The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape

The Causses and the Cévennes are a Mediterranean agro-pastoral cultural landscape in southern France, formed by upland limestone plateaux (causses) and mountainous Cévennes areas shaped by centuries of seasonal livestock grazing. The property is recognised for the continuity of pastoral systems and associated vernacular features.

The landscape includes extensive dry-stone walls, shepherds’ dwellings and tracks used for moving flocks between seasonal pastures, as well as terraces and cultivated fields adapted to the local terrain. These elements together illustrate long-standing pastoral practices including seasonal transhumance.

Pastoralism and rural settlement have modified the natural environment over many centuries, producing a patchwork of open pastures, hedged plots and stone-built shelters that reflect adaptations to the Mediterranean climate. Management and grazing patterns evolved locally under communal and private tenure arrangements.

The area lies in south-central France within the Massif Central region and extends over parts of several administrative departments; the landscape ranges from plateau to mountain terrain with mixed woodland and pasture.

• Viewing tip: Best experienced by following marked pastoral trails and designated viewpoints within the protected areas to observe transhumance features and stone farm buildings.

What to See #

• Causse plateaux: A high limestone plateau area characterised by large plateaus, sheepfolds and pastoral tracks shaped by extensive grazing and seasonal movement of flocks.
• The Cévennes: A mountain area of steep valleys and wooded slopes where transhumant pastoralism and small-scale agriculture have influenced settlement patterns for centuries.