Philppa World - How Camarguais Horses Preserve Our Environment

Thanks to the Camargue regional nature park, an area of 86 km2 is devoted to the protection of the natural environment and its species. Equipped with binoculars and a little patience, you can easily be able to observe herons, egrets, ducks and of course flamingoes.

The Camargue is considered as a miraculously preserved gem and is the only one of its kind in Europe. Covered with meadows, ponds, swamps, rivers and salt marshes.

The Camargue was exploited in the Middle-Ages by Cistercian and Benedictine monks. In the 16-17th centuries, big estates, known locally as mas, were founded by rich landlords from Arles. At the end of the 18th century, the Rhône was diked up. In 1858, the building of the digue à la mer (dyke to the sea) achieved protection of the delta from erosion.

The north of the Camargue is made of agricultural land. The main crops are cereals, grapevine and rice.

Rice cultivation is done on 3-ha plots that are submerged from April to September, and harvested during September and October. Over 30,000 ha (120 square miles) of rice was grown in the early sixties, down to 10,000 ha today. Other crops include large fields of wheat, maize, rape and forage, intermixed with orchards, market gardens and even an occasional vineyard.


Camarguais horses are used to supervise the territory cultivated for rice. The ideal way to explore and work in the Camargue is on Camarguais horseback. This is the best way to go in the remotest parts. There are no hills and nearly 20 km of roads are closed to motor vehicles, from Saintes Maries to Salins de Giraud.

Near the seashore, prehistoric man started extracting salt, a practice that continued. This was a source of wealth for the Cistercian "salt abbeys" of Ulmet, Franquevaux and Psalmody in the Middle Ages.


The salt industry started in the 19th century, and big chemical companies such as Péchiney and Solvay, founded the 'mining' city of Salins de Giraud.

The alluvium soil in the Rhône delta is excellent for crops, but must be prepared and maintained. The land had to be drained, and needs to be protected by low dikes. Salt content, which increases during summer evaporation, is reduced by washing down the soil.

The boundaries of the Camargue are constantly revised by the Rhône as it transports huge quantities of mud downstream - as much as 20 million m³ annually. Some of the étangs are in fact the remnants of old arms and legs of the river. The general trend is for the coastline to move outwards. Aigues-Mortes, originally built as a port on the coast, is now some 5 km (3 miles) inland. The pace of change has been modified somewhat in recent years by man-made barriers, such as dams on the Rhône and sea dykes, but flooding remains a problem across the region.

Next: Interview of the General on how to prevent Natural risks thanks to Camarguais.
Stay tunned!