From a civil engineering project to an ecological engineering project: An historical perspective from the Mont Saint Michel bay (France)

Because of an excess of sedimentation due to natural and anthropogenic causes, the Mont Saint Michel (France) is becoming less frequently surrounded by seawater during high tide events. This prestigious monument and its bay have both been recognized by multiple national and international institutions for cultural and ecological richness. Diverse human activities such as tourism, fisheries, and farming also occupy the Mont Saint Michel Bay. The French government has been faced with a challenge of preserving the integrity of the bay, while restoring the 'insularity' of what used to be an island, the Mont Saint Michel. The objective of this paper is primarily to demonstrate how environmental scientists and ecologists influenced a typical civil engineering project and modified it into a civil/ecological engineering project, more respectful of both environment and human interests. To achieve this objective, we first retrace the formation of the Mont Saint Michel Bay, under both geological and historical perspectives, to provide the necessary background for the understanding of the actual restoration project. Some of the first projects that were proposed were designed to destroy the area of salt marshes that surrounded the Mont Saint Michel, with no consideration for the ecological integrity of the site. We conclude by presenting the current project in which France will invest over 130 million USD in the next few years. If this final project cannot be recognized truly as an ecological engineering project, it has the merit of being a compromise between various partnerships which have been debating for more than a century. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.