Contenu du sommaire : Géographie des littoraux : la nature et les hommes

A synthesis is proposed of coastal management policies in the Rhone detta over the last fifty years . Various key elements are highlighted which need to be taken into account in the future. First, the present situation concerning the appropriation of the coast (DPM) and human use made of is analysed. Emphasis is given to the importance of industrial and tourist activities and to their implications for the local socio-economic situation. Second, the history of coastal management policies is discussed. It shows the heterogeneity of both the engineering structures and the objectives ; in the latter case, many were only partially attained and often at an extremely high cost. Finally, this study recalls the present understanding of coastal morphosedimentary and hydrodynamicprocesses. On this basis a number of future scenarios are proposed concerning management strategies and their morphological implications.

potential infiltration of the shingle spit, and thus, its reflective and dissipative aspects. They also contribute to the creation of small sandy swash bars on the lower foreshore. Such observations are of particular importance for beach filling policies. Indeed, concerning the shingle spit, its nourishment with ungraded products (shingle and sand), and not with sift materials, would reduce the cost of filling by 30% and increase its efficacy.

During the XXth century, the morphologic behaviour of shingle beaches in the Channel basin has reflected the fragility of coastal accumulations. Since 1950's, the more frequent breaks and submersions of the shingle beaches attest to their gradual breaking down. Because of human pressure in the coastal zone shingle beaches undergo sedimentary disturbances. Consequently, the shingle beaches cannot absorb the wave energy.

The paper analyses the conservation policy devised for the Bas-Champs coast of Picardy. The policy proposes a coastal defence strategy that raises a large number of controversial issues, calling into question the overall management of this coast.

This paper concerns the Sangatte sand-dune located at the western extremity of the North Sea coastal plain in France. Using historical evidence, the present study provides an overview of anthropic influences on the evolution of coastal dunes and coastal lowlands evolution since the 17th century- The author assesses the influence of human society on the development of the shoreline and the coastline. Changes in shoreline protection techniques and in the attitudes of coastal managers are also considered. The results of this study show that major changes in coastal protection and coastal mangement are related to storms. The main aspects of an experimental coastal protection programme are presented. The author examines the role of the different actors ("Service Maritime", "Conservatoire du Littoral") in coastal management. Past and present coastal managment are compared through the example of the experimental protection scheme of the Sangatte sand-dune (1993- 1997).

After having been largely eliminated by reclamation projects. Great Britain's saltmarshes have been threatened by a relative rise in the sea level as well. In England however, since the 1990s, they have benefited from an increasingly extensive environmental protection policy. This has primarily been due to the evolution of a sea defence policy which, henceforth, attributes a defence role to the saltmarshes. Thus, along the coasts of Essex, ecosystem rehabilitation has been experimented with as a direct result of managed retreat projects.

The network of coastal nature reserves in Brîtanny has been created in the late fifties by a regional conservation society, the SEPNB (Society for the study and conservation of nature in Brittany). It is based upon the distinction between sanctuaries, which are devoted to the nesting of marine birds, and the pedagogical reserves, which are managed with educational and touristic purposes. The aim of the article is to know if these latter objectives (broadening the naturalist knowledge and educating the public) are completed. The research has been based during the summer 1995 on a série of interviews in two nature reserves, namely the reserve of cap Sizun and the reserve located in the island of Groix. A qualitative analysis provides some results concerning the identification of visitors and enables to make further considerations about the representation of coastal places and about the touristic behaviour in nature reserves.