Last updated: October 2021
The Deûle park is a periurban park in northern France, which was created to protect the irreplaceable capture fields of the south of the Lille conurbation. It is an important element of the Regional Green Trail and an important recreation area in a region that is particularly densely urbanized and poor in green spaces. The park is the winner of the " Landscape Award 2006" and the European Landscape Award from the Council of Europe in 2009 (Ref 2).
Deule Park
Llille Metropole. Available at: https://enm.lillemetropole.fr/parcs/relais-nature-du-parc-de-la-deule. Accessed on 12th August, 2020
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change mitigation
- Water management (SDG 6)
- Improvements to water quality
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Habitat and biodiversity conservation
- Green space creation and/or management
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Tourism support
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Maintenance and management of urban nature, Monitoring and maintenance of habitats and/or biodiversity
Project objectives
The goals were (a) to create a green space in urban grey; (b) to create more biodiverse areas; (c) to create habitats for biodiversity; (d) to create tourism; (e) to encourage visitors in biodiversity protection; and (f) to protect the water tables threatened by urban and industrial pollution, with a desire to re-green this area (Ref 1).
Implementation activities
The park has been created in the southern part of the Lille Metropole covering an area of 400 ha. Its design is the result of an international competition won in 1995 by a team of landscape architects, urban planners, agronomists, foresters and ecologists gathered around Jacques Simon and JNC International (Ref 1). Meadows, woodlands, wooded alignments, marshes, streams and ponds are restored with original operations dédrainage and " déseutrophisation " creating a first lombriduc etc. La Tortue, a small river transformed into sewer in the years 1960-70 is renaturated. Locally land was cleared and a deposit of thousands of tires evacuated. Many facilities welcome the public, inviting it to respect the fragile environments, around 3 poles corresponding to a dominant activity, on the first three communes of the Park. In 2010, 80 ha of the centerline (zone where the tree frogs, etymologically) are added to the Park, to protect the underground aquifer (Ref 2).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change mitigation:
- Increase green urban nature for carbon storage (wetlands, tree cover)
- Improve carbon sequestration through selection of more adaptable species
- Implement sustainable forest management measures to increase carbon sinks/ improve carbon storage
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity conservation:
- Protect and enhance urban habitats
- Create new habitats
- Protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect native species
- Means for conservation governance
- Capacity building
Biodiversity restoration:
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Restore native species
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- National government
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
- Citizen monitoring and review
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The project was carried out by three landscapers (team Jacques Simon - JNC International (Jean-Noël Capart, Yves Hubert) and the Ministry in charge of Ecology (Ref 2).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Yes
(The National Biodiversity Strategy (Ref 1))
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(Lille parks and gardens regulations Plan (Ref 1))
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Public national budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Water management and blue areas
- Improved water quality
- Green space and habitat
- Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
- Increased green space area
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales
Economic impacts
- Generation of income from NBS
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Increased appreciation for natural spaces
- Education
- Increased support for education and scientific research
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. Lille Metropole. Relais Nature du Parc de la Deûle. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 12th August, 2020.
2. Parc de la Deule. Wikipedia. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 12th August, 2020.
2. Parc de la Deule. Wikipedia. Available at: Source link. Accessed on 12th August, 2020.