Discover the commitments behind the Canal
Find here the structural commitments of the Société du Canal Seine-Nord Europe and the project partners.
Discover the commitments behind the Canal
Find here the structural commitments of the Société du Canal Seine-Nord Europe and the project partners.
I lead the environmental compensation works on the entire route of the Canal, i.e. more than 1200 hectares of plantations and environmental improvements. The Canal project is part of an ERC approach – avoid-reduce-compensate – which consists first of all, from the design of the project, in ensuring that the impacts on the environment are avoided as much as possible or reduce them. when they cannot be avoided.
When they can neither be avoided nor reduced, the effects are compensated by tailor-made arrangements. The compensation must make it possible to restore and even improve the ecological situation of the environment crossed.
It is a general study of the impact of the Canal on the route which allows us to identify very finely the compensation needs and then the sites conducive to their realization. All the recommended measures are described in the application for environmental authorization and the implementation begins when the authorization is granted, as much as possible upstream of the work, before the occurrence of the first impacts. The developments are carried out outside the periods of reproduction and nesting of the fauna, that is to say from September to March.
“We work with the living and the result is assessed over time.”
The compensation measures depend on the ecological context specific to each environment impacted. So it's really on a case-by-case basis.
Thus, in the Compiégnois where we work a lot in the flood-prone valley of the Oise, it is mainly a question of restoring wetlands – ponds, wet meadows, riparian forests (vegetation on the banks of the river)…
In the Noyonnais, we also work on dry open environments – thickets, meadows, dry woods… More generally, we carry out planting work (hedges, forest edges…), set up actions against invasive species, restore spawning grounds pike, etc.
We are required to maintain the offset sites for 30 years. We will launch calls for projects to entrust this long-term management to specialized organizations which will be financed by the Société du Canal Seine-Nord Europe. We assess the proper functioning of the compensation over the long term and, if necessary, we carry out improvement actions.
In very dense forests, it is sometimes useful to cut down trees to bring light to others which will develop better and provide habitats for birds and bats...
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