Discuter et progresser sur la compréhension, la théorisation et l’application de la notion de “front écologique”. La notion de « front écologique » ou d’éco-front (traduction française d’eco-frontier) renvoie à un type d’espace, réel ou imaginaire, dont la valeur écologique et esthétique est très forte. Ces ressources écologiques sont convoitées, appropriées voire conquises par des acteurs extérieurs à l’espace considéré. Différentes appropriations écologiques conduisent donc à différentes formes de fronts écologiques centrés sur la quête de la « wilderness » (difficilement traduisible par « nature sauvage » et renvoie à la conservation de la nature), le paysage (patrimonialisation et mise en tourisme) ou le sacré (quête du spirituel dans la nature).

International Experimental Workshop of ‘Eco-Political Geography’:

Land(scape), Territories and Networks of Eco-frontiers

From Wednesday 27th afternoon to Saturday 30th of May 2009, University of Limoges, France
Invité d’Honneur: South Africa

Aim: Progressing in both theorising and grounding empirically the concept of “eco-frontiers” within north and south contexts. South Africa and France will be highlighted in the debates as they are guest and host countries for this workshop.
Working and publishing language: English while French speakers will find translation support available.

Coordination: Dr Sylvain Guyot, Geographer, Senior lecturer, University of Limoges
Sylvain.guyot@unilim.fr

Daniele Bierne, Workshop and conference services, Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Limoges
Daniele.bierne@unilim.fr

Coordination committee:
P. Allee, S. Guyot, J. Dellier (University of Limoges), A. Dahlberg (University of Stockholm), L. Mniki (University of Fort Hare).

Organisation: UMR CNRS 6042 GEOLAB and the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences of the University of Limoges

Collective Scientific committee: all the participants

Financial Support: C2R and Région Limousin.

Working and publishing language: English while French speakers will find translation support available.

Aim: Progressing in both theorising and grounding empirically the concept of “eco-frontiers” within north and south contexts. South Africa and France will be highlighted in the debates as they are guest and host countries for this workshop.

Attempt to define “eco-frontier” from a geographical point of view (see pdf file)

Publication objectives:

- To deliver special issues of international journals (Geoforum, GeoJournal and l’Espace Politique will be contacted).

- Depending on the papers you want to submit, one special issue could be an overview of eco-frontiers with theoretical papers and worldwide comparative examples, another one could be a thematic issue on “land and landscape of eco-frontiers” or a focus on one region like South Africa.

Methods:

This ‘experimental workshop’ is made-up for a small number of participants who will work together in close interaction before, during and after the meeting in Limoges in May or June 2009. The core group of participants will play alternatively the roles of authors, scientific advisor, presentation’s auditor and co-editor of the publication. The aim is to create an informal, friendly non-hierarchic and co-authoring working atmosphere. Field trip, fine arts and choir music will do the rest…!

Calendar:

- Workshop announcement by April 2008.

- You have to send your title or theme, by the end of June 2008 to sylvain.guyot@unilim.fr: necessary step for fundraising and contacts to journals.

- If selected, you will send your final title, abstract and confirmation of participation to the workshop to sylvain.guyot@unilim.fr for the 1st of October 2008

- International teams of 3 or 4 persons will be organised.

- You will have to send your paper finalised before 31st of December 2008 to the 2 or 3 other colleagues of your team. They will have to play the role of adviser on your paper.

- Comments on the papers will be sent back to their authors for the 1st of March 2009 to be followed (or not) for the presentations.

- Pedagogic and interactive presentations will be made for part I of the workshop to be collectively discussed. They will follow or not the written advise done to the papers.

- Every team will re-discuss the paper and draw conclusions and synthesis (part II of the workshop).

- Post-workshop ameliorated papers and team conclusions will be sent to the Journals for another external process of peer-review for the 30th of June 2008.

Workshop planning (proposal):

Wenesday 27th of May 2009, end of the afternoon:

• Official opening of the workshop by the Dean of the Faculty and the Director of GEOLAB-Limoges.
• Vernissage of the South African art exhibition “South African Art at the Frontier”. Need to be confirmed.
• Welcoming cocktail

Thursday 28th of May 2009 :

• Presentation’s sessions with all the participants and open to a larger audience.

• Free evening.

Friday 29th of May 2009:

• Morning: TEAM WORK (3 or 4 people per room): discussion about advises that have been made, the changes done on the papers. And working on the team conclusions (1 or 2 pages) that will be discussed the afternoon. This will form the links between the groups of papers for the different special issues of the Journal.

• Afternoon: discussion of team’s synthesis and conclusions

• Evening choir concert: South African music.

Saturday 30th of May 2009 : Day field trip to Plateau de Millevaches, Limousin’s eco-frontier.

A network of researchers

Researchers who have shown an interest in that workshop are coming from:

- Limousin (University of Limoges)
- Alps (University of Geneva, of Grenoble and Chambéry)
- Sweden (University of Stockholm)
- United Kingdom (University of Oxford)
- South Africa (University of Fort Hare and other places)