Plateau de Loëx: a protected natural area

The Loex plateau is a Natura 2000 protected area covering 1,233 hectares. To go even further in its approach, the Communauté de Communes des Montagnes du Giffre has decided to label the site as a Protected Natural Area (ENS). There are many methods available to protect nature. The actions can be taken on the following levels: - common law level (nature reserve, park heartland, classified site). The rules of the Environment Code limit the rights of both owners and users; contractual level (Natura 2000 site, Regional Nature Parks) via agreements between the State and local authorities to improve management and protection, with a set of regulations to follow. The Natura 2000 network is being rolled out across the European Union. Cadastral law level on a departmental scale (Sensitive natural areas) The aim of these regulations is twofold: to preserve biodiversity and to provide access to the public. Although the rules sometimes restrict our individual freedoms, don't forget that they are also there to allow us to visit again and again and be fascinated by all this splendour! Check out the various rules in force on site.

It is a small carnivorous plant that lives in low-nutrient peat bogs. Don't worry, it only feeds on insects, which it attracts and digests using a viscous substance produced by the red bristles that cover its leaves. It is also known as " Rossolis or Sundew " because the substance sparkles when exposed to light. This species is fragile and protected, please do not touch it! This plant is used in homoeopathy for respiratory ailments (dry coughs).

By definition, a peat bog is a wetland, covered by vegetation, where the specific ecological conditions have led to the formation of a soil containing a deposit of peat. Peat bogs act as climate change buffers, particularly through their ability to trap carbon. An active peatland traps an average of 733 kg of CO2 per hectare per year (Villa and Bernal, 2018). On a global scale, wetland soils store twice as much carbon as all the world's forests. Preserving these areas is therefore a real priority.

The chapel was built in 1679. It was destroyed the same year because of disputes over the boundaries of the mountain pastures, and was rebuilt to its original form in 1986. The history of this chapel is closely linked to a 366-year dispute over the division of the communal boundaries between Les Gets, Taninges and Verchaix. Its reconstruction, thanks to the discovery of the ancient ruins by agents of the ONF, put an end to 6 centuries of conflict.