The ''Conservatoire du littoral'' ("Coastal protection agency") (official name: ''Conservatoire de l'espace littoral et des rivages lacustres'') is a French public organisation created in 1975 to ensure the protection of outstanding natural areas on the coast, banks of lakes and stretches of water of 10 square kilometres or more. The Conservatoire is a member of the
World Conservation Union.
Its creation was inspired by the work of the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
National Trust
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
, though the National Trust is a private charity, whereas the Conservatoire du littoral is mainly government funded.
Its remit covers all French
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
s,
départements d'outre-mer,
Mayotte
Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...
, and, recently,
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
The Conservatoire acquires land by private agreement, by pre-emption in or, from time to time, by expropriation. Land may also be given to the Conservatoire by donation or legacy. The Conservatoire acquires 20 to 30 km
2 of land yearly.
After ensuring all the restoration work, the Conservatoire entrusts the management of its lands to local authorities or other local groups or organisations. The Conservatoire uses specialists to decide how the sites should be managed and what activities (such as agricultural or recreational activities) can take place.
As at 31 January 2005, the Conservatoire cared for an area of 732 km
2 spread over 300 sites, for 861 km of shoreline and 700 sites in 2015 for 1500 km, or 13 percent of French seacoast (the objective is to reach one third in 2050).
Its annual budget is approximately €30 million, €25 M of which is earmarked for acquisitions and development. Most of its budget is provided by the national government, but local authorities and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
also contribute, as do corporations and private donors.
The Conservatoire national du littoral employs 100 people in
Rochefort, in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and in its regional offices.
Bibliography
** Bernard Kalaora, Rivages en devenir : de nouveaux horizons pour le Conservatoire du Littoral, 2010, La Documentation Française, 279p
** Renaud Bécot, Giacomo Parrinello, « Gouverner le désir de rivage. La fondation du Conservatoire du littoral, 1972-1978 », ''Le Mouvement Social'',
no 271(2), 2020,
p. 65-82, https://doi.org/10.3917/lms.271.0065
See also
*
The National Trust
*
Conservatoria delle Coste della Sardegna
External links
Conservatoire du littoral(in
French)
{{Authority control
Organizations established in 1975
Nature conservation in France
Land management
Land use