It is thanks to this bird that four mega-basin projects, including the one in Sainte-Soline, have become illegal

On December 18, 2024, the Bordeaux administrative court of appeal annulled an environmental authorization for four mega-basin projects, including in Sainte-Soline. This decision follows long battles by environmental activists, and was made thanks to a small bird: the little bustard. To protect this endangered animal, the courts ruled these reserves illegal.

Is the legend of the hummingbird true? ? This Wednesday, the administrative court of appeal declared the four mega-basin projects in the Poitevin marsh illegal, reports France bleu. It is thanks to a small bird, a protected species, that the courts have banned the continuation of these water reserve projects, which are highly controversial for their ecological impact.

A protected species

This bird, which can reach a wingspan of 110 centimetres, is quite gregarious, notes the Natural History Museum on its website. It has the particularity of digging its nest in the ground, which makes it very vulnerable to urbanization and the passage of agricultural machinery.

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“The little bustard has disappeared from eight French regions: Champagne-Ardennes, Alsace, Île de France, Picardy, Burgundy, Franche-Comté, Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrénées”, notes the League for the Protection of Birds. It is still present in Languedoc, in wine-growing areas in particular.

In 2016, there were only 2,455 males left in mainland France. This is why a National Action Plan (NAP) has been implemented for the next ten years.

Four projects cancelled

The construction of these reserves was based on an environmental permit issued in 2017. As of today, it is illegal.

“The elements in the file make it possible to characterise the capital importance for the survival of this species of the population of little bustards installed in the sector of the special protection zone”, concluded the judges in the second instance. In other words: the mega-basin projects must be aborted because they represent too great a threat to our feathered friends.

The The megabasins concerned are those of Saint-Soline, Messé and Mougon, in Deux-Sèvres and Saint-Sauvant, in Vienna.

Possible exemption

It will nevertheless be possible to deviate from it: “It therefore considers that the authorization issued is illegal for failure to provide for a 'protected species' derogation including protective measures for the little bustard.”

According to this judgment, project managers will have to prove that they are implementing measures to protect the bird, and therefore rethink their way of doing things and make it more environmentally friendly.

In addition, l The water that is already stored at Sainte-Soline can be used, provided that no additional work is carried out and that the reserve is not refilled when it is exhausted.