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13/08/2009
The ‘Camargue Gardoise’
The ‘Camargue Gardoise’ in the western Rhone delta is a remarkable natural environment, consisting of wetlands that must be conserved if its rich, but fragile, ecosystem is to survive.
An evolving landscape
The special nature of the Camargue results from the actions of river, sea and man. The course of the Rhône has changed several times over the centuries and its vast delta has been formed by these shifts. In 1552, during a flood, the river poured into a man-made canal, thus creating the Petit Rhône, which separates the Camargue gardoise and the Petite Camargue (Bouches-du-Rhône) from the area known as the Grande Camargue.
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The sea has also played an important part in the evolution of this landscape : the shore at l’Espiguette consists of both accretion zones (where sand and sediment are deposited by the sea currents, forming an area where the land advances into the sea) and erosion zones (where the coastline retreats towards the land). |
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The coast’s topography has thus been significantly altered over the last two centuries |
Diversity of natural environments
This unique environment, a mosaic of fresh, brackish and salt water, is home to a fragile ecosystem. The vast marshes filled with reeds shelter some 250 species of sea-birds, the most famous being the flamingo, while many migratory species use the area as a stopover.
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The Camargue’s salt marshes are also a spot favoured by birds: the salt-marshes at Aigues-Mortes, for example, are the only place in France where the slender-billed gull breeds. The environment here also suits rare species of plant, 35 of which are protected here. |
Wetland conservation is vital for maintaining biodiversity. As the sea-level rises (resulting in the retreat of the coastline) the natural environment changes: if the degree of salinity changes, any species that cannot adapt to its new environment may well disappear.
A protected environment
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The Natura 2000 network has classified the Camargue gardoise a Special Protection Zone (SPZ).
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The zone is also included in the network of wetlands covered by the international Ramsar Convention, thus making it an area of international significance with respect to water-birds. |
