The Shoreline between Nature and Society, a Changing Heritage - Vulnerability of Coastal Ecosystems and Adaptation - page 197

transportation systems and are indirectly responsible for the level of
activity inland. These ports require space and on this level, their
appetites meet others' and from there, conflicts of usage germinate
that are sometimes difficult to solve. They mostly relate to the
opportunities for spatial expansion where stakes are high and where
competition and the balance of power form part of the game played by
the lobbying groups.
Two examples in France can illustrate this model. First, the port of
Le Havre with its great (ongoing) Port 2000 project was able to claim
the last mudflats of the estuary to improve the conditions of its
service, in particular for container ships. This occurred as the
supporters of the port were organized more efficiently than the
opponents, as these were scattered and therefore less efficient.
The latter comprised more than just organizations for the protection of
the environment. The second example refers to the debate around the
expansion of the port of Montoir into the mudflats and marine
grassland of Donges-Est that seemed to be never-ending but was
concluded by the victory of the opponents to the expansion [DES 09,
MIO 98]. Of course, we are comparing a port whose traffic
approaches 100 Mt with one which barely reaches 30 Mt. Moreover,
the port of Le Havre is also situated on the route of the Northern
Range of the Channel-North Sea ports that opens onto the traffic and
economic development in the heart of Europe (from Le Havre to
Hamburg) and, therefore, the stakes may appear quite different.
However, the conflict arose around the survival of the swamps and
mudflats, around their long-term presence as the basis of various
trophic chains since they harbor nurseries that are indispensable to a
“sustainable” fishing industry to mention only one example of
amenity offered by this habitat.
Contemporary ports can only expand to the detriment of wetlands,
which have very high stakes associated with them. Indeed, these
environments are increasingly rare and affected by all the different
types of pollution emerging from watersheds. Their conservation is
considered as absolutely vital in the perspective of sustainable
development especially as this concept increasingly underlies policies.
Ports can alternatively expand by gaining territories at sea, in the form