The key steps
On this webpage, please find the news and the main key steps of the LIFE Biodiv’Paysanne project regarding the years.
Delivery of the brushing machine for the harvest of local seeds
The brushing machine for seed harvesting has officially been inaugurated! This machine will be intended to collect and offer indigenous and local seeds from the region for the re-seeding of meadows. It will be used by the Civil Society of Agricultural Exploitation, created within the framework of the project. The CBN PMP is directly linked to this action and will provide its expertise and recommendations.
Photo ©Franck Gaulard - CEN Occitanie
Visit of LIFE Bioscape, based in Denmark
LIFE Biodiv’Paysanne had the honor of hosting the Danish project, LIFE Bioscape alongside LIFE Coteaux Gascons and LIFE Terra Musiva. These days of exchanges between European project builders have been made to discuss the different approaches, methods and tools used by the speakers and to compare them! Very nice presentations and interesting discussions that allow us to question ourselves and improve our processes, always with the objective of taking into account and preserving biodiversity. It is also a real pleasure to feel supported by other European projects.
On the agenda : many meetings but also field visits. Highlighting the agricultural aspects, in particular with the cross-diagnostic tool created by LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne on the Lafage Farm integrated into the project, as well as the visit of the La Plagne Farm integrated into the LIFE Coteaux Gascons and the actions in place to financially help the owner with the installation of fences. Participants were invited to visit natural sites including the Lemboulas wetlands, managed for several years by CEN Occitanie, as well as the re-seeding of meadows near Gimont by LIFE Coteaux Gascons.
Photo ©Pierre Honoré for LIFE Coteaux Gascons
First meeting of the project steering committee
The first COPIL meeting of the project took place around Carcassonne. A first update meeting on the progress of the actions and the future ones to come was carried out on Thursday afternoon. All the partners, both technical and financial, as well as the associated beneficiaries of the project were present.
The following day, a restricted committe was invited to visit one of the pilot farms, the Domaine de Roquenégade. This was an opportunity to discuss the methods and tools used and to discover, with the farm owners, their expectations and their needs regarding the project.
Open day at the Lafage Farm
La Ferme de Lafage, among the 60 farms of the project, organized an open day to discover its production methods and tools as well as its understanding and consideration of the surrounding biodiversity : organic viticulture, hedge plantations, plantations of other fruit species, pastoral management with his flock of sheep, etc.
Supported by Campagnes Vivantes 82 and Terre de Liens Midi-Pyrénées, the project was able to demonstrate its existence and the relevance of its integration into agricultural production methods. The next objective is to apply the cross-diagnosis in order to carry out an inventory of the socio-economic, agronomic and ecological aspect of the farm and to come up with recommendations in order to take even more into account the biodiversity.
Creation of the project roll-ups
Four different roll-ups models have been created representing the key actions of the project. The models are the following and can be used as supports for particular events or actions:
- General explanation of the project
- Highlighting actions to preserve and restore natural environments
- SCEA Explanation
- Explanation of the cross-diagnosis and support for farms
Photo ©François Salmon - FCEN
Annual visit of ELMEN EEIG
ELMEN EEIG (formerly NEEMO), responsible for monitoring LIFE projects, carried out its annual visit on February 7th. This day took place in the Lot, with the CEN Occitanie natural areas management team, who presented a natural site with ecological issues, Moulin du Pont. A big thanks to them for their involvement !
ELMEN EEIG also returned on March 6, 2023 to the premises of CEN Occitanie for a more in-depth update on expenses and their monitoring.
Official launch of LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne to the press
In February 2023, the LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne was officially communicated to the press with the sending of a press release and a press kit as well as a video presentation of the project. This sending aroused the interest of a regional television channel Vià Occitanie, which interviewed Mélanie Némoz, coordinator of the project. You can find the full interview here (in French).
Articles are being written for other media.
The action launch on the multi-site management plans
The A5 action of the LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne project plans to experiment with the drafting of multi-site management plans, in accordance with the reference methodology for drafting management plans for natural areas in France: it will therefore be a question to develop, no longer for each site but for each network of sites, a multi-site management plan, including an analysis of the local and socio-economic context, an analysis of ecological issues (inventories, mapping of natural habitats, etc.), the definition of long-term and operational objectives, the development of an action program and the implementation of management measures, as well as their evaluation. A lack of concrete examples of this type of management plans is to be deplored. This innovative work and this experimentation will lead to the development of a technical manual and a toolbox, which can then guide natural areas managers at the national level.
During the month of February, the various partners met for the first time for a meeting about the organization and the methodology to be applied to carry out the action. In total, 12 multi-site management plans are planned, in 8 departments of the Occitanie region.
A promising year for the Société Civile d'Exploitation Agricole (SCEA)
This beginning of the year made it possible to buy a large part of the agricultural equipment (tractor, mowing equipment, brushing machine for collecting seeds, etc.) and to validate with the land owner in the municipality of Montesquieu-Volvestre the signature of the lease on 30 ha and the rental of a hangar for the storage of the equipment. At the same time, the partnership with the CBN PMP has made it possible to identify three source meadows on which Franck Gaulard will be able to use the equipment and to become familiar with the collection protocols. Meanwhile, four sites have been identified to experiment with mowing, including the Cayenne site (31), which has not been mowed for several years due to a lack of partnership with a farmer.
©Franck Gaulard CEN Occitanie
Visit of the project on the farm of Martre Bel Air in the Tarn
On the Martre Bel Air farm, simplified surveys of agroecological infrastructures and soil samples were taken as part of the inventory prior to the acquisition of this sheep farm by Terre de Liens Midi-Pyrenees. The day allowed the teams and volunteers of Terre de Liens and CEN Occitanie to strengthen their partnership and discuss their respective practices.
Beginning of the diagnosis of agroecological infrastructures (AEI) on the Pégarou farm in Ariège
Meeting with the farmers of Pégarou at the end of November for the first stage of cross-diagnosis. Solagro questioned the Croquants collective on the agronomic and socio-economic aspects of their exploitation and the CEN Occitanie and the ANA-CEN Ariège collected on the ground elements concerning the elements of the landscape favorable to the biodiversity (hedges, woods, low walls, grassy strips, ponds, etc.).
On November 28, the CEN Occitanie and the INP ENSAT Toulouse (school of agronomy) met to celebrate the signing of a cooperation agreement on the preservation of biodiversity, particularly in agrosystems. It revolves around several themes:
• co-supervision of CIFRE theses;
• assistance from ENSAT to help the CEN Occitanie to adapt agricultural practices with a view to increasing biodiversity on farms;
• participation of CEN Occitanie in training modules on the management of natural areas, biodiversity, setting up projects with ENSAT students and support for students responsible for producing an ecological management plan for the campus of ENSAT.
The final purpose of this agreement is to set up a partnership training/research on the preservation of biodiversity in rural areas.
The 60 farms' list is finalized
Congratulations to all the farmers who have shown a strong interest in taking biodiversity into account at the scale of their farm. Everything is ready for the start! A first confirmation letter has just been sent to them accompanied by the agreement that will bind them to the project.
AdNatura exhibition in Montpellier
First participation of the project, represented by colleagues from CEN Occitanie and the Federation, at the AdNatura fair. Many meetings and exchanges with environmental professionals, ecology students as well as people in professional retraining. In total, more than 300 visitors came to see us.
Forest fair in Gourdon (46)
A CEN Occitanie employee represented the project at the forest fair in Gourdon, in the Lot department. On the program: a booth with all the information about the project and a forest walk which brought together around fifty people.
12th edition of the REVER colloquium, organized by the CBNPMP
On October 6, the CBNPMP, the CEN Occitanie and the town hall of Capvern led a session on the theme of the ecological restoration of wetlands. Indeed, the Capvern wetland is the ideal place to talk about pastoral management and mechanical management since it has been maintained for about ten years by these two methods. This allowed the many participants from all over France to learn more about ecological management practices for natural environments, which have proven and are still proving their worth. They were also able to discover the technique used to clean up part of the clay pigeon shooting, covered with lead balls. In total, 32 tons of lead over 3,500 m² were removed!
Breeding summit in Cournon d'Auvergne (63)
Some of the colleagues from the Conservatoires des espaces naturels and the Fédération met at the Breeding Summit 4 days of stand holding. It was an opportunity to share and discuss about the biodiversity management undertaken by the CENs in interaction with the agricultural world.
Water Festival in Capvern-les-Bains (65)
Participation of the project in the Water Festival in Capvern-les-Bains (65). 3 rich days with a volunteer worksite organized in the Capvern wetland and a naturalist walk offered on Sunday in this same area. Thank you to the volunteers and the curious ones for their participation.
In order to close this action-packed day of September 07, 2022, the LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne leaflet is now available for reading and downloading on the website, in the tab Press.
The Conservatoire d'espaces naturels d'Occitanie is launching a call for tenders for the purchase of various agricultural equipment and supplies.
The objective is to allow the Civil Society of Agricultural Exploitation created within the framework of the LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne, to carry out the missions entrusted to it, in particular:
- Mowing, harvesting, transporting and storing grass,
- Harvesting, sorting, transportation, storage and sowing of seeds,
- Storage of agricultural equipment and supplies,
- The skidding of ligneous trees by animal traction and the crushing of ligneous trees,
- The closing pose.
The consultation of documents and the response to the call for tenders are carried out on the dedicated platform: https://www.achatpublic.com/sdm/ent/gen/ent_detail.do?PCSLID=CSL_2022_Ci2ktyoIZR.
The call for tenders is open until October 21, 2022.
Participation of the LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne in the National Conference on Biodiversity in Besançon. The project was represented by the Conservatoire d'espaces naturels d'Occitanie and the Fédération des conservatoires d'espaces naturels, the latter of which led several thematic workshops:
- Workshop B4 "How to reconcile management of tree heritage and bats?" »
- The C3 workshop “Resilience and adaptation to climate change”
- Workshop D4 "How to mobilize the younger generation in favor of diversity at the local level"
- The G3 workshop "Land strategies: a necessary coordination of actors".
Signing of an agreement with ENSAT Toulouse in order to help adapting agricultural practices to increase the biodiversity of farms. This partnership was naturally initiated thanks to the common interests and objectives of preserving biodiversity.
First meeting for the final choice of the 60 farms that will be part of the project. These 60 farms will be accompanied by a socio-economic and agro-ecological diagnosis in order to determine the biodiversity present on their plots and define management actions.
First implementation of the cross-diagnosis of farms at the Domaine de Lastronques in Ariège. We discussed about the expectations, needs and constraints of the farmers in socio-economic terms and we identified the agro-ecological infrastructures (hedges, alignment of trees, wetlands, etc.) as well as the species and existing habitats in order to propose adequate management of the farm which takes biodiversity into account.
Presence of members of CEN Occitanie, ANA-CEN Ariège, SOLAGRO and Terre de Liens Midi-Pyrénées.
Collective meeting organized by the associated partner SOLAGRO, in order to present the work carried out on the development of the cross-diagnosis of the farms and to discuss the issues and the realization of it.
Visit of Maud Latruberce, NEEMO company, in charge of monitoring LIFE projects and communication on the LIFE program. This day rich in exchanges ended with a visit to one of the participating farms in the project, the Jardins du Girou, located in Gragnague (31): https://girou.cocagnebio.fr/
Launch of the LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne website. The website is an eco-designed site that respects environmental values and focuses the user experience at the heart of concerns. Information becomes easier to find.
Arrival of Hélène Louis, administrative and financial assistant for LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne. Hélène is responsible for the administrative and financial monitoring of the project with associated beneficiaries and co-financiers.
Recruitment of Gaëlle Vives, as Project Manager Biodiversity & Territorial Development for the Lot, at Terre de Liens Midi-Pyrénées to follow the project.
Approval of the LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne logo. The colours of the logo represent the two environments, natural (in green) and agricultural (in brown), which live in harmony with each other. The hug between the two hands also recalls this union. The plants represent the different places where they can be found: the fritillary is found in the natural landscapes of Occitanie, the wheat spike in the agricultural areas and the poppy acts as an interface between the natural and agricultural environments. They are also intertwined to show the union effect. The dragonfly and the butterfly recall the fauna to be protected, in particular the odonates which are highly threatened and are in the LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne project's programme.
First collective meeting to build the cross-diagnostic tool, led by our associated beneficiary, SOLAGRO.
Arrival of Mathilde Cassé, communications officer for the LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne project. Mathilde is responsible for developing the strategy and communication tools dedicated to the project.
Kick-off meeting with associated beneficiaries and SAFER. This meeting took place in the community of Comigne (in Aude). Its purpose was to discuss the common organisation, to initiate the first actions and to exchange on the project and get to know each other better.
Presentation of the LIFE project Biodiv'Paysanne during the event "The LIFE20 Welcome Meeting Thematic Session" by videoconference. This event provides an opportunity to present and discuss with other approved LIFE projects and to create an exchange with LIFE project co-ordinating partners in other European countries.
Approval of the LIFE Biodiv'Paysanne project by the European Commission.
