Management of water environments and flood prevention, a key area of responsibility

Focus on GEMAPI (GEstion des Milieux Aquatiques et Prévention des Inondations) with Audrey, Scientific Mediator at the Office International de l'Eau.

Can you introduce yourself in a few words?

My name is Audrey Bornancin Plantier and I'm a Scientific Mediator at the International Office for Water. I'm in charge of the Gest'eau resource french centre on water development and management schemes (SAGE), and I also work on the communication aspect of various projects such as LIFE Eau&Climat.

What is the GEMAPI expertise?

The GEMAPI competence concerns :

• Watershed management;
• Maintenance and development of watercourses, canals, lakes and water bodies;
• Flood and sea defence;
• Protection and restoration of wetlands.

This responsibility is assigned to the municipalities and their inter-municipal public bodies with their own tax system, such as the communities of municipalities. It came into effect on 1 January 2018.

Why was the GEMAPI Newsletter created?

The GEMAPI Newsletter was set up at the beginning of 2017, in anticipation of the compulsory assumption of GEMAPI competence from 2018. This letter is one of the actions carried out for the Gest'eau resource french centre, as part of the agreement between OiEau and the Office Français de la Biodiversité (AFB at the time), in collaboration with the French Ministry for the Environment (now the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion).

Can you tell us more about this newsletter: purpose, audience, frequency, etc.?

This newsletter centralises recent information relating to the GEMAPI remit, including publications, articles and events. The aim is to provide up-to-date information on the strategic and legal aspects, as well as offering an overview of implementation in the region (actions, points of attention, etc.).

We have almost 1,200 subscribers, including people working in the structures responsible for GEMAPI, decentralised government departments, water agencies, other players involved in water management, etc. A new issue of the newsletter is currently published on average every three months.

How is it carried out?

It is carried out by OiEau, in particular using an in-house software programme called "Vocabe", which enables automatic monitoring to be carried out, centralising the information found by all those involved in monitoring at OiEau, and generating newsletters. A "manual" watch specific to the GEMAPI theme, based on internet searches or newsletter subscriptions, complements the automatic watch configured in Vocabe. External contributors also contribute to the content by sending us information for inclusion.

What are the current issues surrounding the management of aquatic environments and flood prevention?

The current flooding in the Pas-de-Calais and Nord regions has shown us once again that managing aquatic environments and preventing flooding is a major challenge, especially in the context of climate change.

There are still questions about how this responsibility is to be exercised, how it is to be financed (GEMAPI tax) and what the regulatory obligations are. Synergies with initiatives such as SAGEs and PAPIs (Flood Prevention Action Programmes), regional planning and rainwater management need to be strengthened. And, in terms of actions taken on the ground, the use of Nature-based Solutions (NBS).