Behind the scene of ecological expertise: the place of monitoring for biodiversity workers in the French Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas

At a time when ecological expertise is important to implement efficient biodiversity conservation policies, we study the perception of biodiversity professionals on the place of ecological data in the functioning of marine protected areas and in their everyday work. Having ecological expertise allows marine protected areas and their agents to establish themselves locally as essential institutions for biodiversity management. However, the chronic under-funding of biodiversity policies leads to a double risk because the stated objectives in terms of ecological expertise become difficult to achieve. The lack of human resources, which is the main reason for these insufficient budgets, poses a risk to the quality and quantity of the ecological expertise produced, as well as to the quality of the agents’ working conditions. This work is the first qualitative survey of French marine biodiversity professionals and echoes the work carried out in terrestrial environments. We found that the collection of ecological data in protected areas encompasses multiple dimensions and fulfills several scientific, economic, psychological and political functions that may be affected by current trajectories of biodiversity policies in France.