Missions

Bordered by the Saône, Rhône and Ain valleys, at an mean altitude of 300m, the Dombes plateau is situated in the south-west corner of the Ain départment, at around 30 km north of Lyon. It was formed tertiary era by the filling up of the bressan lake with erosion material from surrounding montains , in particular glacial moraines.

The Dombes is also a land of ponds, all man-made. The earliest written trace of the construction of a pond dates from 1230. This was the great era of Cistercian abbeys, of Chartreuses and Temple Commanderies. Clearing was then required and ponds appeared and fish multiplied. Monasteries rule of strict abstinence was then respected and carp became a regional tradition. Living off ponds became possible but needed a particular management. This consisted in alternating a dry year of « assec » (emptying the pond and cultivating cereals) followed by generally 2 to 5 years of fish culture or “évolage” (pond filled with water to permit pisciculture). This dombist management became traditional and has been largely respected since.

The XVIII^th century corresponds to the golden age of the Dombes, a time when 2 000 ponds represented 20 000 ha of water. This was followed during the XIX^th century, for sanitary reasons (the region being described as unhealthy), to a drying up of the Dombes plateau, with hundreds of ponds eliminated.

Today, more than 1 100 ponds exist on the plateau, a testimony to the perenity of the Dombes traditions, representing a surface of 12 000 ha.

Situated on a major axis of migration of birds, the Dombes is thus a territory particularly interesting for water birds, representing a migration halt. It is also classified as a NATURA 2000 site since 2006.