For more than three decades, hunting federations in France have been actively engaged in habitat restoration across rural areas. The national programme Sensibilis’haie, led by the National Federation of Hunters (FNC) and co-funded by the French Biodiversity Agency (OFB) through the eco-contribution fund, highlights these long-standing efforts. This initiative focuses on community-based actions that integrate environmental education with the restoration of ecological corridors, ensuring that hunters remain key drivers of biodiversity conservation.
The programme encourages rural stakeholders and local authorities to participate in the plantation of hedgerows, which provide essential ecosystem services such as soil protection and carbon storage. Participating communes receive kitsof locally adapted species to establish new habitats. These community-led projects involve a wide range of participants, including schools and volunteer hunters, helping generational knowledge exchange and awareness-raising regarding the importance of landscape connectivity.
The 2024–2025 season demonstrated the growing impact of these restoration initiatives, with 651 municipalities and 792 individual projects established nationwide.
This resulted in the planting of 80.000 trees, creating approximately 60 kilometres of new ecological corridors. Significantly, the programme involved over 17.000 participants, of which 15.000 were schoolchildren, reflecting a strong focus on environmental education. These actions demonstrate how the active participation of the hunting community contributes to broader nature conservation goals and the objectives of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
