Culminating at 4102 meters at the top of the Bar des Ecrins, it is regarded as the European park of tall mountains. Its valleys form marked landscape and cultural identities: Oisans, Valbonnais, Briançonnais, Vallouise, Embrunais, Champsaur and Valgaudemar. Its astonishing diversity in vegetation is a result of great altitude deviations and the conjugation of climatic influences of the Alps and the Mediterranean. Valleys, mountain pastures and peaks are home to all the fauna of the mountains.
The ibex has been reintroduced and the golden eagle seems to be thriving, while the grouse hangs on, at high altitudes, endangered mainly by evolution of the climate.
Écrins National Park covers a vast spectrum of high mountainous areas, situated in the northern and southern part of the Alps. It contains a mosaic of landscapes (high peaks, glaciers, high walls, deep valleys, agricultural and urban plains) that are arranged around a central accumulation of high peaks (150 of them are higher than 3000 metres). The national park comprises three zones: The core zone (category II), including an integral reserve and surrounded by an adhesion zone.
Major Site Values & Outcomes
The site has a rich biodiversity, with the following species counts from surveys to date: 3179 plant species, 2175 animal species, 86 of which are mammals, 260 bird, 17 reptile, 22 fish and 11 amphibian species. From the invertebrates (about 1800 taxa), 1582 insect, 65 spider, 112 gastropodes, and 11 bivalves have been counted.
Nearly forty protocols for monitoring flora, fauna, environments or landscapes are in place in the territory, carried by the public establishment or carried out in partnership with other structures. The data collected are public. They feed information bases that make it possible to share knowledge of the territory and ensure ecological monitoring. All data are transmitted to the INPN (National Inventory of Natural Heritage).
EAGL statement
The governing bodies are representative of the actors of the territory and their functioning shows a good vitality. A major effort of information, dialogue and consultation was carried out in the framework of the elaboration of the territory charter, which has been the subject of a 90% level of municipal membership. This is the highest rate among metropolitan national parks. The effectiveness of management has been recognized by independent audits and confirmed by the renewal of the European Diploma of Protected Areas in 2010.
Criterion 2.1 related to ecosystem services is partially achieved. However, a mapping of these services is underway and should be finalized in 2017. The EAGL considers that the Ecrins National Park will be able to reach all the standards of pillar 2 of the green list by the end of 2017.
Given the response to criterion 3.7 on surveillance, criteria 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 should be considered as partially achieved. However, the assessment mission and the analysis of the inventory results have shown positive and significant results in terms of conservation of the main biodiversity values identified in the second thematic pillar.
Following the review of the Ecrins National Park nomination, the members of the EAGL welcomed the remarkable efforts of the team of managers for the conservation of the values of the site and underlined the quality and completeness of the file. Based on these elements , the members of the working group voted unanimously in favor of the inscription of the Ecrins National Park on the protected areas green list.
Reviewer Statement
Verification of the conformity of the necessary documents (conformance of format and form) and availability in COMPASS.
Conformity of process: Self assessment; Site visit program; Report of audit; Used of panorama and protected planet; Stakeholder feed-back; Action plans; EAGL decision, discussion, vote;
Verification of consistency of document dates
Verification of the independence of the EAGL evaluator / the candidate
Verification of good use of COMPASS Portal by EAGL
Verification of used of panorama and protected portal
First analysis done 05/07/2017 and final validation 20/10/2018
