Thomas Charrier - thomas.charrier@ffgolf.org
A new report has been published by the French Museum of Natural History in the September edition of its 'Naturae' review. The report is titled 'Golf: Nature-Incompatible Activity or Ecological Opportunity?' (Roquinarch et al, 2019) and analyses the current situation of the environmental impact of French golf courses.
The report follows the 2016 launch of the French Golf Federation's “National Program of Biodiversity Studies on French golf courses” whose technical and scientific aspects are developed by the French Museum of Natural History.
Golf is a nature-based sport which can offer opportunities for ecological preservation. The role of the EGA is mentioned since it pioneered a study in 1995 to better understand the biodiversity on European golf courses. Some more recent examples are described, such as the Biodiversity label for golf courses that was officially launched in January 2018 and also the Ryder Cup 2018 at Le Golf National. The state of biodiversity prior to the competition was reviewed and now further environmental surveys are being conducted to “measure the resilience of animal and plant communities”.
The full report can be accessed here.