Tools, methods, and regulations already exist to evaluate and manage the biodiversity impacts of permanent venues.
Paris 2024, however, created an innovative approach for managing the impact of temporary infrastructure. The approach involves defining and using an assessment tool to score each venue on five specific points:
- Biodiversity and ecosystem
- Scenery and heritage
- Environmental health
- Carbon footprint
- Circular economy
The method was developed in line with the ambitions and methods of the IOC and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It follows four steps:
- Defining categories for analysis based on the content of environmental impact assessments, the various applicable regulations and local specifics;
- Evaluating the identified environmental issues (presence of species, landscape, air and water quality, nearby public transport, etc.) using precise mapping tools consistently across all sectors;
- Evaluating the venue’s potential effects on the environmental issues listed above;
- Mapping out an action plan to mitigate those potential effects.
This iterative assessment tool measures the environmental effects of Games infrastructures and events over time, from the planning phase up until the end of 2024. It has supported decision-making to take action aimed at recognising, protecting and regenerating biodiversity, including reducing the size of the shooting range on account of the presence of rare toads in the area and routing equestrian event trails to avoid altering oak tree lines, use less land, and avoid disrupting water birds.
Source: Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games
