Belval-en-Argonne is a municipality located in the department of the Marne at the northern limit of the Etangs de la Champagne humide Ramsar Site. The Argonne is a land rich in ponds, historically created for fish farming by the many abbeys that were founded there during the 12th century. The village of 50 inhabitants has been working for many years to preserve its wetlands and the Ramsar Site.

Belval ponds constitute the main wetland of the village. Created in one piece, they have supplied the surrounding area with fish for more than 500 years and are also a source of other activities for the inhabitants when the water is dry (cultivation, production of reeds and wood). They were divided into four in the 19th century to improve productivity. The other wetlands of the village are the meadows regularly flooded by the Coubreuil and the Ru des Chiens, and the fifty or so ponds that are home to numerous plants and animals.

By joining forces with several nature protection associations- LPO, Conservatoire d’Espaces Naturels de Champagne-Ardenne and Natuurpunt -the municipality of Belval-en-Argonne acquired the ponds and obtained their classification as a Regional Nature Reserve (RNR) in 2012.

The municipality is a member of the owners’ commission and of the RNR’s management advisory committee, which is made up of the key players in the wetlands sector at both local and regional levels- local authorities, the State, owners, users, scientists and associations. The committee meets annually under the chairmanship of the Grand Est Region and frequently formulates opinions on communal operations in favor of wetlands.

A local committee has been created to monitor the City of Wetlands label. It is composed of all or part of the members of the advisory committee. Thus, local people are integrated into the discussions and decision-making of this large wetland.

Faced with the degradation of the ponds of Belval-en-Argonne, the municipality has participated in the purchase of the site, along with three associations of nature protection (Natuurpunt, the LPO and the Conservatoire d’espaces naturels de Champagne-Ardennes). The four owner structures then undertook to have the site classified as a Regional Nature Reserve (RNR) to preserve the heritage interest of the ponds. More recently, the municipality participated in an inventory of ponds and amphibians conducted by the State. This inventory raised the awareness of landowners on the presence of ponds and amphibians within their properties.

At the time of the acquisition by the municipality, the issues and objectives of the Belval ponds reserve were presented to the inhabitants for a better understanding and integration of the project. With the support of owners, managers and financiers, numerous awareness-raising actions were set up by the municipality, in particular on the nature reserve, and mainly at the time of the Pond Festival which mobilizes the whole village and attracts several hundred people. The municipality also participates in the World Wetlands Day and in the Fréquence Grenouille operation in order to explain to the public the interest and the stakes of preservation of these large wetlands.