Brest, France
The Bay Agreement for the Rade de Brest: water quality upgrading
Summary
The Brest Urban Joint Authorities launched the Bay Agreement for the Rade de Brest in the early 90s when faced with water quality problems affecting the harbour as well as the rivers that flow into it. The programme aims to improve water quality in the area by reducing pollution upstream. In order to find innovative ecological and economic solutions it is based on a close partnership between farmers, fishermen, scientists, the French Navy, and the local population. A special steering structure was set up to manage the programme. A first experimental phase has already been completed. Its outcome was a mutually agreed action programme which is currently being implemented.
Objectives
The objective is to combat the deterioration of the water quality in the Rade de Brest in partnership with all the stakeholders of the river basin who might be responsible for pollution upstream (farmers, industry, local authorities, etc.). This policy is an opportunity for Brest to open up to its hinterland; it should therefore help create new local centres of consensus around water issues.
State of the project
The diagnostic phase has been completed. The 1998-2002 action plan and its priority work is now being implemented.
Context
Confronted with the progressive degradation of the water in the Rade (a small 184 km² enclosed sea), Brest set about an ambitious water treatment programme which proved insufficient in view of the amount of effluent to be treated. Brest realised it was being affected by pollution generated outside its area -by farmers among others- and was not necessarily required to treat it, but could rather encourage its adsorption upstream.
In 1990, it was decided to set up the Bay Agreement, in addition to other measures. The upgrading of the Rade de Brest, which is the object of this agreement, involves several issues:
- encouraging farmers and the agrofood industry to find alternative production means (Brest is downstream from an intensive agriculture zone) ;
- finding new directions for economic development (the issue of the economic conversion of fishing and naval repair activities) and encouraging the diversification of all the activities linked to the Rade while reducing their impact on the marine environment ;
- restoring the quality of the living environment and the landscape because the Rade holds a strong symbolic value for the people of Brest.
Strategy
The Brest Urban Joint Authority (CUB) was named the Client for the Bay Agreement of the Rade de Brest. In the first instance, it created the "Service Rade", a team made up of four engineers responsible for coordinating the overall project from within the Environment Division of the CUB. A Committee made up of some thirty international experts was also set up. It meets every year to make decisions on current programmes. Finally, the steering of the programme was entrusted to the Bay Committee which brings together elected representatives, the institutions, the chambers of commerce etc, and the voluntary organisations. The Technical Team, which unites all the partners' administrative and technical departments is in charge of the operations.
Activities
The first phase of the Bay Agreement (1992-1997) was devoted to:
- setting-up the organisation necessary to run the programme effectively,
- making an inventory of the environments for the whole area concerned,
- carrying out 6 pilot experimental de-pollution operations on the site (changes in agricultural practice, limits on effluent from agricultural and horticultural greenhouses, semi-public water treatment for the dispersed housing areas, urban storm water treatment, marine anti-fouling paints programme, and re-establishing scallop beds).
The CUB used this preliminary work to develop a programme of preventive and remedial action to achieve upgrading of the quality of water and the environment in a system of sustainable development. This phase came to an end in January 1998 with the signing by all the partners of an agreement committing them to implementing the action programme which should be completed in 2002.
The programme has four major sections:
- a section on "Recovery" which aims to carry out the large-scale work on treating household, industrial and agricultural waste and to change practices in these three areas (industrial fish-farming, conversion to organic farming, setting limits for household waste etc.);
- a section on "Protection/Conservation” intended to protect, maintain and manage the natural heritage (reclaiming waterways, valley bottoms, inventory of the natural heritage, protection of sensitive aquatic environments, protection of rare and protected species, management of migrating fish stocks, coastline cleaning and monitoring, etc.);
- a section on "Integrated management” to coordinate current action and to develop new tools for decision-making, communication and knowledge of the environment (monitoring unit);
-a section on "Communications”, to raise awareness of the actions taken among the inhabitants of the river basin.
Partners
Each of the stakeholders in the river basin is involved in carrying out the Bay Agreement. Scientists from the Oceanographic Centre are contributing to the various topics. Actions are being undertaken in partnership with fishermen (setting-up of a hatchery for scallops), with the Navy (paints used for protecting hulls), with farmers (pollution control for greenhouses, altering agricultural practices), with all municipal departments (environmental awareness in relation to professional activities) and with the local population. The institutions relevant to each of the micro-projects are working in collaboration with the target actors. For example, the Water Board, the Countryside Agency, the Chamber of Commerce, the INRA (the National Agricultural Research Institute), and the CEMAGREF have all been approached in the context of the Bay Agreement.
Finance and resources
The cost of the first phase of the programme amounts to FFr 60 million. The cost of the second phase will be FFr 840 Million over 5 years. 88% is to be spent on the first part of the programme, 7.8% on the second, 3.6% on the third and 1.1% on the last part. The financing breaks down as follows: European Union, FFr 14 million; French State (Agriculture, Environment, Employment, Defence and Industry Ministries), FFr 34 million; Conseil régional de Bretagne, FFr 65 + 35 million; Conseil général du Finistère, FFr 44 million; Conseil Général des Côtes d'Armor, FFr 7 million; Loire-Bretagne Water Board, FFr 180 million; CUB, FFr 226 million and the Client and other partners, FFr 235 million.
Outcomes and impact
The preliminary phase of the Bay Agreement led to experiments that allowed possible solutions to be tested. For instance, the experiments suggested for greenhouse cultivation involved recovering the fertilising solutions not taken up by the plants in order to re-introduce them into the distribution system, thus reducing polluting effluents from unused nutrients. In another experiment, 19 farmers took part in the analysis of their production processes, the audit of all the products they were using, and the carrying out of soil and water surveys to enable the experts to suggest new agricultural practices.
Obstacles and difficulties
The Brest Urban Joint Authority is encountering some resistance to the implementation of its programme. Negotiations with professional partners may be protracted and it is sometimes difficult to actually set up partnerships. Obstacles and difficulties
are in fact on the political level and hinge on the power struggle between partners who hold different or even opposite visions and interests. This confrontation is unavoidable within a programme seeking to bring together all parties involved in a particular issue.
Essential points
The programme promoters remain sure of the necessity to bring together all the partners involved, even if it requires time and energy. Their participation and support for the project has to be sought in order to give the project the best chance to succeed. To achieve this, all the democratic processes need to be used. In any case, it is essential to let time do its work - the programme will not be achieved overnight. A dynamic process has been started, and it is now a question of keeping up the momentum.
Contact
Mr Ronan LE GOFF, Service Rade de Brest
Hôtel de Communauté
24, rue Coat-ar-Guéven
29200 BREST
FRANCE
Telephone : 33 02 98 33 52 63
Fax : 33 02 98 80 23 42
This case study was drawn from a summary report produced by the 'Association 4D' (Dossiers et Débats pour le Développement Durable [Issues and Debates on Sustainable Development]) dated March 1996: "Les villes françaises et le développement durable [French cities and sustainable development]" Summary report, case studies and data sheets. B. Duhamel, C. Emelianoff, L. Héland, C. Menneghin and J. P. Piéchaud. pp. 20-26
This case study was published
in Planification urbaine et développement durable [Urban planning and sustainable development]. Contribution des agences d'urbanisme [Contribution from town planning agencies]. Habitat II. Cities Summit. Istanbul, June 1996. Fédération française des agences d'urbanisme [French federation of town planning agencies]. Volume publié par la Fédération nationale des agences d'urbanisme de l'agglomération marseillaise [the Marseille Conurbation town planning agencies] pp. 207-212
Acknowledgements
The text for this project summary was developed by
l'association 4D (Dossiers et débats pour le
développement durable), Paris - E-mail:association4d@globenet.org, 1999.
© ICLEI, 1999. See Impressum.