Camargue, a formidable challenge for the enviornment and democracy

Abstract

The project to build a bridge near the mouth of the Rhône, the first stage of a direct road link between Marseille and Montpellier going along the coast right through the Camargue, has aroused a wave of opposition amongst local inhabitants and environmental conservationists. This adverse reaction has led to the project being placed in abeyance. However, the proposed project has highlighted the importance of the issues, which affect this region. The regional decision-making bodies facing field problems as well as economical constraints and major environmental watters were in a position mainly characterized by short term issues. However, the overriding policy affecting environmental protection is of sense only in the long term. The incompatibility between these two policies is very real in Camargue because of the considerable financial flows in this region. It appears to be necessary to undertake new measures to ensure lasting protection of the Camargue whereby nature, acknowledged for its value to future generations, will cease to be of commercial value and become a common treasure in the same way as the Louvre or the Arles Arenas. The water law (January 1992) introduces the first legal support for these measures but it is still tentative. Practical procedures for achieving the measures still have to be drawn up: the Camargue is worthy of this attention.