General National Id France_02 Site name Sèvre Niortaise et Marais Poitevin Summary Located in the regions Pays de la Loire and Poitou-Charentes, the Marais Poitevin is the 2nd largest wetland in France. About 2000 ha of floodmeadows are owned by local municipalities and commonly managed by local farmers. Such meadows play an important role for water regulation: they contribute to the storage of water during flood events, to groundwater recharge, to the removal of pollutants, etc. In the 1980s, in reaction to their destruction, management agreements between municipalities, the Parc Interrégional du Marais Poitevin and environmental NGOs as well as agreements between municipalities and farmers were signed. They reinforce the traditional agri-environmental management (pluri-specific pastures: cattle, horses, gooses) in order to preserve the numerous services provided by the Marais Poitevin. Light or indepth? In-depth The in-depth description of the case study cs-fr-2-final_version.pdf NUTS Code Pays de la Loire RBD code FRG Transboundary 0 Data provider Guillaume Michel, ACTeon Source(s) Les Marais Communaux du Marais Poitevin Recueil d'expériences: les communaux du Marais Poitevin NWRM(s) implemented in the case study Meadows and pastures Floodplain restoration and management Longitude -0.8 Latitude 46.3 Site information Climate zone cool temperate moist Mean rainfall 867 Mean rainfall unit mm/year Type Case Study Info Vegetation class Mostly naturally flooded meadows. Design & implementations Application scale Field Scale Performance timescale Immediate Area (ha) 2000 Area subject to Land use change or Management/Practice change (ha) 2000 Size 2000 Size unit ha Public consultation 1 Contractural arrangements 1 Design contractual arrangement Arrangement type Responsibility Role Comments Name Since 1989, 18 municipalities have undertaken to maintain common meadows and to respect environmental clauses. In compensation, municipalities receive financial and technical supports. Aagreement for an agri-environmental management Since 1993, common floodmeadows are subject to agri-environmental measures (2nd pillar of the CAP) agri-environment commitment Design consultation activity Activity stage Key issues Name Comments Awareness actions Awareness actions (for example in the framework of the Life programme) for inhabitants and users. Design land use change Land use change type Design authority Authority type Role Responsibility Name Comments Other Parc Interrégional du Marais Poitevin The Parc Interrégional du Marais Poitevin (PIMP) is a public organisation bringing together local authorities (85 municipalities, 3 Départements and 2 Régions) of Marais Poitevin. All these authorities are co-signatory of a Territory Agreement which defines strategic guidelines and missions of the Parc. Current areas of activities of the Parc are: natural ressources (agri-environment, protection of biodiversity and ecosystems...), economy and land planing (tourism, architecture, urbanism...), culture and heritage, education. The PIMP is involved intechnical supports (management of breading and health issues on the common floodmeadows...) Municipalities 19 Municipalities Environmental associations (LPO and WWF) The LPO (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux) and WWF-France (World Wild Founds - France) are two environmental associations. They are involved in the support of municipalities (15 €/ha/year of common floodmeadow, that is to say 450 000 € for 15 years) They also bring technical support to municipalities (for environmental issues such as biodiversity for instance) LPO, association de Défense de l'Environnement en Vendée, l'Union des Marais Mouillés, Conservatoire des Espaces Naturels Poitou-Charentes, WWF-France They are public or private organisations (sometimes local) working on environmental issues. They are all involved in the Life programme with the PIMP. Lessons, risks, implications... Key lessons The Marais Poitevin is the 2nd largest wetland in France. About 2000 ha of floodmeadows are owned by local municipalities and commonly managed by local farmers. Such meadows play an important role for water regulation. For instance, they contribute to the storage of water during flood events, to groundwater recharge, to the removal of pollutants, etc. In the 1980s, in reaction to their destruction, management agreements between municipalities, the Parc Interrégional du Marais Poitevin and environmental NGOs as well as agreements between municipalities and farmers were signed. They reinforce the traditional agri-environmental management (pluri-specific pastures: cattle, horses, gooses) in order to preserve the numerous services provided by the Marais Poitevin. Success factor(s) Success factor type Success factor role Comments Other Financing Financing type Comments Private funds Funds from environmental associations (LPO and WWF): 15 €/year for each hectare of common floodmeadow (450 000 € for the 15 years of the agreement). These supports are for the involved municipalities. National funds EU-funds: LIFE+ EU-funds: Rural development funds Agri-environmental payments for farmers and for the municipalities since 1993 (or 1997 for some of the floodmeadows). Barrier Barrier type Barrier role Comments Other Close relationship and trust between farmers, municipalities and the PIMP. This is helped by the governance scale (important role of municipalities, direct interaction between municipalities and farmers...). Driver Driver type Driver role Comments Other Common floodmeadows are used as a pasture for 10 centuries. Pasture by multi-specific herds (cattle, horses, gooses) went on because it is a good way to valorize the produced biomass and to maintain ecosystems and landscapes. Soil structure (micro relief) prevented from using machinery for mowing and ecosystem services (flood protection, water purification, role in water circle...) would have been lost if such areas were used for cropping. They are common land owned by municipalities. Financing share Financing share type Share Comments Policy, general governance and design targets Part of wider plan 1 Policy target Target purpose Increase Water Storage Groundwater Recharge Pollutants Removal Improved Biodiversity Oher Societal Benefits Policy pressure Pressure directive Relevant pressure Policy area Policy area type Policy area focus Name Comments Policy impact Impact directive Relevant impact Policy wider plan Wider plan type Wider plan focus Name Comments Life Nature Life Nature Project for "the conservation of the most remarkable habitats and species of Marais Poitevin" for the period 2004-2008. In the framework of this project, one action on common floodmeadows has been developed (partnership between the PIMP, LPO, WWF and 16 municipalities). The objective of this action was to maintain and develop floodmeadows in order to ensure the hydrological equilibrium of Marais Poitevin, to improve its role of water purification and to preserve biodiversity and landscapes. Partners supported municipalities (technical and financial supports) for: - Carrying out management plans in order to plan future development and maintenance projects. - Ecological maintenance of floodmeadows in order to improve their ability to welcome remarkable species. - Ecological inventories and scientific monitoring in order to assess the relevance of projects and their benefits for the society. - Awareness actions for inhabitants and users about floodmeadows, their management and their richness. Natura 2000 Since 1993 Policy requirement directive Requirement directive Specification Full Context Pathway(aka Context) Default view Area(aka Level or Site) ALL