A report from the Regional Chamber of Accounts published Thursday, November 10 points the administrative stack which can harm a tool deemed relevant.
by Richard Schittly (Lyon, correspondent)
What future for regional natural parks (PNR)? The question is posed in the watermaker of a thematic report of the Regional Chamber of Accounts (CRC) of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, made public Thursday, November 10. “The real efficiency of the governance of a regional natural park depends on its ability to mobilize and federate actors around a common project, but PNR governance requires being simplified,” recommended Bernard Lejeune, president of the Regional Chamber of Accounts, by exhibiting the investigation report.
The financial magistrates led the audit of eight natural parks, out of the ten in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The Aura region is the best endowed with France, due to the richness of its natural landscapes, from the Auvergne volcanoes to the Bauges in Savoy massif, passing through the parks of the Pilat, from the mountains of Ardèche, the Chartreuse and from Vercors. PNRs concern 814 municipalities and extend over a quarter of the regional territory, mainly in the middle mountains. The region also has two national parks of Vanoise and Ecrins, in the high mountain massifs of Savoy and Isère.
According to the CRC report, regional natural parks are rather well managed from a financial point of view. On average, their operating budget is limited to 3 million euros, for around thirty agents employed, without excessive debt. According to the analysis of financial magistrates, PNRs remain able to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of territories, by reconciling ecology and economic development, in accordance with their mission, created in 1967.
dependence on inter -municipal structures
PNR “constitute an engineering force” for the defense of biodiversity, notes the Regional Chamber of Accounts. They can also be established as mediators, as was the case about the wolf in the Bauges or the Vercors. On the other hand, “this flexible and effective model, close to the field”, comes up against an increasingly complex administrative environment, which has stacued intervention bodies in regional planning.
Without a real means of control, natural parks are dependent on an agreement with the inter -municipal structures present in their territories, sometimes numerous. Their roles can vary considerably from one area to another. Some may manage a museum, water protection, or pilot Natura 2000 programs. Others are even responsible for implementing European programs, from FEADER FURNES . This leads to “a risk of overlapping skills” and an essential “Clarification of the actions to be carried out” in connection with the intermunicipalities, points to the CRC report.
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