Création d’une aire protégée et logiques d’action de l’état et du milieu : analyse d’une irréconciabilité constructive à l’œuvre
Abstract
This paper analyzes the socio-cultural dynamic between multiple stakeholders with divergent interests concerning the formalization of the status of a natural area into a protected area. The empirical case under analysis is the creation of the Saguenay Marine Park located at the confluence of the St-lawrence and Saguenay rivers in Québec, a rural region represented by different localities showing some contradictions in socio-economic values and agendas. The dual perspective put forth is, first, the governmental decision one to create and promote a marine protected area, and second, the regional community one to participate in the process and adapt the management of their cultural and environmental heritage to their own perception of their socio-economic identity. The objective of analysis is to identify the logics of action underlying both processes. The empirical results show two distinct logics at work, a government logic of classic managerial planning and implementation into which the community has a programmed role and a community logic of emergent planning, less comprehensive in scope, but adaptable to the emerging realities and limitations of the governmnent one. They can be seen in tandem as representing a governance process at work, one with a basic participative character, but one which suggests that an enhanced democratic process entails a higher vigilance level from a community perspective, such as to produce a more even democratic symmetry of powers between the State and the regional community.
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