Gironde :  A charter to preserve the soils

Thousands of agricultural hectares disappear in France every year due to urbanizations, roads, railways :: for instance in the department of  Gironde more than 1000 hectares were sacrificed  during the years 2000 to 2007

To avoid the disappearing of the best viticultural soils and their estates as well as the excessive suppression of the lands suitable for cultivation, the Chamber of Agriculture of Gironde linked with the Interprofession and the management institutions started an original step that some other departments could inspire: that means the signing of a Charter named:

“Agriculture, Forest and Town planning “

“For a thrifty and shared management of the rural space”

Charter signed on July 8th 2011 between:

State (DDTM), Chamber of Agriculture, General Council, Association of Mayors.

It is mainly the situation on the viticultural level in Gironde which justified this project.

The outer-urban urbanization (the Bordeaux metropolis, the area of the Garonne valley, region of the Bassin d’Arcachon) generates needs in extraction of material,  construction of lines of communication and a pressure related to land ownership which disperse housing in rural areas and therefore wine estates are expected to disappear ; the AOC vineyard located in those areas is the first to be threatened in its continued existence as cultural, architectural and economic  expression speaking of employments.

The threats are of the same order in the forest and large cultural areas.

The charter is an educational and a methodological document to help the local elected representatives and their technicians for a better integration of the agricultural stakes of the territories when elaborating the town planning documents. It’s also an aid for the decision in the delivery of the planning permissions.

The reading of this charter shows straightaway the motivations for such initiative which can be resumed in three preambles:

Considering that the promotion of a sustainable development in Gironde rests on the preservation of the agricultural, viticultural and forest activity which facilitates the protection of employment in rural area, ensure the continuity of landscapes and reinforce the attractiveness of the territories.

Considering the need to find a balance between the urban development and the rural development in order to facilitate the preservation of agricultural and forest spaces and the protection of natural spaces.

Considering the absolute need to encourage a thrifty use of the space imposing to search forms of urban development preventing the disappearance of the rural space caused by housing in the rural areas.

Practically the approach for elaboration of the Land Use plan advocates 3 steps :

• Initial state of the environment and diagnosis of the territory
• Project of territory determining the guidelines wished in terms of planning and development : in the document called Project of Planning and Sustainable Development (in French PADD)
• Translation of the project in the graphic enclosures (zoning) and the written enclosures (rules)

A series of 12 specification sheets are enclosed to the charter among which are noteworthy:

• Sheet n° 1 : the agricultural diagnosis
• Sheet n° 2 : the zoning and rule of the project
• Sheet n° 7 : it establishes an original notion : the Scopes of Protection of the Outer-urban Agricultural and Natural Spaces (in French PPEANP)

The law dealing with the Development of Rural Areas (in French DTR)  dated 23^rd February 2005 integrated to the planning laws gives competence to the departments to create scopes of intervention in outer-urban zone to act in front of the land pressure which characterizes those areas: such law points out a real long term overall policy on the outer-urban areas of the department.

• Sheet n° 9   :  determines the protocol on the constructions in agricultural and forest zone.

Let’s end with the reminder of an ancient and important measure of the planning laws which stipulates that the Land use Plan (in French PLU) of a municipality can only be approved after notice of the Chamber of Agriculture and, if necessary, of the National Institute of Labels of Origin (in French INAO) in the areas of Controlled Label of Origin.

The text of the charter in full is available on the website of the “Direction Départementale des Territoires et de la Mer (DDTM) www.gironde.developpement-durable.gouv.fr