# Permanence and impermanence of landscapes: a study of the changing relationship between societies and water in coastal wetlands

Léa Paly, Nathalie Carcaud, Véronique Beaujouan

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Léa Paly, Nathalie Carcaud, Véronique Beaujouan. Permanence and impermanence of landscapes: a study of the changing relationship between societies and water in coastal wetlands. Belgeo: Revue Belge de Géographie, 2025, Water in the Anthropocene: social issues, policies and governance, 2, 10.4000/146x6. hal-05158215

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# Permanence and impermanence of landscapes: a study of the changing relationship between societies and water in coastal wetlands

Léa Paly, Nathalie Carcaud and Véronique Beaujouan

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**Electronic version**

URL: https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/77079

DOI: 10.4000/146x6

ISSN: 2294-9135

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Société Royale Belge de Géographie, National Committee of Geography of Belgium

Provided by INRAE Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement

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Léa Paly, Nathalie Carcaud and Véronique Beaujouan, "Permanence and impermanence of landscapes: a study of the changing relationship between societies and water in coastal wetlands", *Belgeo* [Online], 2 | 2025, Online since 24 June 2025, connection on 11 July 2025. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/77079 ; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/146x6

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# Permanence and impermanence of landscapes: a study of the changing relationship between societies and water in coastal wetlands

Léa Paly, Nathalie Carcaud and Véronique Beaujouan

## Introduction

<footnote n="1">1. At a time of climatic and ecological crises that characterise the Anthropocene, the relationship between societies and their environment is changing. Coastal wetlands (CW), whose hybrid nature is often recognized as a heritage asset, are often protected and enhanced through various means (local, national or international protection). These places illustrate the changing relationship with water. In these environments, relationships with water have been radically altered by the widespread land-reclamation period between the 18th and 19th centuries (Derex, 2002; Morera, 2016). During the twentieth century, social perceptions of coastal wetlands changed (Baron-Yellès and Goeldner-Gianella, 2001; Sajaloli, 1996) and gave rise to landscapes heritages now protected. Their specific nature as a land-sea interface and the resulting sensitivity to variations in sea level make them relevant sites for considering the Anthropocene.</footnote>

<footnote n="2">2. Today, global changes (rising sea levels, changes in use of CWs, etc.) pose a challenge for current management principles of natural heritages (Chadenas et al., 2024). Insofar as global change and rising sea levels are forcing a transformation of protected heritage areas, how are the management principles and communities associated with the protection of these protected natural areas being renewed (or not)? What is the weight of landscape and structural legacies in conflicts regarding management of these areas and its renewal? The aim of this paper is to take a retrospective look at the landscape evolution of CWs, using a geohistorical approach. Using a case study in</footnote>
France from a wider study on changing relationships between societies and Atlantic CWs (Paly, 2022), the aim is to identify drivers that have renewed and are renewing landscape conditions and associated management in protected CWs. This paper also seeks to characterize relationships between societies and CWs using the concept of the hydrosocial cycle (Linton and Budds, 2014), as studied for dam-related conflicts (Flaminio, 2019).

3. After explaining the scientific approach, landscapes heritages are identified from the reconstruction of the landscape trajectory of the estuary and marshes of Payré river. Lastly, in order to understand the renewal of hydrosocial cycles in the light of new challenges facing the CWs, this paper focuses on changes in the way water is managed. This paper is part of Anthropocene studies and wonders about the value of research in understanding and thinking new forms of livings and governance on CWs.

# Analysing the renewal of relations between societies and a hybrid heritage: the contribution of geohistory

## Scientific background

4. CWs cannot be dissociated from their historical trajectory punctuated by natural and social events and the evolution of their representations. They are defined here as socio-ecological systems resulting from the interconnection of natural processes (sea level rise, tides, etc.), social processes (settlement, land reclamation, etc.) and political processes (legal framework for nature conservation, land regulations, etc.). Studying their landscape means considering CWs as an interweaving of political-ecological and socio-economic processes operating at different scales (local, regional, international) (Swyngedouw, 2004, Hurst et al., 2022). Landscape is defined here as "*the dialectic between the initiatives of the various actors that perceive, inhabit, and shape the environment according to their own needs, and the surroundings that elicit these initiatives and respond to them.*" (Germaine and Gonin, 2024). It reveals the relationships that is "made and remade" between water, discourses and imaginaries, people, institutions and infrastructures across space and time (Hurst et al., 2022) forming hydrosocial cycles (Linton and Budds, 2014).

5. Examining the evolution of these landscapes using a geohistorical approach makes it possible to understand the part of nature and society as well as drivers that have influenced landscape trajectories (Valette, 2019). Applied to natural heritages, this approach depicts the inherited forms passed on through their patrimonialisation (Carcaud and Paly, 2024; Gramond, 2014). By studying management methods observed in CWs, it underlines the succession and confrontation of hydrosocial cycles (Flaminio, 2019). As societies seek to adapt to global change, geohistory provides knowledges about past changes and facilitates territorial planning for an uncertain future (Sajaloli et al., 2023). By taking a step back, use of history acts as an "*active revealer of what we are in the process of inventing*" (Berdoulay and Soubeyran, 2015). In wetlands, described as "*environmental showcases*" (Sajaloli, 1996), the geohistory of the landscape highlights the evolutionary trajectories of relationships with water.
Method

6 Developed by Fernand Braudel (Braudel, 1949), geohistory involves using the tools of the geographer on past timeframes in order to draw up a narrative to explain current phenomena. With the advent of environmental issues, geohistory is regaining interest (Jacob-Rousseau, 2024) and is being used to study a wide range of topics, including globalisation (Grataloup, 2015), risks (Dournel, 2014) and the dynamics of hydrosystems (Baud and Reynard, 2015; Hugerot et al., 2021). This analysis is then based on a corpus of archives in which iconographic documents (maps, plans and postcards) are particularly popular.

7 In this case, French national archives, French archives of the Service Historique de la Défense and archives of Vendée département were consulted. By analysing iconographic documents combined with textual documents (reports, map memoirs, etc.), it is possible to weave narratives of changes in the CWs studied and to reveal paces of change in landscape trajectories (Jacob-Rousseau, 2009). Interviews with users and managers of the estuary and marshes of Payré river gather their memories of changes and complement the written and iconographic archives (Figure 1).

<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1. Data used to reveal landscape trajectory (18th-21st centuries) of the estuary and marshes of Payré river.</figcaption></figure>

8 The interview grid is structured around three themes:

* The respondent's practices and uses: for the manager, this concerns the management actions implemented on the site.

* The site's heritage: the aim of this theme is to identify what the respondent considers to be the site's heritage through concepts such as 'richness', 'identity', 'threat' and 'adaptability'.

* Perceived changes: under this theme, changes in landscape and practices are inventoried according to the respondent's memory.

9 The interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically.

Study area

10 The estuary and marshes of Payré river are located in the town of Talmont-Saint-Hilaire and Jard-sur-mer in the Vendée (Figure 2). To the west, the hamlet of Bourgenay is the tourist hub of Talmont Saint-Hilaire, with its marina, restaurants and accommodation.
<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>Figure 2. Geographical context of the estuary and marshes of Payré river.</figcaption></figure>

Source: © IGN, rédaction : Léa Fisy, 2025

11

The Payré river meanders through various marshes developed to grow fish, known as fish marshes, supplying them with fresh and salt water. The particular structure of the fish marshes is made up of water ‘pits’ (“fosse”) and ‘ropes’ (“corde”) where fishes can circulate, followed by earth humps called “bossis” that were formerly cultivated and are now mown or grazed. The confluence of the Gué Chatenay river arriving from the town of Talmont, and the Payré river forms the Payré estuary, blocked by a dune spit known as Le Veillon. On either side of this estuary are perched dunes wooded with maritime pines and holm oaks.

<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>Figure 3. Landscape mosaic on the Payré estuary site and protection perimeters.</figcaption></figure>

Source: RD TOP©© IGN, © INPN, © land photo : Léa Fisy, 2022
12 The site's diverse landscape (Figure 3) has been recognized as a heritage site since it was listed and classified under the 1930 Act¹ in 1975. Today, a great deal of attention is being paid to the landscape of this site through a project to classify it as a Grand Site de France. In the vicinity of Lieu Dieu Abbey, parcels of marshland and meadows have been acquired by the Conservatoire du Littoral, as well as dune complexes. A large portion of the site is part of the Natura 2000 network under the Habitat Directive.

13 The landscape of this site is the result of the interweaving of natural and social agents that have produced landscape heritages that are now protected. Reconstructing the landscape trajectory of this site highlights the drivers of change (natural, economic, political, social and cultural) at the origin of these legacies.

## Landscape trajectory of the Payré marshes

14 The archives consulted give us an idea of the dynamics of the landscape since the 18th century and the relationships that societies had with their environment.

### 18th century: A productive landscape

15 The oldest archives consulted date back to 1704 with maps and memoirs of Claude Masse, king's cartographic engineer. In the 18th century, the marshes were developed as salt marshes and fish marshes, under the impetus of the monks of the abbey of Notre Dame du Lieu-Dieu, built in 1197 close to the foreshore. Memoirs of Masse's maps describe a landscape that was cleared for agricultural purposes. The Payré estuary, or "havre du Perray", was depicted as a cove that provided water for the salt marshes (Source: AN GR 1 VD 60²).
<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>Figure 4. 7th and 8th Masse's maps (“quarré”) assembled. The legends have been interpreted from their memoirs.</figcaption></figure>

Source: SHD GR 6 M J10C 1293, réalisation: Léa Paly, 2025

16 Masse's map (Figure 4) shows an agrarian landscape dominated by cultivated land on the higher ground and a few meadows confined to the valley bottoms of the watercourses. The maritime landscape is marked by the presence of large areas of salt marshes on the banks of the Payré, and behind them by marshes developed as salt flats or fish marshes. The estuary is wide and deep enough to support maritime transport for vessels of 40 to 50 barrels as far as the Guittière outer harbour (Source: AN GR 1 VD 60). Fish marshes, with their comb-shaped structure, serve two purposes: one is aquaculture, where “ropes” and “pits” are used to take advantage of services provided by this ecosystem to grow fish, and the other, on “bossis”, is used to provide arable land, mainly for growing wheat. Profits from the cultivation of “bossis” and fishing in fish marshes provide farmers with additional resources (Bouhier, 1957). Coastal dunes were also cultivated (cereals, vegetables and vines) on small plots of land known as “conches”. In this way, the 18th-century landscape reflected an utilitarian relationship with the environment for the purposes of subsistence and navigation.

## 19th century: Strengthening of existing uses

17 The 19th century was marked by significant demographic pressure in the countryside. In CWs, this pressure resulted in major modifications to the environment for production purposes (Sajaloli, 2017). In Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, where the wetlands have already been heavily modified, this trend is reflected in the embankment of wetlands in front of existing developments (Figure 5). In the archives, there are numerous projects of land reclamation involving the dyking of “roussières”³ for agricultural purposes. The largest project resulted in the closure of a parcel of salt marshes “from the encroachment of the sea” at the former Saint-Nicolas tenant farm by Mr Moizeau in 1844⁴. Similarly, in
1862, the owner Faivre requested authorisation to dike a piece of land bordering the Canal du Payré in the marshland known as the Aumonier marsh⁵. He also mentions several dykes that had not been requested from the public authorities⁶ or that had not obtained authorisation, such as the dyking of a roussière, which was eventually maintained, by Mr Devineau⁷.

<figure><img src="image_9.png" /><figcaption>Figure 5. Plans of different land reclamation and embankment projects (a) by Mr Devineau, (b) by Mr Faivre and (c) by Mr Moizeau.</figcaption></figure>

Source: AD 85.

18 The 19th-century landscape of the marshes was marked by the strengthening of existing relationships with these environments through the draining of salt marshes upstream of already developed areas. These developments enabled land to be reclaimed from the sea for grazing, but also protected infrastructures in developed marshes. This process continued into the early 20th century⁸. Apart from the marsh landscapes, the open dune landscape has been punctuated by small cultivated plots (conches) since the 18th century (Suire, 2017). This dune landscape is gradually being transformed by the “sowing” of maritime pines with the aim of fixing them, which was encouraged by the Napoleonic decree of 1810 assigning dune-fixing work to the State. Without going back over this trend in detail, the stabilisation of the dunes in the 19th century was a turning point for the future urbanisation with the expansion of the tourist economy.

## Late 19th - early 20th century: the beginnings of a landscape turning point

19 From the 18th century, and particularly in the 20th century, the salt trade on the French Atlantic coast declined (Hocquet and Sarrazin, 2006). At the same time as the salt trade
declined, the aquaculture economy has begun to develop. On the Atlantic coast, it was
from 1850-1870 that modern aquaculture was developed thanks to new knowledge and
experiments on shellfish reproduction (Corlay and Trouillet, 2005). The first oyster
farming concessions on Payré marshes date back to 1915 and by 1928 included one
oyster farm and 10 concessions (Lambert and Lambert, 1928).

20

These various developments and new economies emerging attest to the upholding of an
anthropocentric and utilitarian relationship with resources provided by the coast. This
was confirmed at the end of the 19th century with the construction of the Veillon dune,
which does not appear on older maps. The purpose of this development was to promote
the flushing effect in order to clear the Payré channel (Guichard, 2017) and can be
interpreted as a search for technical solutions to maintain a sufficient draught for
navigation. The presence of this spit has benefited shellfish farming. In the 20th
century, this spit was consolidated to reach a length of 800m, which partially closed the
Payré channel and also encouraged the development of tourism with the presence of
the Veillon beach.

21

The beginning of the twentieth century saw a bifurcation in the way the marshes were
used. First of all, the “bossis” were no longer cultivated, but grazed mainly by sheep
(Figure 6) (Source: interview with marsh owners). Finally, in the estuary, the first
shellfish farming concessions appeared. Uses diversified while maintaining the old
ones: salt production, mainly in the Guittière marshes, and extensive fish farming in
the fish marshes. The dune landscape continues to be wooded.

<figure><img src="image_10.png" /><figcaption>Figure 6. Postcard of marshes grazed by sheep in front of Talmont Castle in the early 20th century.</figcaption></figure>

Source: Delcampe.

www.delcampe.net
Second half of the 20th century: specialisation in tourism and aquaculture

22

From the 1970s onwards, aquaculture have been popularised on the Payré site with the development of new fish farming methods known as “ecological planning”, which consisted of integrating this activity as closely as possible with the natural functioning of the marshes (Hussenot, 1974; Hussenot and Buchet, 1998). In the 1980s, a study focusing on the development of aquaculture in Talmont-Saint-Hilaire marshes proposed the use of new aquaculture techniques in the declining fish marshes (Niget, 1980). In 1978, 57 hectares of the Guittière marshes were classified as a “Deferred development zone”⁹ (ZAD) for aquaculture purposes. This ZAD was renewed in 1993 and 2007 without any particular economic success (Levé et al., 2012). Although the project was eventually abandoned, it did alter many marshes by digging them up. In 1993, shellfish farming concessions covered 30 hectares, 21 of which were used for oyster farming (Figure 7) (Allenou et al., 1995).

<figure><img src="image_11.png" /><figcaption>Figure 7. Shellfish concessions in 1993.</figcaption></figure>

Source: Allenou et al., 1995.

23

The second half of the 20th century was also marked by the emergence of the tourist economy. Although it took some time for this to take off due to opposition from a section of the middle-class population and the farming community (Bouhier, 1956; Renard, 1972), popular and family tourism began to develop in the 1960s around the appeal of the Veillon beach. This dynamic led to the construction of a large number of accommodation units in the Bourgenay sector and the construction of the Bourgenay port in 1985 (Renard, 1987). At the same time as the development of tourism and the expansion of the aquaculture economy, heritage policies emerged for the estuary and
marshes of Payré river, with part of the site being classified in 1975 under the 1930 law and the acquisition of various dune areas by the Conservatoire du Littoral in 1980: bois du Veillon and dune du Maroc.

24 Thus, second half of the 20th century marked a turning point for the landscape. The traditional economy based on agricultural, fish farming and maritime production was replaced by tourism and shellfish farming. Urbanisation concentrated on dunes and around existing towns. Salt production practices disappeared in favour of fish or shellfish farming on the marshes (as in the case of La Vinière), or were gradually abandoned (case of Guittière marshes) (Figure 8). This period also saw the extension of territorial planning policies along the coast to protect natural coastal environments, breaking away from a form of planning that was essentially focused on developing the tourist and aquaculture economies in this sector.

<figure><img src="image_12.png" /><figcaption>Figure 8. Aerial photographs showing the reuse of salt marshes (white area) for aquaculture purposes (black area) from 1970 onwards at Lieu-Dieu Abbey: (a) 12 May 1950, (b) 18 August 1971, (c) 4 May 1989, (d) 31 May 1997; and at La Guittière where a small proportion of the salt marshes are still in use: (e) 12 May 1950, (f) 22 May 1975, (g) 31 July 1990, (h) 11 August 2001.</figcaption></figure>

## 21st century: Striking a balance between heritage policies and existing activities.

25 At the start of the 21st century, heritage policies continued to be implement with the site's inclusion in the Natura 2000 network under the Habitats Directive as a 'Site of Community Importance' in 2004, then as a 'Special Protection Area' in 2016, and with the extension of the Conservatoire du Littoral's landholding through the acquisition of 120 hectares of meadows and marshes adjoining the Lieu-Dieu Royal Abbey. In 2023, the Natura 2000 perimeter was extended to include several valley bottom areas.

26 Today, the only remaining areas of the Payré marshes are a few plots of salt flats still in use at the Guittière marsh. Since 2012, three salt flats farmers have been maintaining this activity on 26 harvesting areas (Figure 8).
<figure><img src="image_13.png" /><figcaption>Figure 9. Land use changes between the 18th and 21st centuries.</figcaption></figure>

27 The social and natural heritage of the Payré site is manifold (Figure 9). In the case of the dune environments now wooded with holm oaks and maritime pines, these stem from the clearing of the last remaining holm oak forests in the 18th century and the fixing of the coastline in the 19th century by afforestation of the dunes. Today, these dune environments are facing erosion problems, which have led to the closure of certain parts of the coastal path. Various drivers of change, whether linked to the domestication of nature, the development of tourism and shellfish economy or the deployment of heritage policies, have helped to shape the socio-natural heritage that is protected today (Figure 11). Here, these legacies are the result of their agricultural use, with the transformation of salt marshes into salt flats and fish marshes in the Middle Ages, the draining of wetlands in the 19th century and the conversion of part of the salt flats into fish marshes in the 20th century.

28 These legacies are also linked to stakeholders' interactions and its structuring and evolution. Combined with the transformation of CWs perception over time, the study of stakeholder's interaction reveals the shift from one hydrosocial cycle to another, or their confrontation (Flaminio, 2019). This final section focuses on the formation and transformation of stakeholder networks around water management associated with different landscape states.

## Management trajectory: a structural heritage promoting the upkeeping of a heritage landscape

29 Socio-natural legacies are associated with stakeholders' interactions which have contributed to the creation of protected landscapes on this site and their preservation through the maintenance of uses that produced them. Looking at how these legacies
are managed today, in the light of the past, highlights the inherited part of past interplay between stakeholders and the values associated with this environment.

## Water: a source of production

30

In the 19th century, relations with wetlands were perceived as positive only if they were improved (Derex, 2017). In an application to rehabilitate some dykes, the Payré estuary is described as being of collective importance as a maritime exchange zone and a salt, fish and agricultural production area. In financial requests, specific local features and management complexities they entail, in this case one of the few estuaries in the area not to be dammed up and managed by winnowing¹⁰, are taken into account according to the economic interest that it will provide; the investment in which also depends on the management methods of the neighbouring marshes: "*the channel is nothing more than a small stream in which, at high water, boats can barely get as far as Talmont, which itself is nothing more than a village or small market town. The owners of the marshes bordering the brooks could not be treated more favourably than those of Bouin, Beauvoir, [...] who are the only ones guaranteed against the invasions of the sea*"¹¹.

31

Developments in marshes and the associated management in the 19th century had both an agricultural and a navigational purpose: "*Works of this kind are intended to facilitate the flow of water and consequently navigation by making the canal route wider and more convenient*"¹². In this case, management focused mainly on the drainage of the Payré channel in order to facilitate the inflow and outflow of water for salt, fish and agricultural purposes, as well as for health reasons. The lack of drainage, dated in the archives to the abandonment of the port of Talmont (18th century), led to the emergence of hygienist issues in 1840: "*they [the waters of the Payré] only flow with great difficulty and after leaving in the streams of the putrefying matter, which is the cause of the endemic fevers that constantly afflict Talmont*"¹³. To facilitate this management, the users and owners of the marshes joined forces with the creation of two syndicate associations to manage the Payré river in 1841¹⁴ (association syndicale du canal du Perray) and to ensure the maintenance of the paths and the water supply of the Guittière marshes in 1898¹⁵ (Association syndicale des marais de la Guittière). Dredging and structuring of this management by the association syndicale du canal du Perray were also intended to meet the challenge of flood control by facilitating the evacuation of water: "*[the congestion of the river] impedes the rapid flow of fresh water when the sea withdraws, which causes frequent flooding that is detrimental to health, to riverside properties and to the royal road from Foulenay to Les Sables*"¹⁶.

32

Through the archives consulted, the relationship with water in the 19th century appears anthropocentric. Natural elements were channelled in order to be used for agriculture, fish farming, salt production or navigation. The hydrosocial cycle refers to productive water (Figure 11, A). This is linked to the demographic pressure of the 19th century countryside, illustrated in Talmont-Saint-Hilaire by strong population growth (Figure 10).
<figure><img src="image_14.png" /><figcaption>Figure 10. Demographic growth in Talmont-Saint-Hilaire¹⁷.</figcaption></figure>

Source: AD 85.

33 The 20th century, and in particular the second half with the institutionalisation of nature protection, was a period of renewed relationships with water.

## Water: a source of biodiversity and amenities

34 In 1975, the estuary and marshes of Payré river have been classified under the 1930 law. This classification came at a time of strong tourist development, illustrated in Figure 10 by the increase in second homes from the 1960s onwards. Justified for landscape and ecological reasons linked to specific geomorphological features (where the Aquitaine Basin meets the Armorican Massif), this classification was also a means of resisting the surrounding urban development, particularly in the Veillon sector: "*The Pointe du Payré has not yet been affected by this urbanisation; it is essential that it remains as it is at present, a vast natural area*" (DREAL, 1975).

35 Conservatoire du Littoral's acquisition policies in 1980 followed this dynamic. After acquiring the sites, the Conservatoire du Littoral entrusts their management, often to local authorities, associations or syndicates. On the estuary and marshes of Payré river, the areas belonging to the Conservatoire du Littoral are managed by the Fédération des Chasseurs de Vendée for the Marais du Lieu-Dieu area. For the bois du Veillon and the Pointe du Payré, management is entrusted to the municipality of Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, with funding from the Département. The heterogeneity of management structures can be understood as a consequence of the incremental establishment of protected areas and the distinct challenges they entail, including coastal erosion, water resource management, and biodiversity conservation. Finally, management of Natura 2000 site has been delegated to the Vendée Grand Littoral local council community. Management of the Payré marshes is mainly based on existing activities. Management agreements have been signed between the Conservatoire du Littoral or the local council community Vendée Grand Littoral (Natura 2000) and farmers to encourage practices that are compatible with ecological objectives set by these two bodies. The Conservatoire du Littoral's fish marshes are managed by members of the association de défense des marais du Payré¹⁸. The cleaning of the primary and secondary channels (or "coursons") is carried out by Vendée Grand Littoral (Source: Payré, gestionnaire_2).
36 The heritage management put in place on protected sites replaces past stakeholders interactions in order to maintain the heritage in a desired state or reference state - that of the 1950s corresponding to the landscapes of fish marshes grazed by sheep. Water is perceived as a source of both biological and landscape diversity, and as the source of many contemporary coastal amenities (Figure 11, B). The CW has become a new agent in the promotion of tourism in this area, with the construction of a greenway and a footbridge allowing visitors to walk and cycle through the marshes.

## Water and its management: a territorial identity

37 In the twentieth century, before the advent of these heritage policies, marshland was managed by separate marsh syndicates covering several marshland sectors (syndicat de l'Ensoivière, syndicat de la Girevière, Syndicat des marais du Payré) before they merged in 1990 to create the Syndicat Mixte d'Étude et d'Aménagement des marais du Payré (SMEA) (Source: interviews with marshland owners). In 2017, under the Loi NOTRe, jurisdiction was transferred back to the local authority. The resulting dissolution of the syndicate was seen by marshland owners as a loss of influence with decision-making bodies: "So, because it was the Loi NOTRe that did this in 2017, you see that it wasn't long ago that it was dissolved. The Loi NOTRe removes any possibility of the mixed syndicate working and transfers it to the local authorities, the communities of communes" (marshland owners).

38 In the 21st century, the maintenance of these landscapes and their associated uses is dependent on groups of stakeholders who are tending to disappear. The users of the Payré marshes are still active and have formed an association to defend marshes in 1999. This structure is inherited from past practices, in particular the grouping together of marsh owners through the marsh syndicates. However, their relationship with this environment has changed: from an environment domesticated to meet their needs, with an anthropocentric and productive vision of nature, they moved towards the protection of landscape heritage and practices that are considered to be the identity of these places, with an anthropocentric and heritage vision of it (Figure 11, C) (Paly et al., 2024).

39 Thus two relatively similar hydro-social cycles are currently confronting each other on this site (Figure 11, A and B).

## Renewal and co-existence of hydrosocial cycles
<figure><img src="image_15.png" /><figcaption>Figure 11. Drivers that have changed the landscape trajectory of the Payré and associated hydro-social cycles.</figcaption></figure>

40

One (Figure 11 B) is structured around the framework of nature protection, through a set of stakeholders working for the “ecological” management of Payré marshes. Water is a common asset that needs to be conserved and passed on, as it creates diverse landscapes that are a source of biodiversity. The management put in place therefore tends to preserve the uses that produced the protected heritage only if the practices meet the ecological and landscape objectives. The channels are seen as ecological habitats rather than flows of salt water for the marshes. Vegetation adjacent to their banks is preserved when they are cleaned out. Traditional stone sluice¹⁹, called locally “essailles”, are being restored by the local council community in order to re-establish these typical features of the marsh landscape and to “renew the water in the marsh and manage and maintain the water levels needed to preserve the environment and species” (Vendée Grand Littoral²⁰). Often in a poor state of repair or rebuilt in concrete for functional reasons (Figure 12), the restoration of traditional stone sluices meets the landscape expectations of this listed site (Freytet, 2019), which is in the process of being designated an Opération Grand Site de France²¹.
<figure><img src="image_16.png" /><figcaption>Figure 12. Pictures of (a) old stone sluice, (b) recent concrete sluice.</figcaption></figure>

Photo: Léa Paly, 2021.

41

The other (Figure 11 C) is based on ancestral practices linked mainly to fishing in the fish marshes. The desired management of the marshes, based on interacting as closely as possible with the marshes between the various stakeholders, features marshes' heritage values and identity (Paly et al., 2024). Fishing is a leisure activity and an intangible heritage focused on specific local facilities (Figure 13): sluices, wooden panel to manage water levels in a sluice, a funnel-shaped creel that traps young fish, “salaison” (a fishing practice that is now banned because it results in the non-selection of fish).

<figure><img src="image_17.png" /><figcaption>Figure 13. Pictures of the Payré site, showing the various structures and tools used to manage water and fish, with (a) wooden panel, (b) sluice to manage the water level using wooden panels, (c) a creel, (d) a fishing tool named “salaie”.</figcaption></figure>

Photograph: Léa Paly, 2021.

42

The hybrid nature of protected heritages resulting from the action of coastal societies on these natural environments makes it possible for two hydrosocial cycles to coexist, with divergent values regarding nature (Paly et al., 2024). Their management is therefore negotiated between marsh managers and users. It is based on a heritage compromise (Dedinger et al., 2023) focusing on fishing rights, particularly for eels. In the face of the greening of practices, tensions are emerging between the conservation of an intangible heritage (ancestral fishing practices) and the conservation of a natural heritage resulting from these ancient uses. This tension was accentuated by the
decree²² banning marsh owners from fishing for eel²³. Faced with this ban, the association de défence des marais du Payré was restructured as an authorised syndicate association in 2025 to be able to take on the management of the marshes²⁴. A new heritage compromise needs to be found.

Climate change and rising sea levels are not clearly seen as drivers renewing relationships with water. It is a “new” context that is becoming institutionalised through strategies to tackle flooding and submersion and by justifying management actions through the notion of the ecosystem services of CWs as blue carbon sinks: “*The better a marsh is maintained, the better the quality of the water that feeds it (ocean or coastal rivers) and the more the marsh will produce blue carbon, with all the benefits that this capture will bring to the functioning of its ecosystem. This phenomenon also constitutes a natural compensation for the CO₂ emissions produced on a regional scale, making it possible by extension to limit the harmful consequences of CO₂ emission and human activity on the environment*” (Vendée Grand Littoral and Association Carbone Bleu des marais).

At this site, climate change is providing new justification for conserving a cultural landscape with a predominantly backward-looking approach, rather than renewing existing forms of management.

## Conclusion

The geohistorical approach to the landscape of CWs highlights the hybrid nature of the protected socio-natural heritage. Without wishing to date the start of the Anthropocene that fluctuates geographically (Garnier, 2019), this approach reveals, on the one hand, the age of these now-protected heritages and, on the other, an intensification of transformations in the second half of the 20th century.

The landscape trajectory of the estuary and marshes of Payré river shows that the forms of relationship with water are renewed in response to the various factors of change and, above all, to the feelings of loss that they induce: loss of a landscape, loss of practices, etc. By focusing on management trajectories, this geohistorical approach finally reveals the weight of landscape and structural legacies through collective water management in the associated management trajectories. The aim is to preserve cultural heritage in the face of climate change by maintaining a 1950s landscape.

In this context, climate change does not seem to fundamentally transform existing frameworks or practices in the management of natural heritage. Rather than signalling indifference toward climate change, this dynamic reflects a public policy framework shaped by short-term management logics and a deep-rooted attachment to the established cultural landscape.
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## NOTES

1. The French Law of 1930 is a legal and administrative instrument of the Environment Code that establishes the possibility of protecting natural or built areas for their picturesque, artistic, historical, scientific or legendary character. Inside the defined perimeter, any work likely to alter the appearance is subject to authorization.

2. GR 1 VD 60, *Mémoire sur la carte du 8e quarré de la générale de la coste du Bas Poitou, Masse*. 21 juin 1704.

3. The term “roussière” is a local word for salt marshes wetlands.

4. AD44, S 1249 : *Rapport de l'Ingénieur ordinaire des Sables sur la pétition du Sieur Moizeau*, 12 octobre 1844.

5. AD 44, S 1249 : *Rapport de l'Ingénieur ordinaire sur pétition du Sieur Faivre tendant à obtenir l'autorisation d'endiguer un terrain riverain du canal du Payré*.

6. AD 44 S 1249 : *Lettre de M. Faivre à l'attention des Ponts et Chaussée*, 18 janvier 1862.

7. AD85 S 1254 : Exchanges relating to the Devineau case.

8. AD85 S1089 : *Rapport des Ponts et Chaussée, rapport du subdivisionnaire au sujet de la demande de Alvide Durandet au sujet de l'acquisition d'un terrain en bord de rivage*, le 17 octobre 1922.

9. The implementation of a Zone d'Aménagement Différée in France give the local authority, public institution or semi-public company the right of pre-emption on all sales and transfers of real estate or company rights. ZAD are associated with a development project.

10. It is the case for marshes around Les Sables d'Olonne and Saint-Vincent-sur-Jard.

11. AD85, S787 : *Mémoire par M. Dorie desservant au bourg-napoléon sur l'importance du havre du perray pour la navigation et les marais salants, à poisson et à blés. Demande de réhabilitation de deux digues longitudinales au havre du Perray existant par le passé*.

12. AD85, S 573, *Lettre de M. Labbé au préfet pour une demande d'endigement de parcelles de marais*. 28 février 1869.
13. AD85, 1151 S Lettre adressée au préfet sur le manque de curage de canal du Perray, 18 juillet 1840.

14. AD85, S 1151 : Cours d'eau, rivière du Perray : Projet d'association entre les propriétaires intéressés au curage de cette rivière. 4 aouts 1842.

15. AD85, S 1158 : Préfecture de la Vendée, Marais de la Guittière : Formation d'une association syndicale, 15 avril 1898.

16. AD44, S 1151, création du syndicat du canal du Perray, 1843.

17. Talmont-Saint-Hilaire is the result of the merging of two towns : Saint-Hilaire-de-Talmont and Talmont in 1974. For purposes of comparison, past periods show the population of these two communes combined.

18. The association de défense des marais du Payré is a group of fish marsh owners that aims to protect and enhances locally their interest, tradition and practices of fish farming in these marshes.

19. The restoration of concrete sluices is not financed by Natura 2000 or by the State because of the aesthetic loss it causes.

20. https://www.vendeegrandlittoral.fr/actualites/marais-du-payre-un-joyau-a-preserver/

21. Government initiative to help local authorities meet the challenges of welcoming visitors and maintaining listed sites of great renown that are heavily visited by tourists.

22. Order of 10 October 2024, Art 4: 'Recreational fishing for eels in maritime waters downstream of the salt water limit is prohibited at all stages of development'.

23. France 3 article on the protest against the ban on eel fishing in the Payré marshes: https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/pays-de-la-loire/vendee/sables-olonne-0/en-vendee-la-fronde-des-proprietaires-de-marais-contre-l-interdiction-de-la-peche-a-l-anguille-2821550.html

24. Article in Ouest-France on the creation of an ASA in the Payré marshes: https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/jard-sur-mer-85520/agir-de-facon-raisonnee-pour-preserver-les-marais-du-payre-bb36aa18-f4bb-11ee-80fa-13a54fbe31dc

## ABSTRACTS

Atlantic coastal wetlands, once productive areas, are now protected for their natural character. They are now facing new challenges as sea levels rise. By reconstructing the landscape trajectory of the Payré estuary and marshes (Vendée, France), this paper first identifies the drivers of change that have produced landscape heritages that are now protected. Secondly, the analysis of water management evolution characterises the renewal of hydrosocial cycles. In the past, water was productive; today two hydrosocial cycles are coexisting. One is promoting water as a source of biodiversity through 'ecological' management, but also as a commodity through the development of green tourism. The other emphasises ancient practices that give the site its identity. These two hydrosocial cycles coexist because of the hybrid nature of this site and the attachment to landscape heritages.

Les zones humides littorales atlantiques, autrefois productives, sont aujourd'hui protégées pour leur caractère naturel. Elles sont aujourd'hui confrontées à de nouveaux défis liés à l'élévation du niveau de la mer. En reconstituant la trajectoire paysagère de l'estuaire et marais du Payré (Vendée, France), cet article identifie premièrement les facteurs de changement qui ont produit les héritages paysagers aujourd'hui protégés. Dans un second temps, l'analyse de l'évolution de la
gestion de l'eau révèle un renouvellement des cycles hydrosociaux. Aujourd'hui, deux cycles hydrosociaux coexistent et remplacent un cycle qui valorisait une eau source de production. L'un promeut l'eau comme source de biodiversité à travers une gestion « écologique », mais aussi comme marchandise à travers le développement du tourisme vert. L'autre met en avant les pratiques anciennes qui donnent au site son identité. Ces deux cycles hydrosociaux coexistent en raison de la nature hybride de ce site et de l'attachement aux patrimoines paysagers.

## INDEX

**Mots-clés:** zone humide littorale, paysage, géohistoire, trajectoire, cycle hydrosocial

**Keywords:** coastal wetland, landscape, geohistory, trajectories, hydrosocial cycle

## AUTHORS

### LÉA PALY

Docteure en Géographie, postdoctorante, Le Mans Université, ESO (UMR 6590), Avenue Olivier Messiaen, 72085, Le Mans ORCID 0009-0003-3314-5863 lea.paly@univ-lemans.fr

### NATHALIE CARCAUD

Professeure de Géographie, Institut Agro Angers, ESO (UMR 6590), 2 rue André Le Nôtre, 49000, Angers ORCID 0000-0001-5971-1411 nathalie.carcaud@institut-agro.fr

### VÉRONIQUE BEAUJOUAN

Maitresse de conférences en géomatique, Institut Agro Angers, BAGAP, 2 rue André Le Nôtre, 49000, Angers ORCID 0000-0003-1606-1724 Véronique.Beaujouan@institut-agro.fr