In order to make climate change a moment for redesigning territorial planning, it is essential to clarify and coordinate the actions of each of the local institutional actors according to their competencies: GEMAPI (Management of Aquatic Environments and Flood Prevention); the mayor’s police force for the safety of users, Local Urbanism Plan (PLU), promotion of the ecological heritage and tourism; acquisition and management of land owned by the Conservatoire du Littoral; and information and awareness-raising among the population. 

To this end, the Adapto project undertakes coastal planning actions: 

• Presentation of the marine submersion models to the institutional actors concerned
• Taking into account in urban planning documents and in crisis management planning tools
• Integration of the marine submersion hazard into the Local Urbanism Plan of the City of Lancieux; 
• Written regulations approved on December 23, 2019
• Map of exposed areas to the risk of marine submersion (DDTM22) since May 2013

The “new marshes” dike, built at the beginning of the 19th century to form the Beaussais polder, has undergone significant damage for several decades. The latest repairs were done in 2014. The project focuses on acquiring the most exposed agricultural land and houses behind the first-rank of dykes to support the gradual retreat of the shoreline. To date, 45 ha of the site have been left to evolve freely with regular scientific monitoring of the fauna and flora evolution.

As part of the Adapto project, the modelling carried out by BRGM allows for the identification of submersible zones according to weather conditions and the evolution of dykes and sea level rise. These models were used as a basis for establishing a monitoring schedule, organising the safety of goods and people from determined tidal coefficients (housing evacuation, withdrawal of livestock, local road closing, construction of a temporary earthen berm around a sewage pumping station). 

Based on this data, local stakeholders can also determine whether or not it is necessary to create second-tier dykes to protect strategic issues in the event of the failure of existing structures.

As part of the Adapto project, the Conservatoire du Littoral is deploying series of educational activities:

• Development and deployment of a educational programmes for primary and secondary school classes; 
• Creation of an exhibition (kakemonos format) on the former evolution and the future of the marsh;
• Awareness-raising and development of tools for the regional guards. 

The project is also committed to organising events to report and communicate the results of the project to practitioners, elected officials and the general public at the local and regional levels. 

It also participates in national actions to capitalise on and put into perspective the other Adapto sites’ experiences.

The Conservatoire du Littoral is carrying out on-site research actions such as historical and prospective analysis on the evolution of the landscapes; updated analysis of the social perception of the users; as well as developing decision-making tools (economic and multi-criteria analyses) around possible long-term evolution scenarios.

Also, a research project, carried out in partnership with the National Museum of Natural History as part of the Adapto project, aims to develop an ecological quality indicator tailored for natural coastal environments. This indicator should allow the description of the reconnection impacts on the ecological quality of natural coastal areas and the monitoring of their evolution. It is pivotal for the Conservatoire du Littoral and its managers that intend to improve the environmental quality of the coast. It also entails the provision of answers to the concerns expressed by various environmental stakeholders about the potential negative impacts of marine reconnection on species relying on these soft environments. 

Additionally, the University of Bretagne Occidentale leads a research project called “DPM – PEPPS2 – Scheduled Depolderisation of small Coastal Marshes” to identify, through a cross-sectional approach, the short-term transformation processes caused by the reconnection of small polderised marshes based on the observation and analysis of different ecological areas (fauna, flora, soil…) and by integrating a functional approach of the system.