Les espaces protégés dans les communes littorales en France métropolitaine

• The protected share of coastal municipality territory exceeds the metropolitan average for many types of protected spaces. These high levels of protection respond to the strong anthropogenic pressure exerted on the coast but also to the great ecological richness of the seaside. • Protected spaces in coastal municipalities represent a significant share of protected spaces in mainland France. While coastal municipalities cover just over 4% of metropolitan territory, they concentrate 17% of national nature reserves and a significant share of Natura 2000 sites: 10% of sites of community interest and special conservation zones and nearly 8% of special protection areas. • More than nine out of ten coastal municipalities are affected by at least one of the protections studied in this fact sheet on their territory. Nearly three-quarters have at least two types of protected spaces on their territory compared to only 17% in mainland France. • In detail: • A quarter of national nature reserves are located in at least one coastal municipality; • Conservatoire du Littoral sites cover 15% of coastal municipality surface in Bouches-du-Rhône and more than 7% in Pas-de-Calais, Hérault, and Aude; • SPAs cover 342,500 hectares in coastal municipalities and the area of SCIs and SACs is 486,800 hectares. Their distribution is highly heterogeneous. It depends on the distribution of natural habitats on coastlines but also on regional policies for site designation. • As of early 2017, 26% of mainland coastal municipality territory is covered by at least one of the protections included in the graph. This share is nearly twice as low for the entire hexagonal territory (14%). • This coastal specificity is due to the protection policy implemented on this territory, in response to the strong anthropogenic pressure exerted there but also to the great ecological richness of the seaside. This high level of protection is explained, in part, by the action of the Conservatoire de l'espace littoral et des rivages lacustres which works specifically for the protection of coastal environments. • The protected share of coastal municipality territory exceeds the metropolitan average for the majority of protections studied. Regarding Natura 2000 sites, this share is 2.5 times higher for sites of community interest and special conservation zones (Habitat, Fauna, Flora Directive) and 1.9 times for special protection areas. It is 4.1 times higher for national, regional, and Corsican nature reserves. The share of protected territory is also higher for biological reserves and integral reserves of national parks. The exceptions are biotope protection orders, nature reserves for hunting and wildlife, and national parks, despite the creation of Calanques National Park in Bouches-du-Rhône. • Less than 6% of coastal municipalities have no protection on their territory. This share is 60% at the scale of mainland France. Nearly three-quarters of coastal municipalities have at least two types of protected spaces on their territory compared to only 17% in mainland France. Furthermore, 58% of coastal municipalities have at least one Conservatoire site on their territory, the same for SPAs and 85% for SCIs and SACs. • Three coastal municipalities in the continental Mediterranean region have six types of protected spaces on their territory: Arles, Marseille, and Hyères.

• Protected spaces in coastal municipalities sometimes represent a significant share of all metropolitan protected spaces. • On just over 4% of metropolitan territory are found 17% of national nature reserves and all Corsican nature reserves, but also 10% of SCI and SAC areas and nearly 8% of SPAs. Logically, 85% of the areas of sites controlled by the Conservatoire du Littoral are found in coastal municipalities, with other lands located further upstream on estuaries and around large inland lakes. • Coastal municipalities therefore play a major role in the network of protected natural spaces in mainland France. • The share of national park areas in coastal municipalities is, by contrast, slightly below the metropolitan average, with most parks located in mountains, in the Alps, Pyrenees, and southern Massif Central.

• Different protection statuses do not have the same objectives and result, for local actors and managers, in varied measures adapted to biodiversity preservation and reconciling uses. It is therefore not relevant to aggregate all protected spaces in order to provide a global view of protections implemented on the coast. This is why protected spaces are analyzed separately in the following. • 39 of 152 national nature reserves, or a quarter, are located on the territory of at least one coastal municipality in mainland France. This concerns 16 of 26 coastal departments. Regional nature reserves are fewer in number. 13 reserves, or 10% of the total, are distributed on the coast of 10 departments. Conversely, all six Corsican nature reserves are coastal. • Taking into account the three types of reserves, the highest levels of protection concern the Eastern English Channel–North Sea coast (Pas-de-Calais, Seine-Maritime), Gironde coast, and Mediterranean coast (from Pyrénées-Orientales to Bouches-du-Rhône, Upper Corsica). Conversely, protection levels are weak in North Atlantic–Western English Channel. Alone, the Bouches-du-Rhône coast concentrates nearly 60% of all coastal nature reserves. Three major reserves are indeed located at the heart of the Rhône delta: Camargue, Crau grasslands, and Vigueirat marshes, on the left bank of the Rhône. It is conversely in Central Atlantic that the highest number of nature reserves is found (8 in Vendée, 5 in Charente-Maritime) but also in Bouches-du-Rhône (5).

• The Conservatoire du Littoral's mission is to conduct, in partnership with local authorities, a land-use policy for safeguarding coastal space and lake shores. It operates in coastal cantons, municipalities bordering seas, oceans, salt marshes, or inland water bodies over 1,000 hectares in area, as well as in municipalities bordering estuaries and deltas where all or part of their banks are located downstream of the saltwater limit. • With 509 sites, the Conservatoire controls 4.5% of coastal municipality territory. These sites are present in all coastal departments. They represent 15% of coastal municipality area in Bouches-du-Rhône and are also numerous in Pas-de-Calais (8.8%), Eure (19%), Aude (7.6%), and Hérault (8.0%). Conversely, the share of affected territory is lower in North Atlantic–Western English Channel, Seine-Maritime, Landes, and Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Coastal municipalities in Bouches-du-Rhône concentrate nearly a third of Conservatoire coastal site areas (32.0%), those in Corsica nearly 20% with important sites like Agriates Desert, but also between Bonifacio and Propriano.

• Many coastal SCIs and SACs extend to sea. Only their terrestrial portion is considered in this fact sheet, based on BD Carto administrative boundaries. They occupy a cumulative area of 487,000 hectares in coastal municipalities and are distributed across 241 sites, or 17.8% of the total. They represent larger areas in the southern part of mainland coast than in the northern part. They cover significant areas in Vendée (40.8% of coastal municipality territory), Charente-Maritime (43.1%), Languedoc-Roussillon, and Bouches-du-Rhône (58.2%). Conversely, they cover less than 10% of coastal municipality territory in Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Seine-Maritime, Calvados (only 2.1%), Ille-et-Vilaine, Côtes-d'Armor, Finistère, Alpes-Maritimes, and South Corsica. • These lower designation levels may be due to: • the low presence of natural habitats that could lead to SCI/SAC designation, as in Seine-Maritime or Calvados; • designation of rather marine SCIs/SACs, as in Brittany; • designation of relatively small sites, whose boundaries are limited to heritage habitats as in Aquitaine.

SPAs cover 342,500 hectares in coastal municipalities. They are distributed across 116 sites, or 30% of the total. As with SCIs and SACs, SPAs are very present in Vendée (40.5% of coastal territory), Charente-Maritime (32.8%), Languedoc-Roussillon (58.9% in Aude and 39.5% in Hérault for example), and Bouches-du-Rhône. These territories concentrate significant wetlands (Atlantic marshes, lagoons, Camargue) most of which are designated as SPAs. They are less important elsewhere.

• For the four protections studied in detail in this section, the Mediterranean region presents the highest protection level of the four maritime coasts. The South Atlantic coast is also well represented. Natura 2000 sites are important there, as are nature reserves. Conservatoire sites are, conversely, less numerous. • The Eastern English Channel–North Sea coast has relatively high protection levels for strong protections, national nature reserves and Conservatoire du Littoral sites, while Natura 2000 sites are few. Finally, the North Atlantic–Western English Channel coast is characterized by fairly low shares of protected territory, especially for strong protections, Conservatoire du Littoral and nature reserves.

• A fifth of Natura 2000 site areas (20.6%) are also protected by regulatory means (reserve, biotope protection order, national park) or land acquisition (Conservatoire du Littoral) in coastal municipalities. This is 7 points higher than the metropolitan average, while Natura 2000 sites are significantly larger at sea. • This share is high along the coast from Nord to the Seine estuary, in Bouches-du-Rhône, Var, and Corsica. It is lower along the Atlantic arc, from Ille-et-Vilaine to Pyrénées-Atlantiques. • The share of Natura 2000 perimeters protected by other types of natural spaces depends on the importance of land and regulatory protections in place in coastal municipalities but also on the Natura 2000 site designation method. Depending on local context and land structure, some sites are limited in size and are essentially composed of habitats of great biological interest. Others, conversely, are larger and include ordinary natural territories or agricultural lands.

• Apart from the protection of animal and plant species by law across the entire national territory, many types of tools exist to protect specific elements of fauna, flora, and habitats. Protected spaces are of three kinds: regulatory, land-acquisition, and contractual protections. Each protection status has specific objectives and management modes. • For this fact sheet, the following protections are considered: • Regulatory protection, defined by decree or order: national parks (PN), biotope protection orders (APB), national (RNN), regional (RNR), and Corsican (RNC) nature reserves, integral national park reserves (RIPN), biological reserves (RB), and nature reserves for hunting and wildlife (RNCFS); • Land-acquisition protection: lands controlled by Conservatoire du Littoral (CdL); • Contractual protection: special protection areas (SPAs) designated under the Birds Directive, sites of community interest (SCIs) and special conservation zones (SACs) of the Habitats Directive; SPAs, SCIs, and SACs form the Natura 2000 network. • These protection statuses are not mutually exclusive. The same territory may be subject to multiple protections. • Moreover, not all existing types of protections are considered in this fact sheet. It would have been interesting, for example, to consider lands acquired by departmental councils (called sensitive natural spaces) and remarkable spaces defined under the Coastal Law (Art. L 146-6 of the Urban Planning Code). However, this information is not available at the national level and is therefore not integrated into the analysis. Similarly, listed and classified sites, lands of natural space conservatories, biological reserves, and international designations (Ramsar, Biosphere Reserve) are not studied. • Protections implemented at sea (mainly SCIs, SACs, SPAs, RNNs and RNCs, public domain entrusted or assigned to Conservatoire du Littoral, and marine natural parks) are the subject of a separate fact sheet.

Author: Observation and Statistics Service (SDES).