Cazaux 120 air base
Cazaux 120 air base, which trains French and foreign fighter pilots, is one of the oldest air bases operating in Metropolitan France.
Cazaux 120 air base and the Flight Test site have within their boundaries 2,000 hectares of lakes, which are part of the Natura 2000 Born and Buch Wetlands site.
The French ministry of the Armed Forces signed an agreement with the Nouvelle-Aquitaine CEN (Conservancy of Natural Areas) in 2011. The CEN provides technical assistance with the restoration of the riparian woodland and with the site’s water management plan.
Cazaux 120 air base encompasses a wide variety of wetlands, including a habitat of Community and priority interest: Atlantic wet heath with cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix) and Dorset heath (Erica ciliaris).
It is also home to the following flagship species:
- Round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia)
- Marsh gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe)
- Alcon Blue butterfly (Maculinea arion)
- Dark whiteface dragonfly (Leucorrhinia albifrons)
- European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis)
OVER THESE 4 YEARS
LIFE NaturArmy will allow an inventory to be carried out of the manoeuvres on and near the perimeter of the Natura 2000 site; management actions will be developed to allow air manoeuvres to be planned to take account of nesting areas so as to avoid the risk of collisions.
Project partners
