Walk Without Destroying, Protect Without Prohibiting ; Nature : Access Under Conditions

Abstract

Public policies and local administrations are faced with an unavoidable paradox: how to make nature accessible to as many people as possible, while protecting the environment and biodiversity from the excesses of over-frequentation? The growth of tourism in most national GDPs makes this activity a key sector of development. Pressure exerted on the territory by facilities and the presence of the public act directly as threats to nature. Depending on their interests, different social categories take different positions on the measures to be adopted to prevent and remedy the damage caused. Local balances of power directly determine how regulations are accepted and how they are received by those working in the field (farmers, hunters, members of associations, politicians, technicians, etc.). We will be guided by an anthropological approach that examines the relationship between man and nature, and the implementation of environmental protection policies. We will illustrate our remarks based on our field experiences: Corsica (France), Brittany (France), and Eastern Siberia (Republic of Sakha/Russian Federation).