Environmental issues and territorial politics

2007-2014 research work

The complex issues regarding  the preservation of the environment and sustainable territorial development as part of global change raise many questions which require mobilizing social sciences, with a special focus on informing citizens and public governance.

The purpose of this section is to facilitate a common and more global reflection on the environmental issues and the efficiency of the regulatory instruments drawn up both domestically and within the EU, and implemented regionally and locally.

The synergy between the other REALISE sections should offer efficient regional  support to meet local development challenges and European issues (European programs, EU Eco-Management, Audit Scheme (EMAS).

This section brings together expertise and knowledge as regards regional intelligence and the environment through observating, analysing and making proposals to promote a sustainable environment for future generations.

This section seeks to provide regional answers to understanding the processes involved and to the requirement of the local stakeholders (state, regional and local authorities, policymakers, citizens, associations, …). The projects in this section focus on understanding natural and man-made environments, measuring the impact on living organisms, social dynamics likely to disturb or alter the environment, the legal and economic context of political and legal decisions (transposition of the EU Directives) and finally the cognitive representations of the environment at various degrees of commitment (population, town- and country-planning stakeholders, policymakers and politicians, ...). This project is part of a strong synergy in Alsace on emerging issues.

Two main subjects are discussed here :

1) territorial development and environmental issues

• territorial planning and preservation of the environmental quality,
• biodiversity as an indicator of territorial transformations,
• cognitive representations or environmental references for the population.

2) the economic and legal context behind social changes relating to the environment

• legal framework of environmental damage and legal transposition of EU Directives,
• economic assessment of an environmental asset.

The different scientific teams involved in the section n° 4