"Ecopôle du Val d'Allier" in Pérignat-ès-Allier (Puy-de-Dôme, France): ecological restoration of an old gravel pit and social experiments

Résumé En

The communication proposes to study the Ecopôle du Val d’Allier, a site of approximately 140 ha, located on the outskirts of the Clermont metropolitan area. It is a site characteristic of the industrial exploitation of the Anthropocene (gravel pits) rehabilitated from the 2000s to become an emblematic space of the ecological transition combining actions to protect biodiversity, local recreational activities for population of the metropolis, educational space and place of social experimentation (for example agricultural test space for organic market gardening, Integration through Economic Activity actions for workers far from employment, etc.)The alluvium of the alluvial plain of the Allier River has long constituted a very important economic resource. But it was especially from the second half of the 20th century that the consumption of aggregates (sand and gravel) soared for the construction of roads and buildings. Millions of m3 were thus extracted, first from the river bed, then from the alluvial plain. The consequences of this activity were very impactful for the river. This is why, in 1981, extractions were prohibited in the minor bed of the Allier and in 2017 in the alluvial plain.From 1985, in order to anticipate the end of quarry exploitation, local elected officials began to think about scenarios for rehabilitating the site, in conjunction with other partners. The idea of a multifunctional site bringing together diversified activities gradually emerged.Using a qualitative approach (semi-structured interviews), this communication will retrace the various stages of the rehabilitation of the site, analyze the system of actors, the intervention of each in the process and its current management: private quarry operating companies, local municipalities, Intercommunal tourism development union, League for the Protection of Birds, the association Régie de Territoire des 2 Rives, which, supported by the European Social Fund (actions of social inclusion), etc.