Marquenterre

The Marquenterre site, located within the perimeter of the Baie de Somme National Nature Reserve, is a bird sanctuary of European renown that attracts an average of 170,000 visitors each year. Land reclaimed from the sea in the 1950s and once used for growing tulips and hyacinths, it is now made up of marshes, dunes, meadows, and reed beds.

With the acceleration of climate change effects, the site is currently vulnerable to rising water levels, drying of wetlands, and dike breaches during storms. The implementation of the Life Adapto+ project approach will help generate reflections and decision-support tools aimed at evolving the configuration and management of this site through nature-based solutions. These changes will need to balance the various uses of the site in harmony, including socio-economic activities, primary activities such as shellfish harvesting, and maintaining the attractiveness of this natural area. These studies will contribute to the “Grand Marquenterre” project, which aims to extend its influence beyond current boundaries with a coastal center project to improve visitor facilities.

This site has belonged to the Conservatoire du littoral since the 1980s and is managed by the Syndicat Mixte Baie de Somme-Grand Littoral Picard; it is part of the European Natura 2000 network.

Fauna and flora

It is possible to observe more than 300 species: Northern Shoveler, Eurasian Spoonbill, Pied Avocet, Plovers sp., Eurasian Oystercatcher, Terns sp., Natterjack Toad, European Tree Frog, Loesel’s Orchid, Sand Couch Grass…