The regional action plan for the Loire and its estuary

An overall approach

The regional action plan for the Loire and its estuary encompasses several of the Regional Council's policies (tourism, economy, biodiversity, environment, heritage, culture, etc.) and rounds off the agro-environmental policies. 

It is evidence of the Regional Council's determination to ensure: 

• continuity over time, with multi-annual programming
• continuity in space, from Montsoreau to Saint Nazaire, as well as in connection with the rest of the Loire Valley, particularly together with the Centre Region
• continuity through action, particularly by supporting different structures that work alongside the Regional Council and whose action it is important to clarify and ensure over the long-term.

10 actions identified

The Mission Val de Loire is particularly, but not exclusively, involved in two of the actions. 

Action 1: Set up a landscape standard

Drawing inspiration from the principles of the Loire Valley World Heritage Management Plan and, for the basics, the guidelines adopted, the objective is to adjust this plan and adapt it to the realities of a Loire downstream of the listed site by factoring in the different landscape realities. The idea is to create a "landscape" heritage. This will help people to understand the Loire landscapes, and therefore to respect them. This initiative stems from how the Loire subject has been understood in the broad sense by local officials and citizens alike. 

Action 8: Promoting research on Loire-related subjects

One of the measures of this action is the UNESCO Chair project led by the Universities of Tours (IMAC OF) and Angers (Geography Department), in partnership with the Mission Val de Loire. It involves universities from Argentina, Brazil, Senegal, Mali and India and is set to last four years. The chair will bring together natural sciences and societies to promote cross-disciplinary studies and training on rivers and river heritages as a heritage for humanity, reservoirs of biodiversity and places of cultural convergence. 

The other actions

Action 2: Support the sustainable economic development of the estuary 

Action 3: Support discussions and projects on the whole of the riverbed 

Action 4: Make the Loire governance transparent 

Action 5: Coordinate existing environmental management tools 

Action 6: Look into the feasibility of a territory project on the estuary (north and south banks) 

Action 7: Develop a culture of anticipation to tackle risks 

Action 9: Bring tourism to the Loire 

Action 10: Help citizens to gain a clearer grasp of the Loire 

The programme can be downloaded from the Regional Council's website .