France has designated an Alpine peatland and a lowland river complex as its newest Wetlands of International Importance.
Tourbière des Saisies – Beaufortain – Val d’Arly © Marine Vallée, 2025
Tourbière des Saisies – Beaufortain – Val d’Arly (Site no. 2591 on the List of Wetlands of International Importance) includes two sections of the largest acidic peatland complex in the French Alps, which lie between 1,500 metres and 1,700m in altitude.
Dense with representative and rare wetland habitats including active raised bogs, forested bogs, natural dystrophic lakes and ponds, alkaline fens, and transition and quaking bogs, the Site harbours 24 different sphagnum moss and 210 butterfly species. It is home to the nationally vulnerable wolf (Canis lupus), the nationally endangered Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), and diverse nationally threatened bird species, including the red kite (Milvus milvus).
The wetland is important for recreation and scientific research, but also as an inspirational natural site. It stores and sequesters carbon, regulates the local climate, and provides drinking water for humans and livestock.
La Loire des Confluences (Site no. 2592) covers the confluences of the Loire, Thouet, Vienne, Indre, and Cher rivers.
La Loire des Confluences © Guillaume Delaunay, 2022
Characterized by diverse wetland environments including riverbeds, sandy beaches, floodplain meadows and mudflats, it supports the survival and development of many threatened species such as the internationally vulnerable starfruit (Damasonium alisma) and the aspic viper (Vipera aspis). The critically endangered allis shad (Alosa alosa) passes through the Site during its migration.
The wetland regularly supports around 49,000 waterbirds, including black stork (Ciconia nigra) and around 10% of the osprey (Pandion haliaetus) in mainland France. It is also home to a significant proportion of the global population of the light orange underwing moth (Archiearis notha), which reproduces here.
The Site delivers a variety of ecosystem services, including nutrient cycling and the provision of genetic materials for medicinal products.
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