L’eau et ses représentations dans les paysages de zones humides littorales : entre visibilité et invisibilité

Abstract

This article takes as a point of departure the observation that there has been a radical change in the understanding and appreciation of coastal wetlands under the combined effects of changes in the way they are perceived, new scientific knowledge, and policies aimed at the protection and promotion of tourism and heritage sites. It questions the importance of and relationship to water and its interfaces in terms of the way the landscape is perceived by the inhabitants and administrators of four territories recognized for the importance of their wetlands. Based on a corpus of quantitative (800 questionnaires) and qualitative data (40 interviews) from surveys covering the governance and sustainable development of coastal heritage sites, this analysis presents contrasting results. Differences in the relationship to water and to the environment and its management reveal the diversity of representations of water landscapes the structuring elements of which (ecological, physical, socio-economic and sensitive) raise questions about the problems of the integrated planning and management of coastal zones.

Keywords

• water(s)
• social representations
• wetland
• governance
• coastal space