Sustainable development | Official website of the tourist office of Vallespir

Tech Riverbanks

Natura 2000 Site

The Natura 2000 site “Les rives du Tech” stretches for about 75 km from Argelès-sur-mer and Elne to Prats-de-Mollo.

These banks have been classified under Natura 2000 because they are home to habitats and animal species of Community interest. Thus, the riparian forests with black alder, draped willows and oxyphyllus ash form a mosaic of habitats. This plant biodiversity is home to an equally remarkable fauna. We can then find the Otter and the Desman of the Pyrenees, mammals subservient to the aquatic environment. This Mediterranean river also offers hunting grounds for seven species of insectivorous bats. Its waters, and those of its tributaries, of “very good” to “good” quality, are the preferred habitat of the Southern Barbel and the White-clawed Crayfish. The heritage value of this watershed is such that it is one of the rare places in France to shelter the Leprous Emyde (aquatic turtle) and the Pyrenean Euprocte (small urodele amphibian).

This biodiversity must be preserved. It is not a question of putting this site “under glass” but of managing human activities and the presence of animal and plant species as well as possible. To do so, at the start of 2012, the DOCument d’OBjectifs (DOCOB) was validated by the Steering Committee and then the Prefect. The socio-economic and ecological diagnoses of the territory are presented there. Following this inventory, conservation issues will be established and the objectives for achieving them. This long-term work will ultimately make it possible to mobilize funds to perpetuate practices that guarantee the proper functioning and preservation of the site’s ecosystems.

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a daily commitment

TOURISM & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Tourism is a sector where the issue of sustainability is important. Indeed, tourism-related activities consume a significant amount of energy, paper and resources. The tourist office must be one of the engines of an eco-responsible territory, through its daily operation and in the choice of goods and services it consumes.

The Boulou branch located within the Maison de l’Eau et de la Méditerranée, you will discover by approaching the map of the Mediterranean basin: its relationship to water and the human uses that have forged their installation on the territory. You will also be able to see the richness of the region from a natural and cultural point of view through its history and its multiculturalism. All while becoming aware of the imperative need to protect resources. Consequently, we are committed to an environmental approach in order to contribute to the preservation of natural resources.

Eco-responsible communication

Our tourist office has chosen to promote the dematerialized dissemination of information and its events via the Internet via our website. Thus, you can consult or download at any time our brochures, our agenda and all the practical information necessary for the organization of your holidays. Social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, also allow us to disseminate information on a larger scale and in real time.

1 – Daily eco-gestures: I am committed to my structure

Our inner workings:

We use LEDs and energy-saving bulbs for our lighting
We recycle printed paper for our in-house printing
We sort and recycle all used flyers, boxes and brochures
We recycle our used cartridges through specialized organizations
Our toilets are equipped with delay mixer taps
The cleaning products used are eco-responsible
We encourage carpooling as much as possible when traveling to meetings.

2 – I educate visitors : empower without feeling guilty

The Tourist Office is mobilizing for:

Encourage visitors to consult our brochures on our website
Mobilize and support the actors, inhabitants and users of the territory in the ecological transition
Implement actions to improve the environmental quality of life of the territory
Prioritize local businesses: We work primarily with local players for all our supplies and needs.
We recommend to all our visitors the use of public transport for their travels in the department and the city.
To make our visitors aware of respect for our environment, we put ourselves forward through works such as the “Poisson Poubelle” of the Maison de
l’Eau and the Mediterranean, strong images to fight against plastic pollution in our oceans and seas. …
We recommend the use of bicycles and the development of soft traffic, €1 bus lines to Perpignan, the beach and the mountains.
Promotion of recycled and eco-responsible products (natural materials) in the Maison de l’Eau & de la Méditerranée shop

3 – I support service providers: no sustainable tourism without territorial vision

The Tourist Office is mobilizing to sensitize its partners to do the same:

In the classification process
In partnerships
In this dynamic, we wanted to support the rental companies of our territory towards sustainable development. We offer them a sheet summarizing the actions that make it possible to reduce their environmental footprint by equipping their rental with devices that are more respectful of the environment. A booklet on eco-gestures and recycling on vacation is also made available to their customers.

4 – I evaluate: for an eco-responsible performance

In order to optimize our commitment to limit our environmental impact, the staff of our tourist office has been made aware of eco-gestures.
Management of documentation stocks adapted to real demand has been put in place.
Each year, the RESOT66 Association (Network of Tourist Offices of the Pyrenees Orientales) organizes a Documentation Exchange Exchange, allowing all documents to be exchanged at once between tourism professionals and thus reducing environmental costs.

We have, collectively, a major environmental challenge to take up !

Ecology & Environment

Natura 2000 Site

TOURISM & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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