Profile of the NGO SOS Loire Vivante – ERN France

SOS Loire Vivante

The NGO was created in 1989 in reaction to a dam project in the Upper Loire Valley (Serre de la Fare Dam). Located 20km upstream from le Puy en Velay, this dam project should have submerged kilometres of wonderful gorges of the river, including villages. A strong opposition from inhabitants and people who loved the valley, joined in the beginning of the 90's by European sympathizers, succeeded in making the French government abandon the project in 1994.
The NGO did not only show its opposition to the project, but also proposed alternative solutions for the Loire management. Here again, SOS Loire Vivante was successful, since most of her propositions were adopted within the framework of the "Plan Loire Grandeur Nature" (PLGN). This PLGN revises totally the development program of the Loire river : it abandons the heavy developments program and focuses on food preventing without dams and on protection of the natural heritage. Within the framework of this plan, three dam's projects were abandoned, two were dismantled, and just one dam was extended. The PLGN also stresses on the need to restore the Atlantic salmon.

 After 1994, the NGO gave itself the following objectives :
· Protect definitely the Upper Loire Valley, by creating a process of sustainable development, following the 
  Natura 2000 program, preparing the public opinion and the application for the creation of a MAB reserve
  (Unesco program).
· Work to protect the Atlantic Salmon, a strain of salmon unique by its physical capacities that helps him for
  long migrations into rivers. SOS Loire Vivante tries to make the actors work together to save the species.
· Raise the public awareness and act for a sustainable management of the rivers, everywhere in Europe and in
  the world.
· Internationalise our activities, especially through European Rivers Network and thanks to our participation to
  European programs (RhineNet, Aquanet).

ERN France

ERN seeks to promote the sustainable wise management of living rivers in opposition to the exploitation, pollution and degradation that has occurred in the past.
The aim of ERN is to link groups, organisations and persons working for the protection of rivers and to improve communication between them (environment, culture, education and human rights).
ERN is a non profit NGO and was founded in 1994 by Roberto A. Epple as a project of SOS Loire Vivante.

What we do

At a local and basin level:
· Campaign to dismantle Poutès Dam. Poutès Dam is the last big obstacle on the Allier River (main Loire's
  tributary) in the way of Salmon's migration. Built during the Second World War, this dam is responsible for
  the disappearance of the best spawning grounds in the Loire river basin. SOS Loire Vivante, the WWF
  France and many other NGO fight together since years to convince the French authorities to dismantle
  this dam.
· Educational programs. SOS Loire Vivante – ERN works to raise public awareness and offers programs
  addressed to children, (Rivers of Images and Streams of Words : an art and poesy contest, Youth
  Parliaments for Water in cooperation with Solidarity Water Europe) or to everybody (Guided tour along the
  Loire : a bike tour to discover the Loire, the projects leaded on this river and the actors).
· Mas de Bonnefont : a showcase for green technologies. The Mas de Bonnefont is an old traditional farm,
  located in the Gorges de la Loire, in a place that should have been submerged by the Serre de la Fare Dam.
  In this farm, our NGO develops green technologies : solar panels to produce electricity, sewage treatment by
  reeds… We also propose exhibitions on the Loire's nature and environment.
· Coordination of the Loire Vivante Network : this network is composed of NGOs working all along the Loire
  river and aims at protecting the river against development harmful for the environement. SOS Loire Vivante is
  the network's coordinator. The current campaign aims at preventing the extension of the Nantes – Saint
  Nazaire's harbour, in the estuary.
· Organisation of the "Assises des Associations". This project aims at giving to the associations back their
  role of power of propositions, which was theirs during the implementation of the PLGN. SOS Loire Vivante
  organised debates along the Loire, numbers of associations participated and our NGO summarized the
  results and propositions for the new program of PLGN and for the general monitoring of the Loire and the
  waters within the Loire river basin. A final colloquium should be organised to present the results, and a
  platform for reflection is foreseen, to prolong the debate and the monitoring by the civil society of the actions
  implemented on the Loire.

At a national level:
· Environmental monitoring on water topics. SOS Loire Vivante – ERN France monitors the water French and
  European policies and their implementation in France. This includes cooperation with different NGOs and 
  with  the State services, but also the participation to local, regional or larger commissions, campaigns at
  national level (such as the campaign against the extension of the Nantes – St Nazaire harbour at the Loire's
  estuary).
· GIS and data Base, available on the Internet. The NGO is developing a map server associated with a data
  base, which will give any information concerning the Loire river, it tributaries, the projects implemented, the
  factors involved… Our NGO is implementing the system, but it will be fed up by the whole actors working on
  the river. Once the project is implemented and running, it will be updated by ERN France with the
  collaboration of the actors working on the Loire. Such a project already exists on the Elbe in Germany and
  on the Rhine (France – Germany). At term, each river basin in France will be described by such a GIS
  available on the Internet. (And in a further future, the project should also concern the other river basins in
  Europe).

At an international level:
· Aquanet is an European NGO, founded by ERN and 4 other NGO from different West European countries.
  Aquanet is especially working on water issues (water scarcity and floods, European water policies…).
· RhineNet is an European program established on the Rhine River, gathering 13 partners from the riverside
  countries (Switzerland, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands). The aims are the following : improve
  the ecological status of the river and its tributaries, inform and make the public participate, understand and
  live the river.
· Big Jump is a project that aims at reconciling people with their river. This project will induce the citizens to
  recapture their rivers and lakes and will revive the powerful links that used to bind people to these spaces.
  Reconciliation is an essential element to gain people's support to the big European restoration effort for rivers
  and wetlands, this huge project being expressed in the Water Framework Directive of the European
  Community.
· Universal Exposition 2008 in Saragoza (Spain) on theme water. ERN France will propose two main activities :
  a Mediterranean Big Jump campaign in cooperation with the Anna Lindh Foundation and an exhibition on
  problematic water uses in the world, with several case studies (Vaiont Dam in Italy, water extraction in
  Jordan in the Near East…).