The wild Taravo river

Its watershed, covering some 490 km², extends over 31 communes and belongs entirely to Hercynian Corsica, characterized by a bedrock dominated by granitoids. Since prehistoric times, an agro-pastoral society has developed here, as witnessed by the Filitosa site, evolving towards an agro-sylvopastoral organization with, from the 15th century, the emergence of structuring villages in the upper valley, dividing their activities between mountain and plain. At the end of the 18th century, a class of landowners established themselves on a long-term basis and gained a political foothold, before the demographic surge of the 19th century profoundly transformed the space and social dynamics of the upper valley, where the population doubled to almost 8,000 by the beginning of the 20th century. At the same time, the lower valley became more settled and individualized, with the division of land and the creation of separate communes. In the 20th century, particularly after the First World War, the mountains were marginalized, leading to rapid deruralization and a transformation of the landscape marked by the expansion of the maquis. Yet today, the Taravu basin still retains a strong geographical, environmental, historical, human and economic coherence, with a sense of community that is still very much alive, making territorial reflection across this valley more relevant than ever.

The Taravu flows through a mosaic of natural woodland and scrubland, and extensive agricultural areas. Most of the river’s course is dominated by woodland and scrubland, the variability of which reflects the natural gradation of vegetation, from subalpine to thermo-Mediterranean. Only the downstream alluvial plain is largely occupied by grazed meadows. This mosaic is completed by a few plots of vines and rare areas of gardens and/or housing, though these do not occupy a significant area. The overall landscape is relatively homogeneous in relief, regularly interspersed with erosion-resistant granitic layers that form rocky spurs on the hillsides and gorges along the river. These different environmental contexts define contrasting sections in terms of both physical (hydrodynamics, sediment regime…) and biological (nature of the riparian vegetation, ecological potential…) characteristics.

The Taravu as a whole (with the exception of the river mouth) is favorable to the development of trout: in this respect, the Taravu has the characteristics of a 1st category fish river. It should also be noted that several sections of the Taravu’s tributaries are strictly forbidden to fishing, in order to protect the macrostigma trout, Corsica’s emblematic trout.

The Taravu watershed incorporates or intersects a wide variety of natural areas of high environmental value, including six * ZNIEFF type I, five * ZNIEFF II and five Natura 2000 sites (* Natural areas of ecological, faunistic and floristic interest).

The Parc Naturel de Corse covers some 20,500 hectares (around 6% of the total surface area of the PNRC), covering 11 communes in the upper and middle Taravu. A large number of plant and animal species thrive in the watershed. These include plants, trees and shrubs, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects and mammals. Many species are endemic, rare, protected and often all three!

What’s more, since 2017, the Taravu River has been awarded the “Sites Rivières Sauvages” label by a scientific committee, attesting to the preserved and balanced character of this valley.

In France, only 7% of water bodies are in “very good ecological condition” as defined by the Water Framework Directive (WFD), and it is estimated that less than 1% of rivers can be described as “wild”.
The main aim of the “wild river sites” label is to serve as a tool for managers of running-water aquatic environments, to improve the protection and conservation of ecologically sound rivers.

It incorporates the following concepts

Quality of ecosystem preservation;
Recognition and reward of local players for exemplary river management;
Reinforced protection, over and above the regulatory objectives of the WFD (achievement of “good status”, classifications, etc.);
Collective will, shared in the action of preservation (governance);
Strong economic value of the river (ecosystem services, attractiveness of the area);
Valuation of the territory within a network.
It therefore serves to develop both a mark of recognition with the public (environmental quality), a distinction for managers (fishermen, nature park, etc.) and a collective enhancement of an exceptional territory!
This French label is currently being translated and extended to the European level.

To protect its unspoiled nature and environmental richness, the Taravu was the first Corsican river to receive this distinction in February 2017: a level 2 “Wild River Site” label. This was part of a strong territorial project, with a program of actions designed to preserve the Taravu, but also to enhance its valley, an important conservation area.

Since then, a number of initiatives have been carried out to raise awareness of the issues involved in restoring water quality in the Taravu watershed, and to underline the attachment of local residents to the protection of their river. To reinforce these actions, the film “Taravo: une Vallée en Héritage” (Taravo: a Heritage Valley) and various natural site developments have been produced, making this river an attractive territory for sustainable development.