20-01-2009 Etel bay (France) will be preserved

It’s a great victory for all the NGO’s which fight to protect seashores from disasters due to marine sand extraction.

The Rennes administrative court in France has just returned its verdict on a sand extraction project off the Belle Ile and Groix Island coasts (France) ; Lafarge (a French company dedicated to cement and building material production) is not allowed to conduct its off-shore researches for sand extraction in the Etel bay area.

It’s been several years now since the environmental NGO called “Le peuple des Dunes” fought against Lafarge’s off-shore sand extraction projects on the Brittany coast. Lafarge activities have already caused environmental damages on other beaches. Sand extractions on Brittany’s northern regions have caused huge littoral erosion, near the “Fréhel” cape, for instance.

That’s why the Rennes court’s verdict of December 11th can be considered as a great victory for the environmental NGO’s which fought against the project. The Lafarge group has failed and is not allowed to pursue its survey on this area. The PER (exclusive authorization of search) South Lorient (France) is now stopped. Lafarge has temporally lost the exploitation rights for the next 30 to 50 years.

Nevertheless, this is one victory amongst so many fights to lead against many others extraction projects. We have to stay aware of the situation and remain concentrated.

 

Visit le Peuple des dunes website if you want to learn more about their struggle or sign their petition.