The place and role of economic language and economic appraisal in environmental decision-making: Lessons from the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) in France

Despite academic success, the use of economic appraisal in environmental decision-making and policy appraisal remains largely undocumented. This work studies how economic principles and tools are operationalised and used in the implementation of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) in France. The MSFD is an environmental policy aiming at achieving Good Environmental Status of marine waters. We conducted non-participant observations during consultation meetings aimed at defining the Programme of Measures (PoM), a cornerstone of the implementation of the MSFD. We also conducted interviews with stakeholders and analysed the economic appraisal (the National Impact Assessment, NIA) produced as part of the implementation of the MSFD. Using a bespoke methodology mixing content and thematic analysis, we studied: the use and role of economic language during consultation meetings, the operationalisation of economic appraisal tools, the expectations of participants regarding the use of the NIA, and its actual use. We found that participants rarely used economic language during the initial discussions but used economic language more frequently after the presentation of the results of the NIA, leading to an economisation of the discussions. The operationalisation of economic principles to produce the NIA did not fit the theoretical requirements. Despite participants being sceptical about the method used and the transparency of the process, they expected the NIA to play a decisive role in the decision-making. In practice, the NIA was more used in an informative way during the consultation meetings. Developing participatory approaches to economic appraisal appears to be a relevant way forward.