Today, landscape and sustainable development take an important place in the reflectionson territorial development and management, but are rarely linked. However, linking thetwo concepts would likely renew the existing ...
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Today, landscape and sustainable development take an important place in the reflectionson territorial development and management, but are rarely linked. However, linking thetwo concepts would likely renew the existing territorial strategies and generate answersarticulating, in the long run, economic development, reproduction of the natural resourcesand the concern for social equity. This issue is approached here by a study of the historyand the dynamic of landscapes in two territories of the French Pyrenees: the high valleyof the Gave of Pau and the valley of Vicdessos. The study of these mountain landscapesexamines their multidimensionality in natural and social, material and immaterial aspects,and in their various temporalities. The objective is to contribute to the construction of asustainable landscape approach and to put it at the service of the territorial actors. Theapproach uses three principal research methods: a reading and interpretation of theexisting landscapes, a diachronic analysis of photographic series and a socialinvestigation based on semi-directing interviews with concerned elected local authorities.The results obtained show the whole complexity of the developing relationships, in theirlong-term dynamic, between landscape forms, historically dated perceptions oflandscapes, and the actions and policies carried out in the field of the territory,environment and landscape. Since the Fifties, the valley of Vicdessos undergoes a marked“landscape crisis” and appears, after the closing-down of an electrometallurgical factoryin 2003, as a territory in crisis. This event is at the origin of a territorial recompositionand an emerging process of “patrimonialisation”, developing a singular historical past.Contrary to those of Vicdessos, the landscapes of the high valley of the Gave of Pauunderwent a less perceptible evolution and appear still “traditional”, based on pastoralpractices. Some of these landscapes are already for a long time frequented by tourists andare today internationally known. However, this territory crystallizes interests, divergentand contradictory, that contributes to the fact that the cautious management attempts areconfuse and difficult. As for the cultural heritage, it became a controversial issue,challenging the legitimacy and the relevance of the inscription in 1997 of the massif ofGavarnie/ Mont-Perdu on the World Heritage list.Finally, this research shows that, in the two compared Pyrenean valleys, the question ofthe articulation between landscape and sustainable development is not evident. Therelationships between development, preservation of the environment and social equity arenot considered in an integral way and, even less, with a long-term perspective. As for thelandscape, at the most it is considered as an immanent resource whose development isbased and focused on tourism only. However, this research also shows that the questionof time and the duration is central in all reflection on the sustainable development of theterritories and that the landscape is likely to constitute an operational tool for a betterunderstanding and a better managing of the territorial dynamics in the future.
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