Le Marais audomarois

paysage du marais
moulin et gestion hydraulique
les maisons sur les îles
vol de cygnes au dessus d'une rivière
Saules têtards sous la neige

Le Marais audomarois

  • Country: 
    France
  • Site number: 
    1835
  • Area: 
    3,726 ha
  • Designation date: 
    15-09-2008
  • Coordinates: 
    50°46'N 02°15'E
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

Cultural and natural heritage have mixed for the past 13 centuries in this unique human-made Site, which supports high biodiversity within a very urbanized and densely populated area. People have been able to cultivate and live in the Site by building 700 kilometres of canals, drainage channels and hydraulic systems to control water levels. The Site hosts one third of the aquatic plant species found in France, and it also supports different life history stages of 26 fish species including the critically endangered globally European eel Anguilla anguilla. Among 13 bat species, Myotis dasycneme, the rarest bat in France, is regularly found here during the reproduction period. The Site is an important staging area for the globally vulnerable aquatic warbler Acrocephalus paludicola and threatened breeding birds such as the western marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus. The ecological character is influenced by the prevailing cultural traditions, with the rich biodiversity closely linked to the regular maintenance of the canals. The Site is important for flood control and fresh water supply as well for recreation and nature observation.

Administrative region: 
Hauts-de-France

  • Global international designation: 
    • UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
  • National legal designation: 
    • National reserve - Etangs du Romelaëre
  • Regional (international) legal designations: 
    • EU Natura 2000
  • Last publication date: 
    22-12-2017

Downloads

Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)

Additional reports and documents