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The proposed biodiversity profile is a tool for assessing, comparing and measuring changes
in biodiversity. Biodiversity erosion is the second greatest environmental crisis after
climate change. Biodiversity encompasses many levels: species, of course, but also genes
and ecosystems and the variety of interactions between species and ecosystems. It is a new
way of looking at the living world. Environmental degradation leads to loss of biodiversity,
an indicator of environmental health. It answers two questions: What is the biodiversity value
of a given site? and How can it be developed? A biodiversity profile makes it possible to
convey the value of a project simply and rapidly, gauge biodiversity potential using precise
data, develop a reference database, include a site in a rigorous environmental action
and development process and, lastly, create unique spaces rich in diversity.Every outdoor
space can be "profiled," be it an urban, peri-urban or rural area or a landscape or forest or
agricultural area, and at the level of a park, an infrastructure or a territory. Taking the
example of the "Petite Ceinture"(Small Belt), the railway line that once circled Paris,
the representative of the Association de la petite ceinture must figure
out how to manage biodiversity while preserving the abandoned railway infrastructure? He answers
a questionnaire on the site's characteristics online. Data from the completed questionnaire
are rapidly converted via a reference system to generate a radar diagram. This is the current
profile. This information creates expertise on possible changes. Experts meet in the field
and deliver their report a few weeks later. This report constitutes the target profile,
which summarizes five environmental parameters conducive to biodiversity:
restore water-air-biomass exchanges; reduce chemical inputs and drinking water use; increase
floral diversity; re-create biotopes, and; defragment
habitats. Each parameter is graded on a scale of 0 to 9, where 9 = very conducive, 6 = conducive,
3 = not very conducive, and 0 = not conducive at all. Each profile generates a new reference
framework for emulation. Profiles in the same category can be compared
and classed in a hierarchical order. Comparing and learning from profiles in different categories.
The tool also enables measurement of changes in a site and its parameters over time. How
are biodiversity profiles currently positioned? Biodiversity profiles are the interface between
studies and project management, whether it be impact studies, atlases, inventories
or surveys, or certifications.