Sensitive Natural Spaces (ENS) of Gers

Sensitive natural space, or ENS, was — in France — established by Law 76.1285 of 31 December 1976 as an area ‘the natural character of which is threatened and made vulnerable, currently or potentially, either because of urban pressure or the development of economic or leisure activities, or because of a particular interest having regard to the quality of the site or the characteristics of the plant or animal species found there’. The Departments are competent to develop and implement a policy of protection, management and public access to sensitive natural areas, whether wooded or not. For the Gers, 74 sites were selected throughout the department (with a predominance in Bas-Armagnac and Astarac) including 7 sites owned by the Departmental Council and 20 priority sites. On June 26, 2017, the Gers Department adopted a Departmental Schema of Sensitive Natural Spaces to: 1. Preserve: acquisition and management by the Departmental Council, directly or by accompanying a local project leader (collectivity, association...), of the department’s major natural sites in terms of natural heritage. 2. Value: openness to the public, introduction to the environment and site development with a view to discovering natural environments. 3. Accompany: regulatory protection of sites, support engineering for project owners, specific communication dedicated to this policy, methods of governance. __Origin__ Inventory carried out by survey of municipalities and organisations with environmental skills complemented by field surveys. Validated by a scientific and technical committee. __Partner organisations__ Gers Department [See this page on geo.data.gouv.fr](https://geo.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/f9dedb1391d9862154ed2327de84d34a0ae7672e)