Loire Valley World Heritage: holding of the territorial conference on the UNESCO site

The meeting was opened by Alain Dayan, Assistant Mayor of the City of Tours, and was led by Jean-François Delage, Prefect of Indre-et-Loire, along with Jacques Auxiette, President of Mission Val de Loire and of the Pays de la Loire Region, and François Bonneau, President of the Centre Region. 

The UNESCO site’s “management plan”

How does one set about preserving and enhancing the cultural and landscape characteristics that earned the Loire Valley its UNESCO listing? How does one ensure their continued renewal? And how are they to be taken into account in the development of a territory containing over a million inhabitants, and made a basis for such development? 

It was in order to respond to such questions that the Loire Valley World Heritage Management Plan was drawn up, undertaken by the State with the participation of Mission Val de Loire. It puts forward a frame of references designed for any party whose actions will influence the territory’s future: State, local authorities, economic actors, professionals and inhabitants alike. 

These guidelines are by no means regulatory, but a number of them may materialise – or have already done so – in sectorial policies. It is for each of the parties concerned to implement the plan through their own tools and policies.  

Several local authorities have already shown evidence of their commitment, including the Centre and Pays de la Loire Regions through Mission Val de Loire, the City of Blois, which integrates an environmental approach to urban planning (AEU) into all of its development projects, and the Maine-et-Loire General Council, which has drawn up a plan for the protection of 7 major sites with high environmental stakes at play alongside the Loire. 

On this website:

• Management Plan for the listed site

Local authorities called upon to deliberate

AAfter examination of the document over the last few months by the Centre and Pays de la Loire’s two Regional Assemblies, the local authorities concerned, which were first called upon to give their opinions on the subject a year ago, have now been invited to deliberate in order to take action with regard to the guidelines it contains. 

This approach has been taken in order to meet the requirements that UNESCO demands of all listed World Heritage sites around the world, and so insure that the label stays in place. Beyond this, however, it should be understood that integration of the values recognised by UNESCO into overall development of the territory may lead to constitution of a real territorial project – a project that both respects the past and looks to the future, preserving the heritage handed down to us while building that which we shall pass on to future generations. 

Mission Val de Loire is at the disposal of any local authorities that require its help in defining actions to implement in extension of the initial document, and will consequently be organising study and exchange days for them in each département. 

A summary version of the management plan, with references to the complete document, will also be sent to consular chambers to ensure that companies are kept informed.