The integral biological reserve of the Maures is situated in the Var Department at about thirty kilometers, North-East of Toulon. The reserve is 2531 hectares wide, which makes it the biggest integral biological reserve in the mediterranean area. The reserve is representative of the forest habitats of the area (green oaks, mesogean maritime pines, riparian woodlands) and associated environments (rocky territories, rivers, scrublands and bush …) which are typical of the « crystalline » Provence. The reserve is also special due to the great maturity and naturality of its forest stands, and due to the richness of the species associated to old trees and dead woods : saproxylic beetles, fungi, lichens.
Photo Credit – Nicolas Drapier – ONF
Conservation
Good governance
Community benefits
The integral biological reserve of the Maures is situated in the Var Department at about thirty kilometers, North-East of Toulon. The reserve is 2531 hectares wide, which makes it the biggest integral biological reserve in the mediterranean area. The reserve is representative of the forest habitats of the area (green oaks, mesogean maritime pines, riparian woodlands) and associated environments (rocky territories, rivers, scrublands and bush …) which are typical of the « crystalline » Provence. The reserve is also special due to the great maturity and naturality of its forest stands, and due to the richness of the species associated to old trees and dead woods : saproxylic beetles, fungi, lichens.
EAGL MEETING OF THE 13/09/2022 : Among the expert members present at the meeting : 2 members voted in favour of the inscription of the site on the Green List with conditions, 3 against it inscription as soon as some action plans are not implemented for a series of indicators and 4 abstained. All agreed that several aspects need to be improved for the applicant to pass the GL standard, concerning in particular:
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Governance: experts note that evolutions in terms of representativity and participation among the consultative council must be shown to better include the actors and users of the territory, especially on delicate topics at stake such as wolf management and hunting. Also, key documents like the management plan must be available on the applicant’s website, so as up-to-date scientific reports and activity reports.
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Management: human and financial capacitation should be improved in the integral biological reserve of The Maures, as well as in the whole network of integral biological reserves more globally.
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Monitoring and evaluation: experts invite the site managers to work on settling indicators and to monitor the trend of conservation of their principal values. This would enhance the role of the reserve as a reference laboratory to monitor long term impacts on mediterranean forest ecosystems (e.g climate change) for the whole mediterranean region.
The result of the vote will be communicated to the protected area manager through a letter, describing the decision taken and the indicators that are partially or not matched: 1.1.2, 1.1.4, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.2.4, 3.1.1, 3.1.4, 3.1.6, 3.7.1
A meeting will be organized with the protected area manager, his mentor, the assessor, the president of the EAGL and the implementing partners of the GL for France to discuss and explain this result and help the applicant with the procedure of elaborating and implemeting action plans to meet the indicators.
UPDATE – EAGL MEETING OF THE 21/06/2024 : After presentation and discussions on the 21th of June 2024 about the effective implementation of action plans to comply with the indicators previously considered as partially achieved by the French EAGL (1.1.2./1.1.4/1.2.1-1.2.4/3.1.1/3.1.4/3.1.6/3.7.1/3.7.2 – result delivered on the 19/09/2022), the French EAGL unanimously expressed strong support for granting the Green List label to the Maures Integral Biological Reserve. The French EAGL congratulates the managers for the quality of work carried out during this application phase. These congratulations particularly concern the implementation of action plans aimed at improving the achievement of the aforementioned indicators, especially regarding the first component of the Green List related to governance. Positive developments in consultation and dialogue mechanisms have been observed, aiming to strengthen dialogue with key stakeholders of the territory and facilitate shared decision-making (consideration of integrating new stakeholders into the advisory management council beyond technicians and naturalists). This also includes enhancing accessibility to information and key management documents (making the management plan available to rights holders and stakeholders online via the INPN database and proposing to create a common website for all French biological reserves).
