VERGER, Fernand (2009) Zones humides du littoral français. Estuaires, deltas, marais et lagunes. Paris, Belin, 448 p. (ISBN 978-2-7011-5201-1)

Geographer and professor emeritus at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, Fernand Verger is an internationally known pioneer in the study of coastal geomorphology and the effects of sea-level rise on coastal regions. Over the last four decades, he has directed or directly influenced many of the leading coastal geomorphologists in France and Quebec. The fruit of a productive career, Zones humides du littoral français is an impressive synthesis of over 400 pages dealing with the physical and human geography of the origins and evolution of and human interaction with the coastal wetlands of France. It is also a work of profound organizational and illustrative beauty, with hundreds of archival maps, aerial photographs and coloured plates of the most well-known wetlands in France – Mont-Saint-Michel, Carentan, Poitou, L’anse de l’Aiguillon and the Camargue are ready examples. In addition, many of the maps and diagrams drawn by the cartographer Raymond Ghirardi are seen here for the first time and provide scientific and general views of coastal wetlands not found in any other publication. Thanks to Verger’s fine penmanship, Zones humides du littoral français makes refreshing reading. Like many collected essays and Festchriften, which mark the closing stages of a scientific career, it could easily have been published as an edited compilation of the numerous texts authored by Verger over the last forty years. Thankfully, this is not the case. In an age of overspecialization and unwillingness to tackle original works of synthesis, Zones humides du littoral français represents the very best of what good geography used to do so effortlessly – blend space, time and the concerns of physical and human geography in works steeped in erudite reflection. In the first section of the book (p. 6-123), the reader is introduced to scientific literature, description, terminology, and past and current problems associated with the study of coastal wetlands. Specifically, it focuses on sea-level change over the last 10,000 years, and on wetland soils, macro- and micro-wetland forms, flora and fauna, and past and current coastal wetland management practices. The second part of the book (p. 124-399) is divided into 15 chapters familiarizing the reader with various coastal wetlands. The chapters are organized spatially, beginning with the Flemish wetlands of the Pas-de-Calais and Picardie on the Atlantic coast, the coastal wetlands of Aquitaine in the south and finally, those on the eastern side of the country. From here, the reader follows France’s Mediterranean coastline, from Canet to the Rhone delta, to the coastal wetlands of the Côte d’Azur. Verger’s final chapter – a rare treat, indeed – explores the coastal wetlands of Corsica. At a time of scientific uncertainty about the long-term future of coastal wetlands against a background of climate change, sea level-rise and human activity, Zones humides du littoral français affords a rare opportunity for readers to understand the importance of avoiding sweeping generalizations about coastal wetlands, their origins, and physical and anthropogenic development. Although France is a relatively small country, this sequential study of its coastal wetlands illustrates the diversity of the geomorphological processes at work as well as the diverse cultural practices that have taken place and are still active in these loci. On the urgent question of climate and sea-level change, Verger emphasizes that it is important to remember that gradual sea elevation does not signify that this elevation is the same at every coastal location. The diversity of opinions concerning the effects of minor changes in sea level in coastal marshes should, in his opinion, also be underscored. Depending on the rate of sea-level rise and the amount of sediment, schorre, (vegetated marsh) can, he continues, …