A look back at the Conference Salmons an People 3, another step towards saving salmon

Over the two days of Thursday and Friday 19 and 20 October 2023, 100 people took part each day, with a total of 7 different nationalities (France, Germany, England, Ireland, Canada, Denmark and the United States) came to listen to original presentations and debate with speakers from all over France (from the Gaves, the Rhine, the Garonne and, of course, the Loire-Allier), as well as international experts, local players, government representatives, researchers, engineers, associations, hydro-electricity companies and other users (VNF, professional fishermen, recreational fishermen, etc.). ). The various presentations highlighted the current issues surrounding the conservation of wild salmon, from their impact on the high seas to the heart of the rivers.

 

In the run-up to the event, SOS Loire Vivante – ERN worked in partnership with schools and after-school care centres in the Loire basin on a project to raise awareness of the river and hold creative workshops on salmon. The paintings and works produced by the children were exhibited at the conference. Fifty students from the Brioude Bonnefont agricultural college, some of whom had taken part in the educational programme, attended the Thursday morning plenary session, and two Brioude nursery classes surprised us by visiting the exhibition on the Friday morning.

 

More than sixty people also took part in the meal organised at the Hotel Restaurant la Crèche, a venue that was once home to experienced salmon fishermen. During the meal, two 15-minute videos on restoring ecological continuity by removing dams were shown.

 

Friday afternoon marked a break with the rest of the programme by refocusing the discussions on the Loire. The round table provided an opportunity for constructive discussion, and for unblocking positions so that we could finally move towards a shared roadmap.

 

On Saturday, 35 people took part in the day’s visit, including some new participants. After a visit to the Maison du Saumon et de la Rivière in Brioude, which includes aquariums showing the species found on the Allier and the history of the Brivadois region around salmon, two itineraries were proposed:

 

Itinerary 1: Visit to the Allier valley between Brioude and Chanteuges, with a “virtual” visit to the “new Poutès dam” due to the vigipirate plan preventing visits to the site, in partnership with EDF, and a visit to the National Wild Salmon Conservatory de Chanteuges, with Nature A Lier.

 

Itinerary 2: Visit to the Alagnon basin, where major efforts have been made to restore ecological continuity: visits to dams that have been removed and restored in the basin: Grand Pont, Chambezon, Massiac, Stalapos), in partnership with SIGAL.

 

Presentations, summaries and photos are online. The replay and summary will follow shortly on the following page : Colloque « Des Saumons et des Hommes 3 » 19-21 Oct 2023 à Brioude – SOS LOIRE VIVANTE

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Hydroelectricity – EU: Open letter from Living Rivers Europe (LRE)

In February, around a hundred NGOs co-signed Living Rivers Europe’s letter to the European Commission calling on EU decision-makers to protect Europe’s rivers from the deployment of new hydropower plants. The Commission’s response, received on 4 May 2023, contains several erroneous statements about the role of hydropower in the deployment of renewable energies in Europe.

LRE responded to the Commission on 20 October with a new open letter co-signed by 100 NGOs.

Extract : “In Europe, a large majority of the planned hydropower capacity is small plants – 93% of planned projects have a capacity <10 MW and 60% below 1 MW. Therefore they are unable to significantly back up variable renewables. On the contrary, the smallest run-of-river hydropower plants are subject to seasonal river flows, thus they operate as an intermittent energy source. Many of those planned small plants are in protected areas. Building new storage and pumped storage power plants where two reservoirs do not already exist is likely to cause irreversible damage to rivers, due to landscape change and hydropeaking.

read the open letter

Patagonia launches a campaign to save the oceans!

To mark World Oceans Day on 8 June, Patagonia is launching a global campaign to protect and restore the oceans.

While this is a global campaign for Patagonia, we have a clear and specific ask for our leaders across Europe:

“Bottom trawling is bulldozing our ocean floor, undermining small-scale fisheries, and deepening the climate crisis. We call on European leaders to end this destructive practice, starting with an immediate ban in marine protected areas and inshore zones.  Sign the petition to end bottom trawling at patagonia.com/oceans.

More infos : https://eu.patagonia.com/…/eu-marine-protected-areas.html

Montpezat and water sharing: a hot topic

On the occasion of World Water Day on 22 March and with a particularly dry spring and tensions on the resource already high, the media in the Haute Loire did not fail to talk about water sharing and the project we are proposing around the renewal of the Montpezat concession. Read the special report and Roberto Epple’s interview in the Eveil de la Haute Loire newspaper (in french).

About our campaign on “water sharing”. Study case of the Upper Loire and Ardèche basins :
The Montpezat hydroelectric complex (138MW) takes water from the Loire which is turbined in a powerplant to the Ardèche basin. This case of interbasin water transfer, about 220 million m3/year from the Loire basin to the Rhône basin, is unique in Europe. Beyond the energy aspect, water sharing is an issue. An important question that could emerge elsewhere in future. The Montpezat hydroelectric complex will reach the end of its concession in 2029. EDF must not be the only actor around the negotiating table and the public debate must take place as soon as possible to understand and considerate the issues. Thus, ERN wishes to inform, raise awareness, and prepare citizens for better water resource sharing, drought management and energy production.

More info about Montpezat

 

Save the date : international colloquium “Des Saumons et des Hommes 3 ” 19-21 October 2023 – Brioude (France)

Ten years after the last meeting, SOS Loire Vivante – ERN is organising a new conference on the Loire salmon. This is an opportunity to take stock of the situation of the Atlantic salmon in the Loire and elsewhere. National and international experts will try to understand the reasons for the decline despite restoration efforts and whether our actions are still in line with current and future challenges.
Is it due to climate change or to phenomena at sea or in the river? During the health check and the presentation of the results of restoration actions, we will compare the case of the Loire with other highly migratory river basins such as the Rhine, the Elbe, the Adour, the Garonne, the Sélune, etc,
Are you interested in this event?

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Loire, Terre Sauvage a magnificent documentary film with powerful messages

A movie not to be missed!

The premiere in St Nazaire was a success. The film, centered on the Loire River between Angers and the estuary, conveys great messages with breathtaking images of animals and landscapes: the observation of pollution and the dramatic loss of biodiversity, the interactions and interdependence between nature and human activities, the actions that are being taken. This was followed by a rich exchange of more than 1 hour with the 80 people present, the producer, the director, the director of the programs of France 3 Pays de la Loire, our association and many associations present.

To see it : Go on France 3 Pays de la Loire Thursday, March 17 at 23:15 and then in replay afterwards for 30 days.

As a partner of the film, SOS Loire Vivante can also help you to organize a screening at home….

The film is only in French.