“‘Ecologists’ congratulated themselves a year ago for having prevented the developments desired by the firefighters to protect the Teste-de-Buch forest from fire. Today there is no more forest.” Here is one of the messages shared at the moment on Twitter about the fires which are ravaging, among other places, the forest of Teste-de-Buch, in Gironde. Internet users denounce the attitude of “ecologists” which according to them would have totally counterproductive fights since the forest finally went up in smoke. But the reality is a bit more complex than that.
“Environmentalists” congratulated themselves a year ago for having prevented the developments desired by the firefighters to protect the forest of Teste de Buch from . Today there are no more #environmentalism https://t.co/9r45kV9vNq
— Mac Lesggy (@MacLesggy) July 15, 2022
The forest of Teste-de-Buch has in fact been at the heart of a legal battle for years, because it is not a forest like the others. It is a user forest, private therefore, but above all, the only one in France governed by very old texts called “Baillettes et transactions”, which date from the Middle Ages. This forest belongs to a hundred owners who have plots on it, but “users” also have rights to this forest and can notably obtain wood for free. Four syndics are in place to manage all this (two representing the owners, two representing the users). Except that a conflict opposes owners and users around the interpretation of the texts of the XVth century and what they authorize or not.
This quarrel took a turn two years ago when one of the owners, who is also president of the Association Syndicale Libre de la Forêt de la Teste, submitted a management plan so that classic forest law applies and obtain the right to be able to market its wood, describing moreover a forest “which has not been maintained since the 80s with the end of tapping”. Addufu, the Association for the Defense of User Rights and Forestry, opposed it, supported by some elected officials. Environmentalist Senator Monique de Marco was indeed in the fight and even asked the government a question about it last summer. But she’s not the only one. The local press reports that the deputy En Marche from the Arcachon basin also asked the minister not to give her agreement. Mayor LR of Teste-de-Buch was also opposed to this management plan. It was therefore far from being only an opposition “green”.
Following a beginning of controversy on the user forest of the Teste de Buch, development.
— Monique de Marco (@moniquedemarco) July 18, 2022
The government finally commissioned a report to, among other things, “objective the legal framework enforceable against forest owners and beneficiaries of the right of use”. Submitted last January, this report clearly recognizes the rights of forest users but also called for this system to be adapted. He wrote in particular that it was absolutely necessary to allow the carrying out of fire protection work. They were well planned for early 2021. The tracks were to be widened to facilitate the passage of fire engines, but they were delayed due to new opposition from Addufu. The Association of users seized the Administrative Court, considering that the famous rules of the 15th century were not respected. Justice did not agree with Addufu and the prefecture had therefore decided to launch the site.
In a leaflet, the association called for demonstrations on July 13 and specified that Addufu had “always pronounced in favor of securing the entire massif by the most appropriate means and therefore the felling of troublesome trees, but cannot allow Users to be robbed of their common good.” The fire finally invited itself forward.
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