The ''Conservatoire du littoral'' ("Coastal protection agency") (official name: ''Conservatoire de l'espace littoral et des rivages lacustres'') is a French public organisation created in 1975 to ensure the protection of outstanding natural areas on the coast, banks of lakes and stretches of water of 10 square kilometres or more. The Conservatoire is a member of the

World Conservation Union The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Its creation was inspired by the work of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, though the National Trust is a private charity, whereas the Conservatoire du littoral is mainly government funded. Its remit covers all French

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

s, départements d'outre-mer,

Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loca ...

, and, recently,

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

. The Conservatoire acquires land by private agreement, by pre-emption in or, from time to time, by expropriation. Land may also be given to the Conservatoire by donation or legacy. The Conservatoire acquires 20 to 30 km² of land yearly. After ensuring all the restoration work, the Conservatoire entrusts the management of its lands to local authorities or other local groups or organisations. The Conservatoire uses specialists to decide how the sites should be managed and what activities (such as agricultural or recreational activities) can take place. As at 31 January 2005, the Conservatoire cared for an area of 732 km² spread over 300 sites, for 861 km of shoreline and 700 sites in 2015 for 1500 km, or 13 percent of French seacoast (the objective is to reach one third in 2050). Its annual budget is approximately €30 million, €25 M of which is earmarked for acquisitions and development. Most of its budget is provided by the national government, but local authorities and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

also contribute, as do corporations and private donors. The Conservatoire national du littoral employs 100 people in

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, and in its regional offices.

External links

Conservatoire du littoral
(in French) {{Authority control Organizations established in 1975 Nature conservation in France Land management Land use

See also

External links