Facing beach erosion, the battle plan of coastal municipalities

Meeting in Ramatuelle on February 12, the elected officials of the Syndicat des Communes du Littoral Varois discussed the recommendations issued by the Cour des comptes in its report of January 24 on the development of the Mediterranean coastline in the face of risks related to the sea and flooding.

Face à l'érosion des plages, le plan de bataille des communes du littoral

Aware of the financial stakes weighing on properties threatened by erosion, the mayors and delegates of the association share the magistrates' concerns about the sustainability of the funding. MOBILIZATION After several motions addressed to State services and feedback given to the Association Nationale des Élus du Littoral (ANEL) to discuss the financing methods for properties affected by the retreat of the coastline, the elected officials of the SCLV call for a strong mobilization of public authorities to prepare for the future.

“Municipalities will not be able to bear the costs of this hazard alone. We are told of €58M for threatened properties in three years, but no fund exists to date,” insists Gil Bernardi, president of the SCLV. Regarding the urgency to launch mapping and Stratégies Locales de Gestion Intégrée du Trait de Côte, an urgency highlighted by the Cour des comptes, Gil Bernardi welcomes the work accomplished by the elected officials: “15 municipalities out of 27 are included in the decree regulating the production of prospective maps for the 30 and 100-year horizons and, those that are not have started developing an integrated coastal strategy.”

As the first department in France to have established a porter-à-connaissance on submersion risk (2019), Var wants to continue its work on coastal risks to best adapt territories to climate change.

Thanking the services of the Direction Départementale des Territoires et de la Mer (DDTM) for their support in this approach, the president of the SCLV announces: “We are launching a collection on coastal erosion in Var which will list all studies conducted on the coastline to deal with erosion.

Sea defense structures, rational sand management, renaturation, pooling of our techniques.

Each municipality will be able to benefit from concrete feedback.” during the plenary assembly of next August and will serve as a reference base for all municipalities during the development of the Stratégies Locales de Gestion Intégrée du Trait de Côte.