The French biodiversity office and Française des Jeux have selected 19 projects for the 2nd edition of their “Mission nature”. For Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, it is Agri'Mares. And it will be effective in Haute-Loire from 2025.
“Contribute to the protection of biodiversity. » Here is the slogan of the French Biodiversity Office and the Française des Jeux. Together, on October 28, they launched the 2nd edition of the biodiversity lottery, called “Mission Nature”.
“It’s a real ecosystem”
Since then, 3 euro scratch tickets have been offered at FDJ points of sale to finance nature preservation projects in France, on the same model as the heritage lottery carried by Stéphane Berne. Among the 19 projects selected, that of Agri'Mares was chosen for Auvergne Rhône-Alpes. Supported by the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO), it aims to create or restore 60 agricultural ponds in the region to accommodate dragonflies, frogs, butterflies, flowers and birds. While improving the condition of 24 wetlands. Cost of the project: more than 1.2 million euros, including 200,000 euros of planned subsidy.
In place in the region since 2017, where more than 400 ponds have been created or restored, the LPO seized the opportunity of the biodiversity lottery to broaden its scope of action. “It’s something concrete, with a desire, through “Mission nature”, to develop wetlands,” explains Jean-Baptiste Decotte, in charge of the project. We felt that it was something relevant given the current call for projects and the challenges we have in our territory.” The opportunity for the team coordinator to recall that, despite the small size of a pond, inside it is “a real ecosystem” which can accommodate several species.
Around fifteen sites in Haute-Loire
In Haute-Loire, the program will last 3 years, with the aim of creating or restoring around fifteen ponds. “We will contact interested farmers, in targeted and high-stakes sectors. Come and meet local stakeholders, particularly farms, and see, depending on the local context, the humidity on the site, how the farm is surrounded, to carry out a local diagnosis,” explains Jean-Baptiste Decotte. Once this diagnosis has been carried out and all stakeholders have agreed, the operation is carried out within one to two days for areas between 10 and 50 m2 maximum.
It is not only farms that will be affected but also agricultural plots, public, private or in peri-urban areas. “With the funding from the lottery, we will reactivate our contacts for those who were interested and put in place concrete actions. The goal is to reduce the financial part of the operation as much as possible, or even to finance the entire operation,” according to Sébastien Nottellet, biodiversity action project manager in charge of Haute-Loire. Enough to move from a project in its infancy in the department to an initiative that will be able to develop.
In addition to farmers, it will involve approaching agricultural high schools, with which collaborations already exist. “The objective is to create ponds on the plots of the school establishment and ensure that it is an educational support for the students”, reveals the project manager of the department.
In the meantime, a new pond should emerge in the coming weeks near Laussonne, where the aim will be to protect the yellow-bellied ringer, an endangered species of toad.
Romain Fiore
France
