The more or less debated acceptance (Godet et al., 2023) of a new geological era succeeding the Holocene, called the Anthropocene (Crutzen, 2002), has had a strong influence on research placed in the environmental field. Coastal wetlands, which were once developed for anthropogenic purposes, are now the subject of major efforts to protect their natural character. They are adequate objects of study to question their natural heritage in the light of the socio-natural heritage and representations associated with them as well as future changes._x000D_
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The current management of these natural heritages is based on landscape legacies considered as reference states. They determine the management of the site and can be a source of controversy as to their recognition and future in a context of global change. These «reference states» are being called into question and raise questions about the forms of nature that we wish to conserve for the future; all the more ecosystem services of coastal wetlands are now being mobilized as a Nature-based Solution to combat climate change (buffer spaces against marine submersion, purification of certain pollutions, etc.) (ONERC, 2019)._x000D_
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This paper will present the results of a PhD work that sought to characterize landscape trajectories of coastal wetlands through a geohistorical approach (XVIIIe-XXIe centuries). It aimed to understand the interweaving of natural and societal agents at the origin of their protected natural heritage. Based on the case study of the Payré estuary and marshes (Vendée, France), this presentation will show how the geohistorical approach has made it possible to identify the socio-natural legacies recognized through the patrimonialization process, and their evolution. It will conclude on the differentiated appropriation of these heritages by the different actors involved in this site and on the controversies surrounding the management of the desired reference state.
Léa Paly, Nathalie Carcaud, Véronique Beaujouan
LGP, ESO, BAGAP
ID Abstract: 918