The ceremony took place at the COBAN headquarters in Andernos-les-Bains, where Patricia Beaumont, Vice-President of the Landes de Gascogne Regional Natural Park and Departmental Councilor for Landes, presented the coveted award to the local elected officials. This distinction recognizes the considerable efforts made to reduce light pollution in the area.
Since 2015, the Landes de Gascogne Regional Natural Park has been raising public awareness through the "Jour de la Nuit" (Night of the Night), a national event aimed at combating light pollution and protecting nocturnal biodiversity. In 2019, an ambitious initiative was proposed to the communes to achieve RICE status, requiring a significant reduction in public lighting.
Thanks to a thorough technical assessment of public lighting and the communes' commitment to implementing darkness-preserving solutions with the support of energy syndicates, the label has been awarded. The Landes de Gascogne thus became the 6th RICE in France in 2025.
The objective now is to maintain the quality of the night sky over our territory and to promote this International Dark Sky Reserve to the widest possible audience, thereby preserving this exceptional heritage.
