What should Monsieur Blanc do with his Camargue wetland?
The RegionalPark Authorities
The Camargue is home to one of France's 44 Regional Nature Parks, whose role is to act as the guardians of their heritage.They also try to protect the environment whilst allowing some local development. They operate a little bit like English National parks.
The Camargue is a wetland of exceptional importance. It is situated in the Rhône delta – between the two main arms of the river – on the shores of the Mediterranean. The core responsibilities of the CamargueRegionalNaturePark, are:
• the harmonisation of agricultural and environmental policies, and the control of standards, as regards local produce
• the protection of nature
• water management
• the provision of information and assistance for visitors
The delta can be divided into three zones. The northern part was formerly a territory of fresh water marshes, "Pelouses" (pastures) and woods. The central part, which is more affected by the sea and the presence of salt, has dunes, Lagoons and Sansouires. The sea exerts the main influence over the coastal Camargue. The area has a wide range of plants and animals of note worth protecting, including;
/ "Salicorne" (glasswort – a plant species that can survive despite high salt concentrations),/ The terrapin – quick as a flash!
/ The sand lily (Pancratium maritimum) flourishes in the heart of the dunes. Its dazzlingly white, tubular corolla, more than 10 cm long
/ Flamingos like salty water, and they literally flock to the Camargue, where in summer they number up to 30,000. Since 1970, when a nesting islet was set aside for them on the Fangassier étang, in the Giraud salt works, this has been the only place in Europe where they regularly reproduce.
What should Monsieur Blanc do with his Camargue wetland?
Salt Producers
Giraud, at the mouth of the Grand Rhône, became a major centre for salt production due to the proximity of Marseille and its soap factories, which uses sodium carbonate made from sea salt by the Belgian firm Solvay. The history of Salin-de-Giraud is closely linked to the development of this industry. It was at the end of the 19th century that salt production, which had traditionally been a local, small-scale activity, took on an industrial dimension. Twenty thousand hectares of lagoon were progressively developed, i.e. some 15% of the delta. The Giraud salt works, near the mouth of the Grand Rhône, covers 11,000 hectares and produces various compounds for use by the chemical industry, including 800,000 tonnes of sodium chloride a year. The Aigues-Mortes salt works, to the west of the Petit Rhône, occupies 10,000 hectares, and produces salt for culinary uses – 450,000 tonnes a year. These salt works employ members of immigrant communities who have settled in Salin-de-Giraud. Production is in the hands of the Salins industrial group. The flamingosthrive in the salt pans or Salines, as they like the shallow water that they provide for wading and pink shrimp live in the waters, the staple food of the flamingo’s diet.
Questions to consider for the debate;
- How would the salt producers respond to the question above? Why?
- What are the benefits of salt production for;
- The local population?
- The environment?
- The local economy?
- The nation of France and the rest of the European Union?
- Does salt production offer any benefits to the other interest groups involved in the debate? How and why?
- Would the salt producers be critical of any of the other interest groups? How might the activities of these groups negatively impact on the salt farming?
What should Monsieur Blanc do with his Camargue wetland?
Rice Farmers
Three natural factors have influenced the use of the delta land for agricultural purposes:
- Topography (the fact that the north of the delta is higher than the south);
- the increase in salinity neaer the sea;
- and the nature of the soil, which is alluvial in the east and sandy in the west.
Local combinations of these three factors dictate the types of agriculture that are most viable. There are around 18,000 hectares of rice, which makes it the dominant crop. Vineyards and asparagus cultivation take prominence in the sandy soil of the Petite Camargue, towards the west. In the north, at the top of the delta, and along the banks of the Grand Rhône, vegetables are grown; and there is arboriculture (trees) on irrigated land.
Farmland currently takes up a third of the delta, i.e. around 50,000 hectares, 25,000 of which are situated between the two arms of the Rhône.
Rice production expanded greatly after the second world war due to improvements in Irrigation. Production is at around 18,000 hectares helped by subsidies from the French government and the European Union. For example a rice farmer in the Camargue received €866,290 from EU subsidies in 2005 in order to grow rice.
Rice cultivation needs a lot of water, and it has a major influence on the hydrology of the delta between April and September. But the climate in the Camargue is only just hot enough to bring the crop to maturity; and this applies especially to the long-grain varieties that are most in demand nowadays. Camargue rice faces severe competition in the world market. In the European context, the rice producers of the Camargue now have their own PGI (Protected Geographical Indication).
What should Monsieur Blanc do with his Camargue wetland?
The Saintes Marie de la MerTourist Board
The Saints Marie de la Mer Tourist Board exist to promote tourism in all of its forms in the Camargue and to generate income and interest. Tourism is an important economic activity in the Camargue and the tourists arrive every year in large numbers. In 2005 the RAMSAR organisation for the Protection of Wetlands noted that;
- One million visitors a year went to the Camargue for conservation education.
- An estimated 350,000 to 500,000 visitors each year visited the Camargue’s beaches.
- Between April and November, the information centres receive between 200,000 and 250,000 visitors
- Hunters also arrive in large numbers and use the open wetlands and marshes to shoot ducks.
The tourists come for a variety of reasons and there are many attractions for different types of tourists. There are sixty km of sign-posted footpaths, eight information centres, good beaches, nature reserves and of course the White horses and black bulls which are an integral part of the Rhône delta's image. The breeding of bulls and horses has made a considerable contribution to the identity of the delta, and to a culture that is rich in traditional skills, including the horsemen of the Camargue and bullfighting.
The bulls and horses still make a real contribution to the ecological management of the Camargue. They keep down the grass, and their eating habits and droppings contribute to the diversity of the flora and fauna in a number of habitats such as the "Pelouses" (pasture land), fallow land and marshes that would otherwise be entirely covered by thickets and woods. But there are limits: with the continuing increase in the numbers of bulls, and the decline in the amount of pasture (which is being turned over to crops), the equilibrium of fragile environments such as the reed beds and the Sansouires is under threat.
What should Monsieur Blanc do with his Camargue wetland?
The Ramsar organisation for the protection of wetlands.
Theaim of the Ramsar organisation is to preserve wetlands through action and international cooperation. This international treaty, signed in Ramsar (Iran) on 2nd February 1971, came into effect on 21st December 1975 (Mr G’s Birthday!).France has adhered to it since 1986.
The Camargue delta is a Ramsar site, incorporating vast expanses of permanent and seasonal lagoons, lakes and ponds, extensive Salicornia flats, freshwater marshes, and a dune complex. The Camargue is of international importance for nesting, staging and wintering waterbirds. Among the various breeding species are Ardeidae (herons, bitterns, etc.), with extremely large numbers of Anatidae (ducks, geese, swans, etc.) occurring in winter. Human activities include tourism, hunting, fishing, agriculture and raising livestock.
Many of the marshy areas on the Camargue were destroyed in the 1970s and l980s to create holiday resorts for French tourists, financed and organised by the French government. The European Union paid money (grants) to farmers wishing to drain and "improve" their land, this destroyed Camargue wetlands. There are some conservation measures taken including regional parks and wildlife refuges in the Camargue. However many disturbances/threats, including changes in land use and majordevelopment projects still exist in the Camargue:
- Pollution of the Rhône by industry and by many plant-health treatmentsfor rice.
- Environmental problems created by the creation of lakes and ponds for hunting
- Hunters kill 100,000 to 150,000 ducks(approx.) and geese each winter.
- Tourism. Intensive tourism could be introducedas a more profitable activity.
Many so-called traditional human activities are still pursuedwhich are totally dependent on the resources of the naturalenvironment.These activities include salt-exploitation, fish-breeding,intensive stock farming and hunting, etc. These activities are under threat from further development.
What should Monsieur Blanc do with his Camargue wetland?
Hunters
Hunting in the Camargue is a popular leisure activity, and goes back to the days when people first arrived in the delta. Besides boars, rabbits and pheasants, there are water birds during the winter. The Camargue is the most important wintering site for ducks in the western Mediterranean. They are generally hunted in the evening, when they leave their resting areas for their nocturnal feeding grounds, or in the morning, when they return. The hunters occupy hides in the marshes, which they get to either on foot or in small boats. They are accompanied by dogs, generally Labradors. The use of decoy ducks (including tethered live birds) is common. It is difficult to give precise figures, but the average take for a season (lasting from mid-August to the end of January) is estimated to be somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000 birds.
Hunting is a lucrative activity for landowners: permits (sold as "shares") go for as much as €10,000 a year, and can bring in more revenue than agriculture, with the result that a considerable amount of work is done in the marshes, notably on dyke construction and upkeep, in order to provide the kind of hydrological conditions that attract game animals.