France. As recently illustrated by the closure of the Etretat cliffs in Normandy, coastal sites are subject to multiple pressures that tourism aggravates. And climate change also contributes, including on the lacustrum shores: the coastal conservatory also takes care of lakes of more than 1,000 hectares. He is the main public operator in charge of the coasts and shores, with an annual budget of 64 million euros (including 68 % of own resources), and he participates in the development of public policies. To date, the conservatory owns 22,000 hectares, or 19 % of the French coasts and shores (including overseas). In practice, he acquired on behalf of the state of the plots (grouped into coastal units, 147 in 2025) identified as “Fragile” and requiring protection. Pascal Cavallin, head of the natural heritage mission at the Littoral Conservatory, explains that the process includes “A Land Watch” on geographic perimeters with “Intervention intentions” subject to the municipalities concerned. After validation, the project is subject to the vote of the board of directors of the Conservatoire. The operator then proceeds to the land acquisition, most often “Amicable” According to the coastal conservatory. The criteria used to define a perimeter to be protected are “The quality of natural environments, emblematic landscapes to be preserved, cultural heritage”, Indicates Pascal Cavallin, as well as the uses made by the inhabitants. The management of the plot is then entrusted to a community, the office of biodiversity or a local association. The 900 coastal agents and guards are employed by managing organizations.
It is an effective mode of collaboration, accompanied by the monitoring of the most risky sites. Since 2005, the Conservatoire has published a long -term intervention strategy on the perimeters it deems fragile, and has the ambition to protect 30 % of the coasts in 2050. Among the strategic guidelines, the commitment to stay “At the service of the site” Gains in importance in a context of climate change and excessive tourism: in the event of a risk of fire, this means closing the site to visitors, even in the midst of a tourist period. Everyone benefits from a management plan developed with the community or the association which manages it. Nathan Barthélémy, head of the landscape mission, specifies that this can lead to reviewing the visit courses, or restricting access hours: so at Cap Fréhel (Côtes-d’Armor), where the opening hours and the route have been modified.
According to Adrien Privat, responsible for the Terre-Mer interface mission, a lake will be closed to tourists if its water is contaminated due to high temperatures, or because of a salinization of the soil. He notes “A general public reception issue” In summer on the sites of the conservatory. Problematic whose local elected officials gathered in association are aware as evidenced by their press release released on June 17, in which they note “An ever more important attendance” protected sites. They also affirm their support for the operator, and recall his role in protection “Ecological, landscape and heritage riches” of the French coast.
The landscape, an entry point
The strategy of site managers helped by the conservatory must indeed take into account the environment, natural heritage and landscape. The latter is described by Nathan Barthélémy as an entry point for the general public and the elected officials towards the preservation issues: “Everyone can project themselves in a long -term in a landscape, which is a sensitive experience of nature. »» This landscape can include buildings – the Conservatoire has nearly one hundred historic monuments on its plots. Through the notion of landscape, it is easier to approach the environmental issues that affect a beach, a wetland or a lake, and to develop a reflection on natural heritage.
Pascal Cavallin insists on the need for a management plan designed “On long time and with a notion of adaptation, while respecting the spirit of the places”. This approach must allow managers to reconcile uses by residents (agriculture, leisure) with the protection of the site, including in its physical characteristics. Adrien Privat gives the example of open environments where managers have planted rows of trees for more freshness in summer, at the risk of modifying the landscape and biodiversity. In addition to a long -term vision, the conservatory is moving towards actions that include adjoining areas to plots. As Nathan Barthélémy explains, “The landscape or the coastal path do not stop at the borders of the site”. A reflection on the scale of coastal units is therefore underway to strengthen the actions of the conservatory and accelerate the protection of fragile perimeters.
