Leading bodies attend Golf and Biodiversity seminar in France for GC2030
The R&A
10 May 24
3 mins
The R&A co-hosted a Golf and Biodiversity Seminar for national federations in France earlier this month, as part of the Golf Course 20230 (GC2030) programme.
Working with the French Golf Federation (ffgolf), the seminar was held from 16-17 April and was centred around the GC2030-supported project ‘Studies into Golf and Biodiversity’ delivered by ffgolf.The event saw a gathering of leading bodies in golf featuring 35 attendees, representing national federations from Europe and Africa, as well as professional industry bodies for greenkeeping (FEGGA), club management (CMAE), and golf course design (EIGCA).
Sustainable management
It was hosted by ffgolf over two days at two unique venues for presentations and field visits – Le Golf National (host of the 2024 Olympics and the 2018 Ryder Cup) and Golf De Saint-Cloud. Both venues prioritise sustainable management of their golf courses to benefit biodiversity and nature within touching distance of Paris.Day one of the seminar was dedicated to an exchange of ideas and current work in golf to understand and support golf and biodiversity – exploring the successful local, regional and national projects from across the continent.Day two provided an opportunity for industry bodies to look at the current and future priorities for golf and biodiversity. This involved exploring opportunities for collaborative working across borders; ways to promote management to benefit nature on golf courses; and communication of the important role of nature and biodiversity in golf.
Extraordinary opportunity
GC2030 is The R&A’s way of helping golf to manage the impact of climate change, consider the use of resources and prepare for the effect future regulations could have on course conditioning.Daniel Lightfoot, Director – Sustainable Golf at The R&A, said, “The event was an extraordinary opportunity to bring together some of the leading bodies in golf prioritising biodiversity and nature.“We are grateful to our hosts, ffgolf, for providing such wonderful venues to share and discuss this important topic and to all the national federations and industry bodies who attended and shared their efforts and opportunities to support golf and biodiversity. “The R&A is passionate about promoting the important role we have in supporting nature and biodiversity on golf courses, and identifying the great work already being done to benefit the sport and wider communities.”
Global effort
Gérard Rougier, Director Environment & Territories at ffgolf, said, “The French Golf Federation was delighted to organise this event with The R&A and with the support of the European Commission. “With the programme and certification ‘Golf for Biodiversity’, the ffgolf is pleased to participate in the global effort to protect and preserve biodiversity within the golf sector. This event was a great opportunity to discuss and share ideas with the other federations, with the aim of improving knowledge and preservation of biodiversity in Europe and more globally. “The Federation remains determined to prove the role of golf in protecting biodiversity and continue working to deepen exchanges with other federations.”View more information on GC2030: https://www.randa.org/en/what-is-gc2030
