Perceptions et pratiques de gestion forestière en site Natura 2000 en France : Une approche par photos-questionnaire

Abstract

In France and Europe, the ambiguous relationship that forest owners have with the Natura 2000 scheme has been the subject of numerous surveys, all of which point to a rather negative reception. However, few are interested in how these areas are managed once the site has been designated, and while very few contracts are signed. Our study aims to identify how forest owners see forest management twenty years after the implementation of this scheme. We hypothesize that the "greening" of practices partially alters the way they view environmental issues, and that the materiality, configuration and dynamics of the sites also have a significant influence on their management. Based on seven photographs of characteristic environments in the Ciron valley (stands of maritime pine, deciduous trees, wetlands, riparian forests, dead wood), our study aims to assess the perception of these landscapes with regard to several criteria (aesthetics, maintenance, naturalness, safety, ecological functioning and biological diversity) and to identify the actions that respondents would envisage in these environments. Statistical processing of the survey data reveals four landowner profiles: those who prefer free evolution, those who prefer multifunctional management, and those who prefer more or less active management, with varying degrees of timber extraction. Although Natura 2000 continues to arouse some concern and criticism among forest owners, our study shows that it is also a system that has become standardized, leaving them sufficient room for manoeuvre to implement a range of personalized environmental practices. The protected area thus appears to be a place of reciprocal learning, where all the communities of practice are gradually making the system their own.

Keywords

• typology
• perception
• survey
• silvicultural management
• Natura 2000
• Nouvelle-Aquitaine (France)