Gold beavers

What if we brought Czech beavers in France to build a dam against the public deficit? This is the idea that this amazing story inspires me. In the southwest of Prague, a former military field crossed by the Klabava river was the subject, as of 2018, of a rehabilitation project in the wetland.

But land negotiations are lying around. A family of beavers decides to take matters into hand. And in early 2025, it is no longer worth bringing the backhoes. The ingenious rodents dug canals and small water deductions, much better than what was planned.

“It is a complete service, the beavers are absolutely fantastic and when they are there, they break nothing and do a remarkable job,” the director of the protected site told AFP. According to the agency for the conservation of the nature of the Czech Republic, the equivalent of at least 1.2 million euros was saved.

Obviously, the story is perfect because the beavers are, so to speak, without a territory conflict or with farmers, or with poplar owners. It nevertheless invites us to reflect on the value of the ecosystem services rendered by nature, rarely recognized in our Excel paintings.

Science tells us, however, that beavers prove to be precious allies to prevent droughts and floods, by their action on rivers. Their teeth are worth gold. Let them therefore exercise, at a zero cost, their ecological genius*.

* Set of techniques whose aim is to preserve or restore biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems.