The looming threat of biodiversity has been laid bare in a new study by global insurance giant Axa.

Axa Climate, the group’s entity dedicated to climate adaptation, has published a major new study on biodiversity in France and its overseas territories. It reveals that only 43% of threatened species, identified using internationally recognised scientific methodologies, are protected by law.

It also highlights significant geographical disparities, with mainland France ranking as the third least well protected territory. Finally, whilst birds and mammals are well protected (95%), this is far less the case for insects (6%), despite their vital ecological role. Against this backdrop, AXA Climate is raising awareness among businesses of the need to strengthen biodiversity risk assessments beyond regulatory compliance, in order to better secure supply chains.

“Biodiversity loss is accelerating and is widely recognised as one of the most significant systemic risks facing humanity,” the study added. “As ecosystems degrade, the services they provide – such as pollination, soil fertility, water regulation and climate stability – are weakened, directly affecting economic and social systems (loss of agricultural yields, shortages of raw materials, fish or forests, etc.). The protection of threatened species has therefore become a central pillar of global biodiversity strategies.”

It added biodiversity protection relies on two complementary mechanisms. The first is scientific assessment, notably through the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) ‘Red List’, which classifies species according to globally standardised criteria for extinction risk, based on biological and demographic data. Species identified as ‘critically endangered’, ‘endangered’ or ‘vulnerable’ are considered threatened. The second mechanism consists of legislative frameworks. In France, species protection is primarily governed by the Environment Code (L. 411-1, 2016) and further specified by national and regional regulations. As a Member State of the European Union, France must also implement European directives and regulations (the ‘Birds’ and ‘Habitats’ Directives), as well as international agreements such as CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

“The first conclusion of the AXA Climate study is clear: in France, less than half (43%) of the species assessed as threatened are protected by law. Protection increases with the risk of extinction, reaching 39% for ‘vulnerable’ species, 43% for ‘endangered’ species and 51% for ‘critically endangered’ species,” Axa added.

This gap reflects a broader structural issue. Scientific knowledge is evolving rapidly, with new species assessments and status revisions regularly reflecting emerging threats. Legal protection, however, operates within a slower political and administrative timetable. In mainland France, for example, the most recent decree protecting reptiles and amphibians dates from 2021, whilst the last decree concerning birds dates back to 2009.

It is also worth noting that certain non-threatened species are nevertheless protected due to the interest they generate within society (butterflies or dragonflies, for example). The AXA Climate study highlights that a significant proportion (68%) of species protected by law are not considered threatened.

To help close this gap, the authors advocate an approach focused on protecting species that play a structuring role in ecosystems—‘keystone’ species (see the example of the beaver at the end of the press release)—as well as the habitats and ecological functions that support them.

“Our study shows that regulatory compliance alone does not guarantee that risks to biodiversity are being managed,” explain Dr Julie Rode, Head of Nature Research, Raphael Marchand, Nature Data Engineer, Remy Poncet, Head of Agri-Food Resilience Innovation, and Geoffroy Dufay, Head of Agricultural Insurance and Investment Development at AXA Climate, authors of the study. “Many sectors, particularly agriculture, depend on ecosystem services supported by species that are often overlooked by regulation. When these services are disrupted, it directly threatens the stability of food systems. This is why it is crucial to address this blind spot and better assess this type of risk to secure supply chains. In this context, particular attention could be paid to ‘keystone’ species. For a company, investing in biodiversity knowledge can become a real strategic advantage.”