The team of the Mercantour National Park held a press conference yesterday to present the activities planned throughout a promising summer.
The sun was shining above the terrace of the Splendid Hôtel & Spa in Nice. The clouds were there too. “Usually, we can see the Mercantour from here,” joked Emmanuel Gastaud, the communications manager of the Park. For the third consecutive year, the Mercantour National Park team held its press conference on the ninth floor, on the roof terrace of the hotel.
The President of the Mercantour National Park, Charles-Ange Ginésy, opened the conference by reaffirming his commitment to the park’s candidacy for UNESCO World Heritage status. He expressed satisfaction with the “tremendous geological assets that the park possesses.” Indeed, with nearly 6,000 meters of elevation (3,000 meters for the highest peaks and -2,500 meters for the deepest depths), the park can “testify to the planet’s geology.”
With a “well-constructed” file, the park has every chance according to its president: “I am confident. The file is ready, it will be submitted in 2017, hoping it will be accepted and that the park will join the UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019.”
“At a time when climate change is being discussed, we have a major role.” Charles-Ange Ginésy advocates for sustainable development. A meeting is scheduled at the end of July with the heads of the La Vanoise and Écrins parks for a consultation on sustainable development practices.
The president of the Park then emphasized digital technology, which is “an integral part of promoting the Mercantour Park.” This involves a partnership with the American giant Google, to set up a Google Tracker, i.e., a complete mapping of the Park that can be explored online. The goal being to allow potential tourists to plan their trip or simply to discover the Park from their computer. An application for planning trips and hikes is also in development.
The Director of the National Park, Christophe Viret, reminded that the park “had only 800 animal species recorded 30 years ago, compared to 12,000 now.” The park is also among the ten largest sustainable tourism destinations, thanks to its “open house” aspect as well as its “exceptional naturalness.”
Emmanuel Gastaud and Nathalie Siefert, the heritage management manager of the Park, then presented some of the many summer activities organized by the Mercantour. The latter noted “an alarming observation: the lack of young people in the mountains during the summer.” To remedy this, several youth-oriented events are already planned, such as excavations on Gallic ruins in Roubion.
Also present, Laurent Scheyer, the deputy director of the Mercantour Park, recalled “the significant work done on maintaining the 550 kilometers of trails that the park comprises, with an annual budget of 80,000 euros.” Laurent Scheyer then provided an update on the regulations in force in the park, while mentioning that the Giro d’Italia bicycling event was not disrupted during its visit in May: “everything went very well when they crossed the Col de la Bonnette.”
According to Christiane Rey-Anezin, representative of the Mercantour Ecotourism Association, “the park helps us give a value of respect. We live on site, it’s a great wealth because it’s important for there to be people in the park.”
A multitude of activities, hikes, exhibitions, and conferences, organized by park rangers and officials, will punctuate a rich summer. But according to Emmanuel Gastaud, the communications manager, the ecotourism weekend, organized on the upcoming 24th and 25th of September, will be worth the trip. “The program is still a secret, but it will be released soon,” he promises.
