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Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale

The Parc Naturel Régional (PNR) des Caps et Marais d’Opale is one of the 45 regional nature parks in France, the most northern of them. Situated at a strategic European cross-roads (two hours from Paris, London and Brussels), this is a nationally important area of countryside, protected for its landscape and conservation importance.

Some figures

The PNR was set up in 2000, from the previous PNR du Nord Pas de Calais created 14 years before.
Over 129.600 hectares, 186.000 habitants, and an average density of 143 inhabitants per square kilometres.
Territory of 152 communes: 132 rural communes (more than 2.000 inhabitants), 5 communes (more than 5.000 inhabitants (St-Omer is the most important city in the PNR), 3 main cities in the close surrounding: Boulogne sur Mer in the West (45.000 inhabitants), Calais in the North (more than 77.000 inhabitants) and Saint Omer in the East (17.000 inhabitants).
75% of this area is agricultural (57% of arable farming, 18% of pastures), 12% consists of woodlands, 4% of marshes and wetlands.
51.5 Km of shores with dunes, cliffs and so on.

What is a PNR?

A territory with valuable landscapes, natural and cultural heritage.
Inhabited rural area with strong identity.
Threatened by a demographic pressure (in the case of the PNR Caps et Marais d’Opale) or a rural desertification.
An agreed charter: a development project is agreed by all the communes of the PNR which aims to the preservation and enhancement of the natural and cultural heritage.
Limits are negotiated. The perimeter corresponds to the communities which have ratified the Charter.
The missions of the PNR are the specific landscape and heritage preservation, the economic and social development of this rural area, the public information and enhancement of the heritage, the innovation and experimentation.
The PNR has to be consulted in several public procedures such as land planning, road planning, planning and building permission, and so on.
A PNR differs from a Parc National which is generally uninhabited, with the biodiversity protection as main objective, it is a State’s initiative (and mainly funded by the State too). A PNR is a Regional initiative, with mainly regional funding (+ Département, communes and other members) which aims to combine heritage preservation and socio-economic development.
The 44 French PNRs cover a total of 7 millions hectares (12% of France) and concern about 5% of the French population.

PNR Caps et Marais d’Opale

Diversified natural heritage: a mosaic of habitats composed of forests, grasslands, hedge networks, chalk grassland, wetland and marshes. Marais Audomarois is one of the last agricultural Marshes with market-gardening activity.
An agricultural territory: two third of the PNR’s surface is managed by farmers, 1.500 farmers (average farm of 45 hectares). The activity still dynamic despite an ageing farmer's population. The number of farmers declined 40% since 1988.
Rich and diversified cultural heritage: the diversified natural features generated an important variety of architecture like fishing villages, large old farms, marshes’ settlements, Flemish houses, seaside villas and local know-how and techniques that the PNR also aims to preserve.

Contact

Syndicat Mixte du Parc naturel régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale
BP22
62142 Colembert
France
Phone: +33-3-21879090
Contact person: Jean-Pierre Geib
E-mail address: jpgeib@parc-opale.fr
Website: www.parc-opale.fr