MONITORING COASTAL DYNAMICS AFTER WORKING WITH NATURE PRACTICES IN THE RHONE DELTA

The site of the “Étangs et Marais des Salins de Camargue” (EMSC) is located southern France in the Rhône Delta, facing Mediterranean sea, at the heart of the Camargue Regional Natural Park. This site, formerly dedicated to salt production, is now owned by the Coastal Conservatory and co-managed by the Camargue Regional Natural Park, Tour du Valat, and the French National Society for the Protection of Nature. A habitat restoration project was initiated in 2011 and continues as part of the development of a 2023-2032 management plan and the site's participation in the European H2020 Rest-Coast project. This restoration aims to facilitate the recolonization of the area by plant (seagrass, salt marsh) and animal species, reestablishing the natural hydrological processes of the site. An adaptive coastal management strategy is also applied on this site, with the decision to no longer maintain the historical dikes of the salt production site facing the sea, leading to their gradual collapsing. Protection against the risk of marine submersion is ensured by an landward seawall, which will be elevated, as part of the coastal strategy defined for the greater Rhône Delta. Natural hydro-morphodynamic processes are reestablishing locally, creating new connections with the sea and the formation of beach and barrier areas through overwash. This results in the emergence of a natural buffer zone that will better address the consequences of climate change or storms, such as marine submersion and salinization.