nature and the Environment. http://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=311.

MEDD is also a founder-member of IFB. Over the last twenty years, the responsibilities of the Ministry have expanded to reflect increasing national and international awareness of environmental issues. The MEDD’s mission is to monitor the quality of the environment, protect nature, prevent, reduce or totally eliminate pollution and other nuisances, and enhance the quality of life. MEDD is in charge of the implementation of the 2010 Target. It undertakes two different types of actions.

The first are aimed at preserving and protecting spaces and species. It includes prevention of pollution and major risks, nature conservation, protection of landscapes and sites and management of water resources.

The second are aimed at developing research, improving knowledge of the state of the environment and taking account of our concerns at both the European and international levels.

Both these types of activities also contribute to education, training, raising awareness and informing all the actors, whether public or private, who contribute to environment protection.

MEDD’s Department of Economic Studies and Environmental Evaluation (D4E) and its Research and futures studies service support policy oriented research on environment, including policy oriented research on nature and biodiversity. Basic research is also conducted by the Public Research Organisms which coordinates their priorities and programmes within the Institut français de la Biodiversité (IFB).

Among the 20 research programmes funded by the MEDD, many are related to nature and biodiversity : programme on wetlands, coastal waters, agriculture and biodiversity, tropical ecosystems, protected areas, biodiversity and forest management etc. The Orientation Committees (steering committees) associated to these programmes bring together stakeholders and decision makers concerned with nature and biodiversity policies, and ensure that the calls for proposals and the research projects selected are useful for these public policies. IFB is represented in these steering committees.

The average total annual budget of the applied research projects on nature and biodiversity funded by MEDD under these programmes is circa 3 millions of euros per year (free of salaries).