French national assembly votes ban on dredging coral reefs

On Thursday night, deputies voted in favor of an amendment to prohibit the dredging of coral reefs. This amendment is a first victory for Coral Guardian, who now advocates for adoption of the text in the Senate. It is a first step and a great victory for the preservation of French biodiversity. On the night of Thursday 17 March, MEPs voted in favor of an amendment aimed at prohibiting the dredging of coral reefs in territories under French sovereignty or jurisdiction. Dredging of coral reefs is a practice that is unknown to the general public but is still being used by industrialists, particularly as embankments in coastal development projects. “At a time when France has just closed COP21, we felt it was necessary to highlight this practice that takes place in our territories and which continues to massively destroy our natural heritage and its fragile biodiversity. Which is the second country to have the most coral reefs, has a major responsibility in protecting coral reefs, “recalls Guillaume Holzer, co-founder of Coral Guardian. Thanks to a petition, Coral Guardian was able to come to the meeting of the parliamentarians and succeeded in tabling an amendment to prohibit this practice. “It is a real pleasure to see that parliamentarians voted for this amendment, which aims to prohibit the dredging of coral reefs. Today, despite repeated emergencies by scientists, the man continues to destroy , Move or adapt biodiversity according to its needs, which shows that we still have a lot of work to change attitudes. ” It will now be up to the Senators to confirm this amendment in the biodiversity bill. For Coral Guardian, and for the 55,000 km of corals in the French coasts, it is a huge victory. But to confirm this ban, the Senate still has to validate the text: nothing is yet played … Our team is already on the war footing to meet with senators and push them to adopt this salutary amendment for corals and the incredible aquatic life they shelter.

En savoir +: https://www.coralguardian.org/en/lassemblee-nationale-vote-linterdiction-dragage-recifs-coralliens/