Brittany Restores Rivers, Draining Lakes in Push for Ecological Health
Locminé, Morbihan, France – A landmark ecological restoration project in Brittany has seen the bois d’amour pond in Locminé drained, returning the Signan stream to its natural course. The 9-meter high dike that impounded the stream since the late 1970s was removed in 2023, initiating the pond’s gradual emptying and allowing the river to meander once more through the wetland, now flanked by cattails and phragmites.
The decommissioning of the Locminé pond exemplifies a growing trend across France – and particularly in Brittany – where communities and private landowners are actively removing or transforming bodies of water to restore ecological continuity to rivers.This effort aims to allow rivers to regain their natural flow, lower water temperatures, and facilitate the circulation of fish and sediment.
Driven by the European Water Framework Directive of 2000, which mandates “good status” for aquatic environments by 2027 – with ecological continuity as a key component – this policy has gained meaningful momentum in recent years. Financial incentives are further accelerating the process, with funding available for desilting and… (article incomplete).
