Environmental conflicts and concertation
Aix-Marseille University
Reference Teacher: Anne Cadoret, senior lecturer in social geography (TELEMMe, AMU)
Teacher(s): Anne Cadoret, senior lecturer in social geography (TELEMMe, Aix-Marseille University)
Guest speakers (depending on the year): Practitioners involved in territorial planning, environmental management and protected area governance.
The course provides a conceptual and methodological framework for analysing environmental conflicts. Students explore how conflicts emerge around environmental management, urban development, and protected areas, and how these conflicts influence decision-making processes. The course introduces different analytical approaches to conflict dynamics, including stakeholder analysis, argument mapping, and territorial diagnosis. It also examines how conflicts may contribute to social innovation, institutional change, and the transformation of governance practices. The course provides students with analytical tools to understand how Blue Knowledge — scientific, local, and institutional knowledge related to marine and coastal environments — shapes decision-making and territorial governance. Through field observations and applied work, students analyse a real territorial system of conflicts and produce a multimedia support.
This course is part of the Master’s programme in Geography (GAED – Geography, Planning, Environment and Development), within the TSA track (Territories, Society and Planning) at Aix-Marseille University. The course focuses on the understanding of conflict dynamics in territorial governance and the role of participation processes in environmental and planning policies, particularly in coastal and maritime areas. It aims to provide students with conceptual, methodological and practical tools to analyse environmental conflicts and their impacts on territorial governance. The course examines how conflicts emerge, how they reshape territorial projects, and how they may lead to new forms of regulation, participation, and governance. Particular attention is given to the role of civil society, NGOs, and local communities in shaping public decisions related to environmental management, territorial planning, and protected areas in coastal and maritime zone. This course contributes to the development of Blue Knowledge by examining the governance challenges, conflicts, and participatory processes associated with coastal and marine territories, with particular attention to the interactions between environmental management, public policies, and civil society actors.
The course explores environmental conflicts and consultation processes within territorial governance. Students analyse how conflicts emerge around territorial projects and how different actors mobilise knowledge, values, and arguments in public debates. The course combines theoretical lectures on conflict analysis and participatory governance with applied work based on field observations and case studies. Students conduct a conflict diagnosis of a territory presenting the conflict dynamics and stakeholder positions and produce a short video.
Students will acquire knowledge of the main theoretical approaches to environmental conflicts, participatory processes, and territorial governance.
Students will learn to analyse conflict situations through field observations, stakeholder analysis, and territorial diagnosis methods.
Students will develop critical thinking skills enabling them to assess the impacts of conflicts and participation processes on territorial governance of a coastal zone area and public decision-making.
Students will develop their ability to present and communicate territorial conflicts analyses through written reports, oral presentations, and audiovisual productions.
Students will strengthen their capacity for autonomous research, critical reading of scientific literature, and collaborative work on territorial analysis.
Basic knowledge of geography, territorial planning, or environmental governance at undergraduate level. Holder of a bachelor’s degree in geography or a related discipline, subject to review by the equivalency committee. Solid academic level throughout the geography bachelor’s degree program.
For continuing education applicants, enrolment is managed by the Continuing Education Office (UFR ALLSH). https://allsh.univ-amu.fr/fr/formation/formation-continue
Lectures, discussions of scientific articles, field observations, group work, and project-based learning activities. Students conduct field observations in a coastal territory and interact with local actors involved in territorial management. The course includes the production of a short video illustrating the conflicts dynamics of the studied territory.
Assessment includes: group project: conflict diagnosis of a territory, video production, oral presentation.
The course aims to provide students with analytical tools to understand environmental conflicts and participation processes within territorial governance. By the end of the course, students will be able to analyse conflict situations, identify stakeholder dynamics, and assess how conflicts influence territorial planning and public decision-making.
This course is linked to research projects conducted within the TELEMMe laboratory, research axis “Sustainable Worlds” : https://telemme.mmsh.fr/?axe_groupe=2023-2028-3-mondes-soutenables
https://formations.univ-amu.fr/pdf/5HGA-PRHGA5AA-fr.pdf
The expected learning outcomes can contribute to the achievements of the following goals: Goal 14: Life below water, Goal 13: Climate Action, and Goal 4: Quality Education
Applicants holding a Bachelor’s degree in Geography are eligible to apply for the Master’s programme. Students enrolled in the Master’s programme in Geography (GAED – TSA track) at Aix-Marseille University can take this course as part of their curriculum.
For continuing education applicants, enrolment is managed by the Continuing Education Office (UFR ALLSH). https://allsh.univ-amu.fr/fr/formation/formation-continue
The course is structured around thematic blocks combining theoretical lectures, field observations, and applied project-based learning activities. It builds strong links between academic research on environmental conflicts, expert knowledge, and operational practices in territorial governance. Drawing on research conducted on coastal and environmental conflicts, particularly in Mediterranean coastal territories, the course provides students with analytical tools that can be mobilised in real-world planning and environmental management contexts.
- Introduction to environmental conflicts and their role in democratic processes
- Mechanisms and dynamics of territorial conflicts
- Methodological framework for conflict diagnosis and stakeholder analysis
- Project preparation: scenario building and audiovisual storytelling
- Field observation and stakeholder encounters in a coastal territory
- Field-based observations and initial video recording
- Analytical approaches to conflict dynamics and territorial governance
- Social acceptance and innovations emerging from conflicts
- Participation, participation and environmental mediation processes
- Video editing and project development
- Written exam
- Presentation of territorial conflicts diagnoses
- Cadoret A., Beuret J.-E., 2022, “Les conflits, freins et leviers pour l’ancrage territorial des aires marines protégées : Une analyse comparative internationale”, Annales de géographie.
- Cadoret A., 2011, « Quelle durabilité des formes de régulation des conflits littoraux ? », VertigO – la revue électronique en sciences de l’environnement [En ligne], Hors-série 9 | Juillet 2011, mis en ligne le 13 juillet 2011
- Bombenger P.-H., Larrue C., 2014, “Quand les territoires font face aux nouveaux enjeux de l’environnement”, Natures Sciences Sociétés.
- Caron A., Torre A., 2006, “Vers une analyse des dimensions négatives de la proximité”, Développement durable et territoires.
- Depraz S., Laslaz L., 2014, “Une méthode en dix points pour comprendre l’acceptation sociale des espaces protégés”.
- Laslaz L., Cadoret A., Milian J., 2020, Atlas des espaces naturels protégés, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle.