Commitment 10Read more
Protecting Biodiversity
Preserving and Protecting Biodiversity in the City and Port
Conducting regular surveys of biodiversity in the City Port territory and publishing the findings.
How can port authorities preserve marine and terrestrial biodiversity in the port city interface areas ?
Natural landscapes in port cities have been gradually artificialised for various reasons. Besides their conventional role as port developers, port authorities also bear a significant responsibility to protect the biodiversity in their sites. Port of Dunkirk has already, for 10 years, organised a conservation project to preserve its surrounding 1290 ha by managing the different plant species and looking out for local animal species. This is an example of leadership in biodiversity protection, as they have already published a Natural Heritage Master Plan addressing this issue in 2011.
In 2011, the Port of Dunkirk published a Natural Heritage Master Plan, which followed the conclusions drawn from the survey of local biodiversity. This guidance document is now considered a benchmark model for treating natural environments in redevelopment projects for a vast port area (17 km of coastline and 7000 hectares). The plan was built around biodiversity hubs, consisting of zones of particular importance to be conserved and deteriorated environments to be restored. Eco-corridors, later on called "green and blue belts", were used to create a network between these different zones and the broader region.
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