Petit travers

A lido is a sandy coastal barrier that encloses a lagoon. The lido of Petit and Grand Travers, also called the lido de l’Or, separates the Étang de l’Or from the Mediterranean Sea, divides two highly urbanized areas (Carnon and La Grande Motte), but offers a succession of dune ridges, salt marshes, and forested areas of great ecological, landscape, and cultural value.
It is largely owned by the Conservatoire du littoral, which has been managing this site since 1976.

The Petit and Grand Travers lido site is part of a larger sedimentary unit (the Bay of Aigues Mortes), which is subject to ongoing erosion.
In 2008, the Hérault department carried out emergency works across this entire bay, where beaches and dune ridges were at risk of no longer fulfilling their role as a natural barrier against marine incursions. A large-scale replenishment operation was undertaken: one million cubic meters of sediment brought by the Rhône River were extracted and then deposited on four areas of the Bay of Aigues Mortes (with an estimated benefit of between 300,000 and 400,000 m³ for the Lido de l’Or).

The sustainable development program for the lido, studied and coordinated over ten years, resulted in 2015 in the renaturation of the dune and a complete reorganization of visitor facilities on the site. The key feature of this operation was the removal of a section of the road built on the dune, which allowed natural dynamics to resume.

Download the file (Rehabilitation of the Petit and Grand Travers Lido – Public presentation of the project 2014).

Petit Travers before work

Petit Travers after work

Project actions and outcomes

Among the range of approaches within the Adapto project, the Petit and Grand Travers site is one of the most advanced. The large-scale works carried out from 2003 to 2015 are the result of a shared commitment between the Conservatoire and its partners (the Hérault Department, the municipalities of Mauguio-Carnon and La Grande Motte, and the Pays de l’Or Agglomération).

This site will therefore provide valuable feedback for other sites within the network. A site narrative will help preserve the memory of the site’s history and organize a handover between different generations of stakeholders, building on the extensive consultation work that has been done. Furthermore, the site deserves ongoing local support to continue this dynamic of cooperation, maintaining its role as a pilot and innovative site in terms of flexible coastal management.

The project also plans to monitor the evolution of the environment under the influence of more flexible and spontaneous natural dynamics, as well as track users’ perceptions of the site in the context of using and appropriating a project of this kind. Finally, a forward-looking study will evaluate the relevance of different development scenarios for the Grand Travers, incorporating economic, biodiversity, landscape, environmental, societal, legal-economic, and administrative aspects.

Chronology

• December 2018: Adapto day in Occitanie, raising awareness among elected officials about a site developed for climate change adaptation: Le Petit et Grand Travers.
• 20 elected representatives from different areas attended and shared their experiences gained at Petit et Grand Travers.
• February 2019: Work by students from the Master’s program in Coastal and Marine Management at the University of Montpellier: collection of historical data generated during the consultation on the redevelopment project of the Lido de l’Or.
• May 2019: Aerial photo campaign using a kite.