What will the Loire be like tomorrow? Loire site: the reality and prospects

Objectives

The boundaries of the Regions have been redrawn, and remain unchanged for the Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The Loire stretch will not be an administrative unit, as it has never been. But this reform, which also includes a change in the distribution of remits, prompts questions over its reality, the challenges it faces and the projects that may be developed there. 

Along the middle section of the Loire, from the Orléans region to Nantes, the Loire stretch can primarily be considered a coherent unit in terms of physical geography and historical fate as well – "a natural region" (The estuary Loire is nonetheless distinct because of a double affiliation). But this is not the case in terms of use or socioeconomic reality – even if a range of initiatives have strengthened the formative dimension of the river corridor. Beyond its historical capacity as a transport link – by river, rail and then road – the Loire was one of the first river basins to have a concerted, integrated management policy developed which factors in not just how the water and flood risk are managed but also the quality of the environment: the "Plan Loire grandeur nature", which has now been updated. The listing of the Loire Valley from Sully-sur-Loire to Chalonnes-sur-Loire as a World Heritage is the fruit of this policy, which has helped to provide meaning and reason through rediscovery of this river landscape it highlights, and to demonstrate shared ambitions with a management plan that has been validated by the site's local authorities. Tourism, and particularly the Loire à vélo cycle trail, is also one of the project components. 

The study day therefore sets out to paint a picture of this Loire site, which takes on board its geography and how it is used and enhanced over time, before giving thought to its future prospects: what coherences, challenges and projects for such a territory? Initiatives concerning other major European rivers and their territories – the Po, Vistula and Rhine – will help to shed light on our discussions. 

Speakers (provisional list)

• Yves Luginbühl, agricultural engineer, geographer, landscape specialist, director emeritus of research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Chairman of the Mission Val de Loire Scientific and Professional Committee
• Paolo Molinari, geographer, agricultural engineer and professor at the University of Milan, Italy
• Jerzy Grela, head of the engineering department at the Krakow Institute of Meteorology and Water Management, Poland
• Louis-Marie Coyaud, geographer and retired professor from the University of Tours
• Jacques Boislevé, journalist, writer and member of the Pays de la Loire Regional Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESER)
• Catherine Trebaol, Jérôme Baratier and Emmanuelle Quiniou, Directors of the Urban Planning Agencies of the Orléans, Tours and Angers Urban Areas.

Download:

Registration

Registration is free, with a limited number of places. 

Online registration compulsory.