four institutions have been brought together under the afb the agency for protected marine areas the national office for water and aquatic environments the national parks of france and the technical workshop for natural areas a joint research unit will be set up with the national natural history museum and the national centre for scientific research such information is critical for establishing baselines quantifying benefits taigeting biodiversity expenditures to where they are most needed and monitoring and evaluating change over time bass the lack of sufficient data is a challenge that has often been raised in the context of mainstreaming