François de Canson: 'What we are undertaking today goes beyond our generations'
On September 25, the prefiguration launch of the Parc naturel régional des Maures, de l’Estérel et du Tanneron was more than just an institutional act.
Here, in these massifs that are both splendid and vulnerable, a part of our collective future is at stake. In August 2021, the fire left its mark on our memories. Two lives were lost and nearly 7,000 hectares ravaged. 'From this ordeal was born a conviction, that this wounded territory could not recover as before, once again. It had to reinvent itself. The Région, under the impetus of Renaud Muselier, chose to move beyond this tragedy to work towards a project. Not by freezing nature in sterile preservation, but by protecting it through action, enhancing it through collective intelligence, and living in it with respect. Preserving is not about preventing life, it is about organizing balance, creating a link between mankind and its environment, between memory and the future,' recalled François de Canson.
HIGH STANDARDS AND AMBITION
The vice-president of the Région added: 'The recent history of our region bears witness to these high standards and this ambition with the creation and management of the last two regional natural parks: Sainte-Baume and Ventoux. Each time, the same high standards, the same ambition, the same pride in seeing a territory reveal itself in all its dimensions. It is this experience that is being put to use in the creation of this 10th Parc Maures – Esterel – Tanneron.' 'These living areas, Mediterranean forests, endemic flora and fauna, rare habitats where the tortue d’Hermann lives—an emblematic and endangered species that itself embodies the responsibility we have: to protect what cannot be found anywhere else. These natural, cultural, and human riches constitute the deep identity of this territory. They deserve to be passed on, enhanced, and shared. Var is the most forested department in France and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. Here, nature is not just a backdrop, it is a vital resource, a major attraction, a daily wealth,' insisted François de Canson. This is why the prefiguration phase is vital. It will draw up a shared diagnostic of the territory, write the charter that will guide actions for the next 15 years, and launch pilot projects that will give shape to the future park. 'The schedule is ambitious—a first version of the charter in spring 2026, a complete procedure by 2028—but the ambition is in keeping with what is at stake. What we are undertaking today goes beyond our generations. It is about bequeathing to our children a preserved heritage, not as an immobile sanctuary, but as a living space, carrying the future,' concluded the vice-president of the Région.
In the presence of:
Simon BABRE, préfet du Var, Jean-Luc LONGOUR, mayor of Le Cannet-des-Maures, Georges BOTELLA, mayor of Théoule-sur-Mer, president of the Grand Site de l’Estérel and regional councillor.
PRESSE AGENCE.