France/Saint-Amans-Valtoret. Protecting and enhancing the richness of the region

The Thoré Montagne Noire community of communes is one of the very first to have been awarded the "Territoire engagé pour la nature" label, a program of the French Ministry of Ecological Transition supported by the French Office for Biodiversity and the Occitanie Region, until now mainly awarded to communes.

We applied for the label on behalf of the entire intermunicipal area," explains Michel Castan, President of the CCTMN, "and have recently undertaken a number of actions and initiatives to preserve nature and biodiversity.This label is both a recognition of what has been done and a commitment to future actions."The label covers the period 2023-2026, and has three main focuses over its duration: a haven for the European otter has already been created at Bout-du-Pont-de-Larn, in collaboration with the Conservatoire des espaces naturels (CEN d'Occitanie) and the Syndicat Mixte du Bassin de l'Agout. The identification of wetlands (sagnes) in the area is underway in partnership with the Réseau Sagne of the Rhizobiome cooperative, in order to first inventory and then protect them. "We are contacting the owners of each of these areas and encouraging them to join the cooperative in order to benefit from Réseau Sagne, a public program dedicated to wetland conservation.diated to the conservation of wetlands, financed by the Agence de l'Eau Adour-Garonne and Europe, which is aimed at owners and managers of these environments."

The third and final axis of this label consists of organizing, with various partners, a program of events designed to raise awareness of the richness of this territory, its biodiversity, its landscapes, etc. "We can only protect what we love," adds Michel Castan. The events, which began on May 26, will continue until autumn and will be organized by the intercom's Tourist Office. The next will take place on Saturday June 15, with a nature walk from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Ribaute farm in Albine: meadows, a reservoir of biodiversity. Then on Saturday July 6, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., a "Wildlife in distress" workshop led by the LPO (Ligue de protection des Oiseaux) at the Albine village hall. Saturday August 3 from 10.30 a.m. to 12 p.m., another nature walk, this time to (re) discover the Puech Balmes sagnes in Saint-Amans-Valtoret, led by Réseau Sagne. On Friday August 30, from 7:30 to 11 pm, the LPO Tarn will be leading a night-time listening walk at the Refuge de Peyrem

aux in the commune of Albine. These events are free of charge, and require registration on the CCTMN website(www.ccthoremontagnenoire.fr Tel: 05 63 97 98 08). Other events are scheduled for the autumn, offering locals and tourists alike an opportunity to discover the fauna, flora and little-known beauty of this valley. "This label is in itself a fine recognition of the richness of our intermunicipal territory", concludes Michel Castan.

Source: www.ladepeche.fr/