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Good practice Imported

CDC Biodiversité — Cossure Nature Compensation Site (France)

France · Saint-Martin-de-Crau · See the France profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 47% 47/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Europe's first supply-side biodiversity compensation site: CDC Biodiversité restored 357 ha of orchards to rare Crau steppic grassland (€12.5M; 2008–10). Great bustard and ocellated lizard returned; all credits sold. Scaled nationally under France's Green Industry Act (2023).

357 hectares
Restored land area
€12.5 million
Total restoration investment (2008-2010)
~200,000
Fruit trees removed
~100,000
Poplars removed
1,000+ km
Irrigation/electrical infrastructure removed
30-35 years
Compensation-unit monitoring period
95%
Little bustard national decline (context figure) (1970-2000)
CDC Biodiversité — Cossure Nature Compensation Site (France)

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
CDC Biodiversité (Caisse des Dépôts group)
Period
2008–present
Region (NUTS)
FRL0
Keywords
biodiversity credits, steppe grassland, voluntary offset, species recovery, nature compensation

Context

In 2008, CDC Biodiversité — a subsidiary of France's state-owned Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations — acquired 357 hectares of former orchard land at Cossure in Saint-Martin-de-Crau (Bouches-du-Rhône, southern France) and began restoring it to Crau steppic grassland, one of Europe's rarest semi-arid ecosystems.

Activities

The two-year restoration removed approximately 200,000 fruit trees, 100,000 poplars, and over 1,000 km of irrigation and electrical infrastructure, at a total investment of €12.5 million. Cossure became Europe's first supply-side nature compensation site, enabling developers who require ecological offset under French environmental law to purchase compensation units (UCs), each representing one hectare of restored and permanently managed steppic habitat with 30–35 years of monitoring.

Results

Scientific monitoring confirmed that the restored vegetation is favourable to steppe-specialist species, with documented return of the ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus), great bustard (Otis tarda), stone-curlew, and multiple lark species. The little bustard (Otis tetrax) had declined 95% in France between 1970 and 2000; its presence at Cossure post-restoration is significant. Plant diversity remains lower than the natural cossoul ecosystem, indicating gradual long-term recovery. All available compensation units have been sold or reserved.

Conclusions

Under France's Green Industry Act (Loi Industrie Verte, 2023), the model was formalised nationally through Sites Naturels de Compensation, de Restauration et de Renaturation (SNCRR), operational from November 2024. In April 2025, the European Investment Bank and CDC Biodiversité signed a partnership to study voluntary biodiversity credit placement beyond legal compliance requirements.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — €12.5 million total restoration investment (2008-2010); compensation units sold to developers requiring ecological offset, with 30-35 years of funded monitoring per unit.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Two-year restoration (2008-2010); 30-35 years of ongoing monitoring per compensation unit; national SNCRR framework operational from November 2024.
Staffing & skills
CDC Biodiversité site-management team, independent ecological monitors

Conditions for success

  • Formal compensation-unit (UC) sales mechanism under French environmental law
  • Independent scientific monitoring sustained over 15+ years
  • National scaling via SNCRR framework (2023/2024) and EIB partnership (2025)

Common failure modes

  • Plant diversity remains lower than the natural cossoul ecosystem, indicating recovery is still gradual/incomplete

Where it fits

Governance type
state-linked biodiversity-offset operator under national compensation law
Scale
357-hectare single site, now a national framework (SNCRR)
Income level
high-income (France/EU)

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes Own resources / municipal budget

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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