Box 9H The Loire (France)

Pont de Chadron, Serre de la Fare, Haute-Loire, France

Source: M Rautkari, WWF


The Loire basin drains more than 20 per cent of the whole of France. As one of the most untamed larger rivers of Western Europe, the Loire (Sites 39 to 44 on Map 9.7) and its largest tributary, the Allier, have their headwaters in the Massif Central. Their upper sections run through deep mountain gorges before entering the plains downstream of Roanne and Vichy. In the area of the confluence there are well-preserved alluvial floodplains with many braided channels, dead arms, river islands and open sand and gravel banks. Numerous bird, plant and invertebrate species, many of which are rare or endangered, occupy these floodplain habitats. The Loire is better known for its migratory fish species. Once very common, the salmon (Salmo salar) has suffered much from pollution and dams. At present it can only swim upstream along the Allier and the stock has been reduced to 10 per cent of the original amount.

The construction of dams is still a threat to the natural habitats of the Loire. The site of the first dam alone, planned to be built at Serre de la Fare on the upper Loire, but now cancelled, is home for 98 nationally protected species. Besides development schemes for dam constructions, the Loire ecosystems face other dangers: gravel and sand exploitation in the river bed, intensive agriculture in the floodplain, irrigation and water pollution through a lack of sewage treatment.

A NGO campaign (supported by the WWF, Berne Convention and Ramsar Bureau) under the guidance of a 'Loire Vivante Committee' led to the cancellation of two dam projects and to a review of two others. The Loire river serves as one of the representative sites for a functional analysis of European Wetland Ecosystems (EC STEP Programme) and, under the EC LIFE Programme, eight conservation projects along the Loire and the Allier have been approved and are currently being carried out. The projects aim at conserving the river's dynamics in order to maintain its biological richness and the water quality. Parallel to these activities, environmental education is being developed to lead to sustainable use of the river ecosystems and natural resources.