©Click&Unstick The park’s missions
Regional natural parks have five major missions: promote, preserve, develop, raise awareness, innovate.
The five major missions
Five missions are today assigned to regional natural parks, through the environmental code:
- economic and social development;
- protection of natural, historical and cultural heritage and landscape;
- participation in fine-tuned territorial planning, in particular by participating in the coherence of urbanization;
- welcome, inform and educate the public on environmental and cultural issues;
- experiment with new forms of public action and collective action.
The precise missions vary from one regional natural park to another depending on the characteristics and specific challenges of each territory. It is important to consult the Park Charter to understand the specific commitments and actions of the Périgord-Limousin Regional Natural Park.
Regional natural parks contribute to the policy of environmental protection, land use planning, economic and social development and public education and training. To this end, they aim to be territories of local experimentation for innovation serving the sustainable development of rural territories.Article L333-1 of the Environmental Code
At the origin of regional natural parks, a desire to preserve rural territories
In France, the “Regional Natural Park” label was created in 1967 to classify rural areas with exceptional natural and cultural heritage. The question was then to protect the wealth of these territories while taking into account the human activities of these inhabited territories. The State has therefore created a new legal framework, relying on local authorities and their elected representatives, to reconcile protection policies and local development issues.
Over the years, Regional Natural Parks have continued to evolve to adapt to new environmental, social and economic challenges. More and more parks are tackling questions of energy transition, citizen participation, adaptation to climate change and are experimenting with solutions in their territories through projects designed with elected officials, local stakeholders and residents.
More than 50 years after the creation of the label, regional natural parks still participate in the policy of environmental preservation and sustainable development on a regional scale.
Subjects covered by the Périgord-Limousin Regional Natural Park
The Périgord-Limousin Regional Natural Park covers a large area of 75 municipalities, whose elected officials are involved in the life of the park. They collectively define the projects and missions that will be carried out by park agents.
The park's missions focus on themes linked to water, biodiversity, agriculture, forestry, tourism and nature sports, regional education, culture, know-how and arts and crafts, energy transition, heritage, town planning, landscape and adaptation to climate change. These missions come in many forms: activities for schools and the general public, developments and restoration projects for natural and built heritage, development of local resources, etc.
It is important to note that the Périgord-Limousin Regional Natural Park is above all a place of life for nearly 50 inhabitants. If the elected and agents bring the park to life on a daily basis, the operation of the park is based on exchange, consultation and the association of the vital forces of the territory. Residents, professionals and local associations are regularly asked to take part in various projects. The mindset of a Regional Natural Park is not to constrain, but to convince.
