PAP 71 - Coastline in motion

The Conservatoire du Littoral’s landscape approach to protected natural areas

Nathan Berthélémy, November 2023

Le Collectif Paysages de l’Après-Pétrole (PAP)

To download : article-71-collectif-pap_nb.pdf (9.7 MiB)

The coastline is the thin strip of land that opens onto the vastness of the sea. The coast is made up of a wide variety of natural environments with varied geomorphology, often marked by human activity. The naturalness of the sites and the cultural heritage that has grown up there resonate strongly with contemporary sensibilities, creating the particular appeal of these areas that are still synonymous with dreams, freedom and escape. However, because it is exposed to erosion and marine submersion, and threatened by urban sprawl, this small and coveted fringe has become a particularly fragile area due to the combination of these pressures, the dynamics of which seem to be accelerating. Aware of the ecological, social, economic and cultural value of the coastline, France decided to preserve a significant proportion of its natural coastal areas and make them accessible to all by creating the Conservatoire du Littoral in 1975, a public body without equivalent in Europe.

A tool at the service of the coastline

The Conservatoire du littoral’s mission is to safeguard the natural third of France’s coastlines and lakeshores. With its managers, it works to manage and develop the network of natural areas that they form in France and overseas. The Conservatoire conducts a policy of land acquisition and management in order to preserve natural and cultural heritage, ensure that ecological balances are respected and contribute to the sustainable development of territories and the maintenance of high-quality landscapes. In the same way as preserving natural heritage and welcoming the public, landscape quality is now a principle of the work carried out by the Conservatoire and its partners. The Conservatoire is active in coastal cantons and in municipalities bordering lakes larger than one thousand hectares. It may also acquire areas bordering these cantons and municipalities that together form ecological or landscape units, as well as wetlands in coastal departments. In 2023, almost 210,000 hectares will be protected by the Conservatoire du Littoral. Spread over 750 sites, they welcome more than 40 million visitors every year. Many of these protected areas boast remarkable landscapes of great renown, such as the cliffs of Etretat, the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, the Pointe du Raz, the Dune du Pilat, the calanques of Marseille and the corniche of the Esterel. All the sites protected by the Conservatoire contribute locally to the quality of life and the individual and social well-being of all. The aim of the Conservatoire is to reconcile the preservation of our heritage with access to its riches. As nature protection is sometimes a priority, certain fragile areas or areas of quietude for biodiversity will be closed to visitors, but in the majority of cases visitors are welcome. The intervention strategy drawn up by the Conservatoire emphasises that it acquires and manages its sites in order to guarantee the long-term quality of the landscapes which, through geography and history, form the identity of the areas to which they belong. The landscape approach developed by the Conservatoire helps to enhance discovery and ensures that the public respects natural areas. At the time of land acquisition, the actual or potential landscape components and values are a determining factor in the establishment’s decision to purchase. With the aim of preserving the beauty and spirit of the area, public action is based on the sensitivity and attachment of local people to their land. Working in partnership with local councillors, the Conservatoire’s work helps to preserve large landscaped areas from becoming commonplace and urbanised, in contrast to other parts of the nearby coastline that have undergone or are likely to undergo major changes as a result of contemporary social practices. As soon as it becomes the owner of a site, the Conservatoire du littoral develops its knowledge of the site through various types of analysis. It defines its governance by drawing up a management project with the area to which the site belongs. The landscape study is based on an analysis of the various components of the site: geology, climate, biodiversity, cultural heritage, uses and social perception. The conservation and enhancement objectives identified by the landscape study are translated into development and management actions aimed at respecting and improving the quality of these areas. The skills of landscape designers are called upon to inspire and develop these projects, which are designed and implemented by the Conservatoire’s teams, managers and local authorities. In this way, the landscape approach inspires the whole scheme, because of its capacity to integrate and unite, a fundamental asset in ensuring the protection of the site and the governance of the projects. The landscape approach is accessible to everyone. Encouraging participation, it makes it possible to co-construct the ambitions and orientations of management with all the stakeholders. Fuelled by this approach, the projects undertaken on the Conservatoire’s sites aim, at every stage, to take into account the different characteristics of the sites, with the aim of strengthening or reaffirming their own identity. To achieve this, specific tools have been developed over time.

An experience to share

The common thread of site quality underpins the creation of the Conservatoire in 1975, and has been anchored from the outset in its development work, which aims to acquire the « wild third » of the coastline in order to preserve green breaks between urbanised areas, provide areas where people can relax in contact with nature, and protect biodiversity in areas that have been little used by man. By refining its approach from one era to the next, the landscape approach has become the guiding principle behind the acquisition and management of sites. The French town planning code defines land as « the common heritage of the nation » (article L110). Through its acquisitions and careful management, the Conservatoire has been promoting this national treasure for nearly fifty years, integrating the cultural and sensitive approach to landscape into the management of its sites with increasing precision.

Drawing on the many lessons it has learned and the experience of its partners, the Conservatoire has gradually structured its methods and developed a range of tools to reinforce the values that guide its work.

In 2013, a methodological guide proposed an original approach to managing projects to restore and enhance natural coastal areas, based on the data provided by the landscapes themselves and the guideline they represent for those who wish to observe their great diversity. This work is aimed at site managers, Conservatoire staff and all those involved in the development and management of natural coastal areas, whether they are project managers, professionals or users. To make it easier for the Conservatoire’s teams and site managers to adopt the methods being tested, a series of landscape project awareness-raising sessions were held between 2014 and 2017 in each coastal region. Initiated in 2022, a second cycle will continue this deployment and specify how landscape is taken into account in management and planning documents.

At the same time, the Conservatoire continued to produce a digital encyclopaedia dedicated to knowledge of coastal landscapes: the Panorama of Coastal Landscapes. Integrated into the Conservatoire’s website, this multimedia atlas provides a comprehensive overview of the diversity, beauty and key issues facing France’s coastal landscapes. It provides many keys to understanding and explaining the constituent elements of landscapes, how they are formed, how they are changing and their cultural and societal value. The result of long-term cooperation between the Conservatoire’s teams and landscape architect Alain Freytet, a collection of experiences will be published in 2022. The Landscape Intention Scheme proved to be an effective cartographic tool for building the site project in a participatory manner that is accessible to all. The book sets out the main principles of the landscape intention scheme, describes its various possible uses and gives examples from different areas. In her foreword, Agnès Vince, Director of the Conservatoire du Littoral, develops the idea that « working for the beauty of coastal and lakeside landscapes in the 21st century means making a mark on our time, by composing with the traces of wild, medieval, classical, romantic and contemporary landscapes ». The development of the landscape intentions scheme examines the history of the area in order to guide the overall approach of the management plans. By helping people to appreciate the beauty of nature and of human intervention over time, it contributes to better conservation and confirms the importance of bringing the landscape into the world of protected areas.

That same year, the jury for the 8th Grand prix national du paysage awarded the prize to the Conservatoire du littoral and Alain Freytet for their work to protect and enhance Cap Fréhel. The landscape designer’s meticulous and inventive work to erase the indiscreet traces of previous developments and reveal the primordial forms of the site has restored the magnificence of a previously degraded site and helped people rediscover a grandiose landscape with remarkable restraint. The jury has singled out the project that has led to the exemplary restoration of Cap Fréhel, one of the largest remaining Atlantic moors, which will be awarded the Grand Site de France label in 2019. This accolade marks an important step in the recognition of the Conservatoire’s approach, which places the landscape at the heart of the ambitions and values that govern the restoration, development and management of its sites. Landscape is neither an addition to, nor a substitute for, technical disciplines or legal standards; it proposes to integrate them into the same approach so that projects become imaginable, formulable and representable, and are thus appropriated in a collective and civic manner.

Reaffirming the main principles of action

The values underpinning the Conservatoire’s work are generally known and shared. This is the basis for the development of projects for the sites, based on guidelines and principles for action aimed at preserving the ecological balance, enhancing the cultural value of the landscapes, welcoming the public and managing the various uses. These values and principles are periodically reaffirmed, clarified and validated by the establishment’s Board of Directors in consultation with all the stakeholders concerned. The aim is to share them on the ground with elected representatives, managers, professionals, associations, users and the general public. The aim is to establish the lasting legitimacy of this approach in a context where there are strong development pressures and where the growing importance of the areas managed by the Conservatoire should enable them to become more widespread. More generally, the aim is to ensure that these principles are applied in the day-to-day management of the sites, which will contribute to their good condition. In the case of development projects, every intervention should be designed to serve the site and aim for sobriety. Particular attention is paid to respecting the spirit of the site, to avoid any tendency towards standardisation and to guarantee the identity of each area. The designers strive to encourage discreet and reversible practices, as part of an eco-responsible and sustainable approach, combining traditional know-how with innovation. The aim is to offer a unique experience based on the gradual, sensitive discovery of the different environments on the site. This respectful approach, which favours soft means of transport and above all walking, is not aimed solely at the final spectacular and photogenic viewpoint, but rather offers a diverse approach and a journey of immersion over the duration of the walk. A key factor in the success of the projects, the sharing of landscape intentions is a major asset for the success and continuity of the management operations. Understood and identified by everyone, the project becomes a human adventure in which everyone participates. Conservatory staff, managers, designers, elected representatives, companies, users and local residents all share the same poetic ambition for the area, tailored to the resources available to guarantee that each project can be implemented.

A vision on a landscape scale

To define the vocation and management guidelines for the sites it has acquired, the Conservatoire takes into account the specific qualities of these sites, their place in the landscape and their place in the network of protected areas. The Conservatoire du Littoral has identified 147 coastal units defined by common biogeographical and landscape logics. This typological division, devised by the institution, organises entities whose relative homogeneity makes it possible to carry out an operational analysis of the issues and pressures affecting them. It provides a level at which the Conservatoire’s plots can be read and acted upon, so that they can be integrated coherently into wider regional projects, as defined by planning documents. While the scale of the site remains appropriate for the planning and implementation of certain actions, the perimeter to be considered for determining the strategic axes of its management is rather that of the greater landscape, a scale which covers all the riparian areas as well as their relations with the hinterland. In fact, territorial planning documents (SCOT, PLU and PLUi, landscape plans, etc.) aim to identify the functional links between the protected area and the surrounding areas, whether they exist or need to be developed. Territorial integration encourages the decompartmentalisation of certain areas and the extension of governance to new stakeholders. Each stage of the process must be supported by consultation. For its part, taking climate change into account in the management plan drawn up for each of the sites means that we now have to look beyond the property boundaries of these different sites and consider the management of these issues in a dynamic and evolving way.

In a changing context

In a context marked by the accelerating effects of climate change, the landscape approach makes it possible to define the adaptation measures required for the forward-looking management of coastal areas. Initiated by the Conservatoire, the Adapto project has experimented with different nature-based solutions to anticipate how the coastal fringe will evolve. This approach, carried out with the financial support of the European Union’s LIFE programme, is based on the principle of flexible management of the changes to be expected, carried out in consultation on eleven sites along the French coast between 2017 and 2022. Flexible management consists of using the mobility of the coastline so that, when the effects of hazards originate in the natural environment, an appropriate response can be found to help restore the dynamics of ecosystems. In this way, marine reconnections, desartificialisation and renaturation operations have been carried out in the field. In terms of governance, management plans and territorial projects have been drawn up. Numerous feedbacks illustrating a wide variety of situations have fed into the approach. The coastline mobility strategies deployed as part of the Adapto project could be duplicated at other French or foreign coastal sites. The Adapto project has demonstrated the potential of solutions based on natural areas and linked to coastal dynamics for adapting coastal areas in a way that is effective and sustainable in ecological, economic and human terms. These nature-based solutions are defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as « actions aimed at protecting, sustainably managing and restoring natural or modified ecosystems to respond directly to societal challenges in an effective and adaptive manner, while ensuring human well-being and producing benefits for biodiversity ». Adapto has also demonstrated that these long-term solutions make it possible to protect populations in the face of rising sea levels by phasing in the spatial recomposition of human activities. In the approach proposed by Adapto, the landscape approach proves to be a relevant tool for describing the evolution of the territory over the course of history and proposing a representation of the landscapes of tomorrow. In addition, social perception surveys have been used to involve the local population and prepare decisions for the areas concerned. In the various pilot areas, the site narrative has consolidated the memory of the place and enabled the passing of the baton between the different generations, based on the extensive consultation work carried out. The projection over several time horizons - 2030, 2050 and 2100 - takes into account the specific features and constraints of each area, some of which are already known, while others will develop over time. Three shoreline management scenarios are studied, combining in different ways the issues of biodiversity, the economy and the social perception of the local landscape. The options are to endure, resist or adapt. Adaptation is the best way to embark on a project.

Seeing beauty, seeing greatness, seeing movement, seeing projects

The collection of educational experiences entitled « VOIR Littoral et Paysage », published by the Conservatoire du Littoral and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Paysage de Versailles, is another result of the Adapto project. The book presents the different approaches devised by the students during regional educational workshops led by landscape architects Alain Freytet and Romain Quesada, and based on their #VOIR approach. This method consists of orienting, sharing and representing the desirable transformations of spaces by imagining which happy futures to develop and implement as many solutions. Representing past changes makes it easier to accept the idea that things are going to change. Different prospective scenarios then encourage acceptance of the changes to come. The multi-dimensional approach of the landscape approach allows us to « SEE Beautiful, SEE Great, SEE Movement and SEE Project » to teach and share an ability to face up to the necessary commitments.

Knowing how to anticipate and adapt

By pursuing the founding objective of preserving the natural third of France’s coastline, the Conservatoire du Littoral is trying to prepare responses to the challenges of tomorrow. Convinced of the effectiveness of a sensitive and unifying approach, the Conservatoire aims to share its experience with stakeholders in each region. To this end, it is gradually building up a network of partners and landscape professionals who are particularly aware of the issues involved in preserving and enhancing natural areas. Through the experiments carried out by the institution, the landscape is defined as a spatial reality, one that organises the properties and qualities of coastal areas, as well as a mediation tool that can be appreciated and understood by all. The landscape brings coherence to public action, as well as effectiveness in organising the governance of a protected area, to be shared with stakeholders and residents. The landscape approach is therefore not just another component of the sites, but a cross-cutting issue that gives coherence to all the others. Since the coastline is constantly changing, an evolutionary vision is essential if we are to anticipate and adapt to these changes. But, as in the case of other natural areas, whether protected or not, this constantly changing coastline is sometimes the subject of planning and risk management methods and tools based on dogmas about the immutable nature of protected areas, which should be kept intact. In order to move from static concepts to adaptive projects, it is useful to think in the long term, taking note of the uncertain course of natural realities and seeking to prepare for change, or even to know how to use it as an opportunity to reform our practices. In fact, nature-based solutions offer many ways of achieving sustainable development objectives, particularly in the face of climate change. The landscape approach also encourages us to look beyond land and administrative boundaries and think in terms of entire catchment areas. Compatibility between the management objectives of the Conservatoire’s sites and the planning documents of each area concerned is then sought, so that the various actions to be planned meet the guidelines of the area’s projects and are shared by all its stakeholders. Climate change, rising sea levels, social changes to ensure a new balance in the post-oil era: to succeed in bringing together the views of local populations, avoiding fixity and anticipating future changes, the landscape approach takes on the role of diplomacy, as it were, between respect for natural heritage and the necessary dynamics of intervention.

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