Demonstrating Region – Nouvelle-Aquitaine

France’s largest region, a rich and diverse territory

The Nouvelle-Aquitaine region covers an area of 84,100 km2 and contains 12 departements. It is France’s largest region and the 3rd most populous, with 6.01 million inhabitants. Among its many resources, the region already stands out thanks to its complementary industries (aviation, lasers, leather and luxury goods, eco-industries, agri-food, health, etc.) as well as its 900 km of coastline (including lakes and ponds), extensive cultural heritage, numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites and remarkable natural sites.

The Regional Council has a wide range of responsibilities in this region, particularly in the areas of economy/employment, youth, regional transport, development planning and the energy and ecological transition.

Regional Involvement and Embracing Nature-based Solutions

As it is committed to the energy and ecological transition, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Council has stepped up its activities since 2019 by adopting the Néo Terra roadmap, an action plan that utilises all its skills and involves the region’s stakeholders.

Having been updated and strengthened in November 2023, this roadmap commits Nouvelle-Aquitaine to active ecological planning, placing environmental transitions at the heart of public policy. Neo Terra has six key ambitions:

Replenishing natural resources for the future
Feeding ourselves: accelerating agro-ecological and food transitions
Innovating for a responsible and sustainable economy
Travelling and living in areas adapted to climate change
Preventing and treating: a unified approach to ecosystem health
An exemplary administration

Regarding these challenges, Nature-based solutions have a crucial role to play, as they stand at the crossroads where the inseparable issues of technological innovation, biomimicry, the fight against climate change, adaptation to climate change, and the preservation and restoration of biodiversity all meet.