PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Please be aware this project has been financed by instalments. That is the reason why you may find the same project in different 'submission years'. With each instalment the duration, the content and the budget of the projects were usually amended. The starting date remains only the same. Although the Crau is amongst the most important natural sites within the EC, it has also been one of the most threatened for many years. Already its total surface area has shrunk by a factor of five as a result of changing agricultural practices and the rapid construction of industrial installations and infrastructures. In a bid to reverse these alarming trends the Commission contributed financially to the first phase of the Crau conservation programme already under its previous fund - ACE. This had tremendous success as it not only led to the protection of the site as a Special Protection Area (SPA) but also incited the introduction of new environmentally friendly measures under Article 19 of the agri-environment Regulation 797/85. All is not saved though. In order to consolidate the success of previous efforts it will be important to buy a further 2 000 ha of coussou within the core of the area. The Crau in Provence, southern France, is one of the most remarkable sites in the Community. Originally formed by the fossil delta of the Durance, it is made up of a stony steppic ecosystem which is unique in Europe. Despite its almost total absence of trees and tall shrubs, the xerophilous vegetation known as ¿coussou¿ nevertheless contains one of the richest associations of floral species in the entire Mediterranean region - several species are even endemic to the region, i.e. occurring nowhere else. This type of vegetation is also particularly important for birds, around 18 Annex I bird species occur in the area, including the last populations of the lesser kestrel and the pin-tailed sandgrouse.