4.4 Land and water management

The French lagoons communicate with the sea through permanent or temporary openings, most of which have been artificialized to avoid their natural tendency of silting up. They receive freshwater inputs from permanent or temporary small rivers and from draining channels of their catchment basins, from temporary springs and from karstic resurgences.

The Mediterranean is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the canal du Midi crossing the Palavasian lagoons between the Rhone River and the Thau lagoon. This canal is part of the world human patrimony (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [ Unesco]).
Furthermore, more than 10 percent of the surface of the French Mediterranean lagoons and their peripheral wetlands have been bought by an institution aimed at the protection of the coastal zone, the Conservatoire du Littoral; two regional natural parks (Camargue, 84 360 ha and Narbonnaise, 81 170 ha) include large lagoons systems in the heart of their areas; their main objectives are the protection of the natural environment, the maintaining of the artisanal fishery and the equilibrium between the various activities (professional and recreational fisheries, sailing and other touristic activities).