Christine Jean (born 1957 in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

) is a French

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

activist. She was dubbed "Madame Loire" by the French press. She was awarded the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

in 1992 for her efforts on preserving the river

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

, the longest river in France, from dam constructions.

Education

Christine Jean was trained in agronomy at

École nationale supérieure d'agronomie et des industries alimentaires École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sav ...

and holds a master's degree in ecology in the domain of

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

from

Paul Verlaine University – Metz Paul Verlaine University – Metz (Université Paul Verlaine - Metz, or UPV-M) was a French university, based in Metz. It merged with Nancy-I, Nancy-II, and the INPL forming the University of Lorraine. The merger process started in 2009 with t ...

SOS Loire Vivante

Christine Jean coordinated a nationwide campaign to prevent the damming of the Loire. This was very important as the Loire is one of the last wild rivers with great

ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

wealth. The dam project was supported by parts of the building industry who wanted to make a profit. Furthermore, it should have been used for using the water for cooling four reactors that were supposed to be built along the river. The activism started when Jean, with the help of the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

, united several small initiatives along the Loire river to a nationwide organization called SOS Loire Vivante. Unified they could provide a strong opposition to the dam project. With funding of the WWF France, WWF Germany and WWF International they inaugurated a program to educate the public, engage media, sponsor conferences, stage demonstrations and ultimately file a legal suit against the dam- building consortium. After a long sustained opposition campaign they reached a victory when the French government announced that it would discard the Serre de la Fare dam construction and instead adopt an alternative river management program. The alternative program included tightening controls on

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

in flood risk areas. Furthermore, two

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

installations were demolished to make it more possible for migratory fish like salmon to reach their spawning grounds.

Activism

After her successful campaign against the dam project she continued her activism. She did for example fight against the enlargement of Nantes - St.- Nazaire port at the Loire rivers mouth that were supposed to accommodate a nuclear power plant.

Honours

in 1992 * Named as one of the heroes of the planet by ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' in 1999

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jean, Christine French environmentalists French women environmentalists Date of birth missing (living people) Living people 1957 births Goldman Environmental Prize awardees