Poitevin marsh
and climate change
The Marais Poitevin, the first wetland on the Atlantic coast
More than two thousand years ago, the Poitevin Marsh was a large marine gulf.
It was monks and generations of market gardeners who transformed it while digging 8,200 km of waterways, by raising more than 1,000 km of dikes to protect themselves from flooding and reclaim land from the ocean, by planting hundreds of thousands of trees...
Today, the Marais Poitevin:
- is a vast territory spread over 2 regions (Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Pays de la Loire) and 3 departments (Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée)
- is partly located below ocean level, protected by seafront dikes
- receives fresh water from surrounding rivers (watershed of 639,000 ha)
- has remarkable natural, cultural, landscape and built heritage
A territory vulnerable to climate change
The Marais Poitevin, its economic activities, its natural heritage, its villages and its infrastructure are exposed to increasingly frequent and significant hazards:
- river floods
- marine flooding
- storms (rain, wind)
- coastal erosion
- drought
- episodes of heavy rainfall
- episodes of intense heat
In addition, water from the watershed flows into the Marais Poitevin, while the rising ocean level makes their evacuation increasingly difficult.
Climate projections from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) confirm the importance of being aware of these risks.
These projections are confirmed locally by the Scientific and Prospective Council of the Marais Poitevin Regional Natural Park, which invites the territory to collectively anticipate the impact of climate change.
A survey conducted at the launch of the project indicates that 86% of residents surveyed believe that adaptation will be necessary.*
*Telephone survey conducted by Qualitest with 600 inhabitants of the project area, May 2025.
How will we live in the Marais Poitevin in 2050?
How can we adapt this territory, where many stakeholders live, with different objectives and perceptions? This is the aim of the LIFE Maraisilience project.
