Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

Monaco’s vegetation is dominated by thermophilic plants such as the olive, carob, and mastic tree, and the Aleppo pine [ ] 158 Protecting the principality’s trees with the Monaco Tree Code In the context of the protection of land biodiversity, the Monegasque government has put in place a policy that aims to preserve all types of trees and certain plants, such as palm trees, on its territory. In 2011, this work resulted in the stipulation of measures to protect trees and certain plants. The Tree Code consists of two notebooks, and presents protective measures as well as the conditions for planting and renewing trees in Monaco. The first notebook “The tree in the city,” deals with the place of trees in a city such as Monaco — one that is very small and particularly congest- ed. It also describes the conditions for registering and valuing arboreal heritage as well as integrating this data in a Geographic Information System (GIS). The Government has thus identi- fied all of the trees in a specific inven- tory. This data is integrated into the GIS system, which makes it possible to inform on the following criteria: • The diversity — the plants are classified by family, genus and spe- cies, in order to obtain an accurate picture of the biological diversity present in Monaco • The age, planting date and origin are recorded for each individual • The distribution of trees on the national territory • The health status to give an idea of the general state of the arboreal heritage • The various managers. Within this arboreal heritage, certain plants are designated heritage trees because of their exceptional biologi- cal and botanical characteristics. In the second notebook, “The ur- ban landscape,” measures of preser- vation and renewal of Monaco’s green heritage are described. Among the key measures, tree felling has been forbidden unless authorized by the Department of Urban Amenities. Other preservation measures include: • The measures to be taken to protect trees and plants in construction zones, including protection of trunks, roots and crowns • The criteria for evaluating the monetary value of a tree in case of compensation • The maintenance measures pro- moting biological control, banning the use of chemical materials and favouring trimming methods adapted to the city. Programmes of renewal are also established based on the information from the plant inventories. T he Principality of Monaco is a small landlocked state located in the French territory, along the Côte d’Azur. It has a surface of 202ha, including 53ha which have been built on the sea. This makes it the second smallest independent state in the world. With a population density of 17,889 inhabitants per km², Monaco is also the most densely populated country in the world. The national territory is almost entirely urbanized and there are no forests or agricultural land. However, green spaces occupy 20 per cent of the national territory, and the country features remarkable limestone cliffs and coastal and marine ecosystems. Monaco Anthony Delanoix Monaco