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Protected Areas and Overuse in the Context of Socio-Natural Changes: An Interdisciplinary French Case Study Cécilia Claeys, Carole Barthelemy, Thierry Tatoni, Patrick Bonhomme To cite this version: Cécilia Claeys, Carole Barthelemy, Thierry Tatoni, Patrick Bonhomme. Protected Areas and Overuse in the Context of Socio-Natural Changes: An Interdisciplinary French Case Study. International Review of Social Research, 2011. hal-01756438 HAL Id: hal-01756438 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01756438 Submitted on 5 Apr 2018 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. IRSR INTERNATIONAL REVIEW of SOCIAL RESEARCH Volume 1, Issue 3, October 2011, 73-92 International Review of Social Research Protected Areas and Overuse in the Context of Socio-Natural Changes: An Interdisciplinary French Case Study Cécilia CLAEYS• Aix-Marseille University – UMR Espace Carole BARTHELEMY Aix-Marseille University – LPED Thierry TATONI Aix-Marseille University – IMEP Patrick BONHOMME Aix-Marseille University – COM Abstract: This article provides an interdisciplinary analysis of the notion of overuse in natural areas. Based on the case of the French Calanques massif (located along the Mediterranean coast between Marseilles and Cassis), sociology and biology combine their analyses to examine the social processes behind the increasingly widespread use of natural areas and the ecological consequences thereof. The data are comprised of interdisciplinary research based on eighty semi-structured interviews conducted on-site and 330 telephone survey questionnaires. We critically analyse of the notion of overuse and underscore the socio- economic, cultural and ideological weight it carries in the context of socio-natural change; this calls into question the relevance of the ancient nature/culture dichotomy. Drawing on theoretical tools from environmental sociology, this article also provides some perspectives for natural area managers. Keywords: nature-society interactions, Mediterranean ecosystems, sociology, ecology interdisciplinarity, overuse, Calanques. Introduction affecting natural resources, the impact of human activity on such resources In the context of global change is central to environmental rhetoric. •e-mail: [email protected] Cecilia Claeys is the corresponding author. She is assistant professor of sociology, focusing her researches on environmental conflicts, environmental democracy and risk management. Carole Barthélémy is assistant professor of sociology. Her main research fields are urban biodiversity and nature management. Thierry Tatoni is professor of ecology. He works on biodiversity dynamics and ecological vulnerability. Patrick Bonhomme is engineer in Oceanography, expert in sea environment and professional diver. Acknowledgments: The authors thank Jocelyne Serveau for the English language proofing. We are equally grateful to our anonymous reviewers who provided invaluable constructive feedback and also Lidwine Pecheux and Bertrand Cousin of the Gip-Calanques for their assistance with map design. The article is based on an interdisciplinary research programme funded by the French Ministry of Ecology: FHUVEL - Caractérisation de la fréquentation littorale et détermination d’indicateurs de vulnérabilité écologique pour définir des modes de gestion durable – Cas de la bande littorale du projet de parc national des calanques. Scientific Coordinator:Thierry Tatoni. © University of Bucharest, October 2011 74 | IRSR Volume 1, Issue 3, October 2011 Given the abounding examples which the difficulty for biologists – and even exist, the negative impact of ‘mankind’ more so for ecologists – is to shed on nature no longer needs to be proven old anthropophobic beliefs rooted (e.g., the effects of urbanisation, in concepts such as climax (Drouin, intensive farming, etc.). In this context, 1991; Lévêque 2001). In order to the term ‘overuse’ is used to describe avoid such epistemological traps, we natural areas thought to be endangered shall attempt here to follow the lead and in need of protection from what of ‘win-win ecology’, as defined by is considered to be excessive use or biologist Michael Rosenzweig (2003), disrespect for the surrounding fauna which underscores the possible and flora. The notion has emanated complementarity between nature essentially from natural area managers and society, on the one hand; and whose role consists in part in managing that of sociologist Florian Charvolin user flows (managing car parks, (2003), who recommends focusing on marking trails, etc.) and in using their socio-natural processes, applying the abilities to police and control risks framework developed by Bruno Latour (fires, accidents, etc.). and Michel Callon to environmental ddFrom a scientific perspective, sociology, on the other. Our approach overuse is a transversal concept which differs from that of Latour and can be jointly approached from the Callon’s, however, notably with regard social sciences and life sciences. to the role of ‘old’ social structures; Despite increasing popularity in the indeed, we believe that the actor environmental field (Roux, Stirzaker, network theory tends to minimize the Breen, Lefroy and Cresswell, 2010), persistent effects of social inequality. It interdisciplinarity raises similar is as such that concepts like ecological epistemological issues in both inequality and environmental justice disciplines due to their respective help counterbalance the blindness theoretical backgrounds (Ostrom, to social class found in Latour and 2009). Sociology’s Durkheimian Callon’s framework. These analyses legacy and its anthropocentric habit indeed work to point up the social of ‘explaining social facts with social inequalities which exist in access to a facts’ is challenged by the need to quality environment and natural areas examine biological processes in order (Bullard, 1990; Cutter, 1995; Theys, to fully understand environmental 2007; Deboudt, 2010). issues. Conversely, the biocentric ddWe have opted here to engage roots of biology are challenged in interdisciplinary exchange in by the need to include mankind in our fieldwork and in gathering and order to fully understand ecosystem analysing data about the social and dynamics (Jollivet, 1992; Claeys – ecological causes and effects of nature’s Mekdade, 2003; Jetzkowitz and overuse. Previous interdisciplinary Brunzel, 2005; Baerlocher and Burger, research (Claeys-Mekdade, Géniaux 2010). The difficulty for sociologists and Luchini, 1999; Gendron, is thus to contribute to defining an Vaillancourt, Claeys-Mekdade and interdisciplinary approach without Rajotte, 1999; Claeys and Sérandour, losing critical perspective. Meanwhile, 2009; Barthélémy and Souchon, CECILIA CLAEYS et al Protected Areas and Overuse | 75 2009; Bouleau, Argillier, Souchon, ‘exceptional’ site, both in terms of Barthélémy and Babut, 2009; Marco, its biodiversity and also due to the Barthelemy, Dutoit and Bertaudière- specificity of its ecosystems and Montes, 2010) has shown that solid landscape; field surveys provide a stronger and d2)dIts proximity to Marseilles, the richer basis for interdisciplinary second largest French city, with over exchange than abstract debate which 800,000 inhabitants, has made it a often leads simply to ideological peri-urban site; conflict. This position is shared by d3)dFinally, the massif is currently the other researchers such as Jetzkowitz focus of a national park project that has and Brunzel (2005). created several controversies locally, ddIt is as such that we shall take a most of which are related to the issue sociological approach which allows of use. us to forge beyond what occasionally ddThe present article thus aims to seems like an essentially ideological reflect on potential interdisciplinarity invocation: is overuse actually in an area with strong environmental measured and measurable? What and socio-economic stakes. After methodological tools are used to do so? presenting the methodology and Who is advancing the idea and how do data, we shall begin with a quick affected users perceive it? Conversely, overview of how users progressively the life sciences can help create appropriated the massif; then we will measuring tools to understand the take an interdisciplinary look at the impact of use, for example of local flora notion of overuse; finally, we will being tread upon. Between ecological examine the cross-over between nature measures on the one hand and ensuring and culture and the paradoxes inherent critical distance on the other, can to the principles behind the protection the notion of overuse constitute an of nature in the context of socio-natural example of interdisciplinary cross- changes. over between the social sciences and the life sciences in the context of natural area management? Can Data and Methods it provide a textbook example of disciplinary decompartmentalisation Our research is based on a corpus for understanding hybrid, socio- which combines data from a direct natural objects (Charvolin, 2003; observation survey among managers Claeys-Mekdade, 2003)