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En 2010, les Québécois semblent découvrir une nouvelle filière énergétique : celle du gaz de schiste. Jusqu’alors discrètes, les activités d’exploration en cours – parfois depuis plusieurs années – deviennent plus visibles dans les territoires, sous les regards combinés des médias et de groupes de la société civile. Plusieurs aspects préoccupent fo...
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... Quite often, social acceptability is considered as a mechanism for informing citizens about what aquaculture is and what positive effects it has on society to foster its acceptance. According to the scientific literature, information and communication are factors that may positively influence the public's response to a project (Batellier, 2015;Gendron, 2014;Fortin and Fournis, 2013). However, these tools do not allow for the resolution of all claims, such as those related to conflicts of use (Hoagland et al., 2003). ...
... Participation is a key issue to enhance social acceptability (Prno, 2013;Urvoas, 2015;Fortin et Fournis, 2013;Batellier, 2015). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, 2009), states in a methodological guide for the selection of areas for aquaculture development that «the participatory approach, as a wellstructured and properly implemented strategy, applied to the selection and management of aquaculture sites, represents an opportunity to guarantee the acceptance and permanence of any aquaculture project, since it allows all stakeholders to be involved in the definition and implementation of the process». ...
... Moreover, participation promotes trust between stakeholders and allows stakeholders to feel more respected and considered (Moffat and Zhang, 2014). The top-down rational frequently used for the implementation of this type of project should therefore be replaced by a more horizontal process (Fortin and Fournis, 2013). ...
Within the Blue Growth Strategy, aquaculture is perceived and quoted as a sector that has a high potential for sustainable employment and growth and that has to be developed. Despite a strong initial growth at the beginning of the Blue Revolution, European aquaculture, and in particular marine fish farming, began to stall and stagnate. The new drivers initiated by the Blue Growth Strategy seem to have great difficulty in reversing that trend and progressing towards the stated objectives in terms of production volumes, in the light of the production statistics over the last decade. Marine socio-ecosystems are complex systems, they demonstrate non-matching scales, surprises (non-linearities), interconnection with other systems, memory effects, choke points and so on. This complexity calls for more integrated assessment through integration of existing knowledge: integration of sciences (among disciplines), integration of sciences and society, integration of sciences and policy and integration of uses. Even though some integrated assessment frameworks were developed such as the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries, and its counterpart for aquaculture the Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture, in practice they never really reached the required level of integration. In particular, these approaches focused on the ecological carrying capacity and left aside the social and institutional dimensions, especially the governance issues of these socio-ecosystems.
While much effort has been put into technological innovations and the measure of their impact on farms, relatively little has been put into institutional innovations. But beyond technical and profitability issues, social acceptability is now considered as one of the main bottlenecks to aquaculture development. As already underlined, existing assessment frameworks are not able to capture that key dimension of aquaculture development. There is therefore a need to propose and develop such an assessment framework of Social Acceptability (SA) of aquaculture development. In addition to reviewing existing frameworks and experiences in other industries, taking into account the complexity of marine socio-ecosystems, the main drivers and bottlenecks to aquaculture development were identified to better understand the factors contributing to SA. The main bottlenecks are related to the way aquaculture development was thought out and implemented: forgetting the way of production and solely focusing on the volume to be produced; basing aquaculture development on scientific and technical expertise and imposing top-down projects developed "ex nihilo" without insights into local integration; implementing such projects based on a communication approach by solely providing information without embarking upon participatory processes and stakeholder engagement; misperceiving SA solely through the acceptability of the product and not the acceptability of the activity. All this leads to a series of adverse effects such as market disconnection, a vicious circle of unprofitability, lack of trust and confidence in aquaculture, and fuzzy developments, contributing to aggravating the factors of social unacceptability.
The MedAID project (www.medaid-h2020.eu) is an attempt to integrate all these dimensions to support sustainable marine aquaculture development in the Mediterranean. It proposes an integrated framework to rethink the development of marine aquaculture in Europe and beyond, through the SA dimension as an integrating dimension. An assessment framework for SA of aquaculture development was developed and implemented over several case studies in the Mediterranean through the proposal of a three-step approach experimentation. Participatory approaches are at the core of the assessment framework and introduction and recommendations to these approaches are produced too, with references to existing tools.
The implementation of the three-step approach to assess SA of aquaculture development underlined four main recommendations: 1) Support concertation, 2) Give importance to the adequacy between the territory and the project, 3) Value the benefits of the project and promote transparency and 4) Establish a framework that supports aquaculture development and compliance with the development process. These recommendations finally appear as an essential prerequisite for a more peaceful, more virtuous and acceptable development that will drive marine aquaculture back to sustainability. Maybe not a sufficient condition for sustainable aquaculture development but a necessary one.
Access to full text: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03475250
... Il s'agit de développer une analyse discursive et argumentative (Zittoun, 2013 ;Fischer et Forester, 1993) des projets discutés en matière de transition énergétique. Dans ce sens, la définition et la mobilisation de l'argument de la transition énergétique sont analysées dans les divers documents de Fortin et Fournis (2013) ; le discours des partisans est également obtenu des entretiens, de la documentation et des prises de parole publique. Le discours est évalué en fonction de la définition de la transition comme rupture (rapide) d'avec les énergies fossiles (du type scénario Negawatt favorisant une réduction de la consommation et le développement des énergies renouvelables), comme changement incrémental par la diversification du mix énergétique (qui implique une réduction graduelle des énergies fossiles, notamment les plus polluantes comme le charbon et le pétrole) ou comme changement incrémental par la relocation des sites de production permettant de réduire les émissions de polluants grâce à une plus grande proximité géographique entre production et consommation et un haut niveau règlementaire. ...
Le chapitre vise l'analyse critique de la définition de la transition énergétique par les acteurs engagés autour de quatre exemples de projets de développement d'hydrocarbures non conventionnels en France et au Québec. L'étude démontre la montée en puissance d'une définition de la transition par la relocalisation des sites de production d'hydrocarbures qui s'appuie sur la faible capacité de mobilisation de certains territoires et sur des caractéristiques matérielles des ressources visées et des technologies employées pour justifier leur place dans le mix énergétique. L'analyse des choix énergétiques nationaux a exposé leur caractère très politique qu'il soit technocratique (Topçu, 2013), centralisé (Evrard, 2013) ou autoritaire (Mitchell, 2013). En revanche le terrain des hydrocarbures français et québécois a été peu investi (à l'exception de Chateauraynaud et Debaz, 2013 pour la France, et de Chailleux, 2017 pour le Québec) en matière de scénarios énergétiques alors que c'est un secteur économique et d'action publique qui connait des turbulences depuis la fin des années 2000 avec le développement des hydrocarbures non conventionnels. De plus, c'est un objet particulièrement pertinent à étudier au regard de la transition énergétique puisque la consommation d'énergie fossile est responsable du réchauffement climatique que la transition énergétique doit permettre d'atténuer. Ce chapitre étudie les stratégies des acteurs pour imposer leur discours comme traduction politique légitime des enjeux de transition énergétique.
... The anti-shale gas coalition slowly organized by gathering together local committees, local officials, ENGOs, and scientists (2009)(2010)(2011). Initially, they only criticized the industry's governance, which made no provisions for impact studies (Fortin, Fournis, 2013). ...
... The experts put forward sought to reduce the controversy to issues of technological regulation and popular education. ' Promoters were open to bargaining on both the regulation and the compensation (Fortin, Fournis, 2013), but they lost credibility in the controversy; they lost credibility in particular, when they were unable to seal off leaks coming from 31 shale wells that a ministerial assessment discovered in early 2011. Montpetit and Lachapelle (2013) showed that the population favored information from ENGOs on this issue. ...
... In contrast to the French OPECST mission, the SEA focused on controversial studies of methane leaks and highlighted this concern as a major issue: if there were significant methane leaks, this radically increased greenhouse gas emissions (SEA, 2014). And very specific to the Quebec case, the government commissioned sociological and political studies to assess social acceptance and the state of public opinion and to draw a portrait of the social movement (Fortin, Fournis, 2013;Bherer et al., 2013;Montpetit, Lachapelle, 2013). The second BAPE then used this wide-ranging assessment as a scientific basis. ...
This article addresses the various uses of expert knowledge during the controversy over shale gas in France and in Quebec (Canada). Cross-fertilization between policy analysis and science and technology studies demonstrates that political uses of expertise better explained the policymaking process in focusing on two specific utilizations: strategic ignorance and politics of time. Using data from press analysis, interviews, reports and documentation analysis, this article shows that social movements can also use strategic ignorance to support their environmental claims and that mastering the pace of the controversy and the policy debates enabled actors to better support their policy claims. The French case illustrates those two arguments while the Quebec case provides a more tradition account of State/Industry’s utilization of knowledge production to delay decision and divert opposition.
... Alors que l'étude de l'opinion montre une méfiance des Québécois face à l'information gouvernementale (Montpetit et Lachapelle, 2013), on voit également comment la mobilisation sociale s'est formée autour des localités concernées par les permis d'exploration mais aussi au-delà (Bherer et al., 2013 ;Chailleux, 2015). L'analyse des mémoires déposés auprès du BAPE aide à saisir le fond des revendications et met en avant les différentes échelles de la contestation (Fortin, Fournis, 2013). Aucune étude n'a encore analysé cette controverse sur un temps plus long afin de montrer les ramifications avec d'autres décisions publiques sur les hydrocarbures et l'énergie et ainsi de déterminer les modifications de l'action publique suite à cette controverse. ...
... Pourtant, le BAPE va être une tribune pour les opposants qui réclament un moratoire et une étude d'impact. Si les risques environnementaux et sanitaires sont craints, ce qui mobilise le plus c'est la dénonciation de la gouvernance du gouvernement libéral (Fortin, Fournis, 2013). Elle apparait en effet rapidement inadaptée et les liens étroits entre libéraux et compagnies gazières transparaissent (de nombreux lobbyistes sont recrutés dans les rangs du Parti Libéral). ...
... que le MERN lance fin 2014, le « Chantier de l'acceptabilité sociale » (MERN, 2016). La Commission de travail a reçu de nombreux mémoires et elle a pu bénéficier ici aussi d'une expertise extérieure à l'administration puisque la notion a été beaucoup travaillée par les sciences sociales québécoises au détour de la controverse sur le gaz de schiste.Fortin et Fournis (2013) base leurs travaux sur la construction d'un cadre d'analyse de l'acceptabilité sociale en dénonçant à la fois la lecture comme barrière sociale et en proposant l'étude d'un processus de traduction politique. Gendron de son côté suggère une analyse comme jugement collectif d'un projet(Gendron et al., 2016). Lors du congrès de l'Acfas d'a ...
Analyzing mutations in the policy subsystem of hydrocarbons in Quebec, the paper aims to show the different dimensions of policy change. Transformation and inertia are studied to highlight how the hydrocarbons subsystem is shaped by incrementalism. However, instruments and actors adjustments show new dynamics that open policy-making to new stakes. Policy change is not brought only by exogenous events but also by endogenous limits of the subsystem and the will to overcome them to maintain the system in place.
... Since 2010, when the discovery of gas reserves in Québec sparked interest among investors and drilling companies, the political debate in Québec has come upon a new issue: shale gas. 8 Though Québeckers have drilled for conventional oil and gas wells since the late 19 th century, the discovery of substantial reserves of shale gas in the southern half of the St. Lawrence Lowlands, an area spanning approximately 2,900 square miles, has given new impetus to the question of development. 9 As shown in Figure 2, the most promising geological formation in the area of interest within the St. Lawrence Lowlands is the Utica Shale, a thin layer of rock topped by a milethick layer of quasi-impermeable rock. ...
The Canadian province of Québec has the largest reserves of shale gas in Eastern Canada, but Québeckers are in the midst of a heated debate over the desirability of exploiting this resource. At issue is the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." The provincial government has decided to proceed cautiously. In 2011, Québec instituted a temporary moratorium, still in effect, on shale gas development in order to conduct consultations with experts and members of the public that has continued to present day. Recently, the government released the results of the experts’ report, the Strategic Environmental Evaluation. This paper highlights the report’s key findings about the potential economic benefits, environmental risks, and public acceptability of shale gas development. Québec’s balanced approach to the complex, technical issue of shale gas development represents a deliberative approach to governance that emphasizes extensive public engagement.
... Aussi, même si, comme pour le « développement durable » ou la « gouvernance », la construction d'un nouveau concept peut passer par une étape de polysémie , nous visons ici à poser des repères dans ce chantier de définition théorique. À bien des égards, l'examen des conflits entourant les parcs éoliens se prête particulièrement à cet exercice puisque la notion d'acceptabilité sociale y est mobilisée depuis longtemps et y a connu récemment des percées significatives (Fournis et Fortin, 2013). ...
The economic dynamic in Morocco’s Saharan coastal cities is focused on sea fishing. Nevertheless, while this activity plays an important role in the development of these areas, it also exposes them to the risks of overexploitation of fisheries resources and pollution, which are exacerbated by the effects of climate change. The aim of the present work is to analyze the correlation between the economic dynamics of Saharan coastal cities and the sustainability of fisheries resources. To realize this objective, we carried out an empirical study using a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach in Boujdour city from southern Morocco. The results showed that citizen participation and commitment are low. Also, the essential assets to face the challenges of sustainability and to support the introduction of mechanisms for accountable governance, integrated, and concerted management of fisheries resources, to pool the opportunities for innovation in green energy available in the region and to improve the efficiency of fishing activities, the promotion of integrative and inclusive territorial development and the protection of the environment.
Social acceptability has become an important issue, influencing public and private decision making in many different areas of society, including the management of uses of common marine resources and space. As these uses intensify and social interactions become more complex, effective governance is a prerequisite for sustainable decision making. Participatory approaches are broadly recognised as a tool for involving stakeholders in the decision-making process to increase the acceptability of collective choices. However, despite the recommendations of new governance frameworks which promote inclusive and democratic bottom-up approaches, there is an increased complexity to apply such approach at local level. This paper aims to capture this complexity through the analysis of the local agency-led participative process and ad-hoc interviews with coastal users to understand whether and how perception and attitudes towards aquaculture evolve throughout the process. Here we present the result of a 3-year collaborative action science-policy with the agency responsible to manage aquaculture in Andalucía region (South of Spain). Even though the effectiveness of this participatory process in aquaculture planning should be assessed over the long-term, here we have identified a number of social, environmental and economic elements that can generate local opposition, especially by traditional fishers. The paper highlights the fact that the inclusion of stakeholders in the decision-making processes is not sufficient ensure the acceptance of aquaculture development. The effectiveness of the participatory processes is limited by the lack of institutional frameworks to accompany these processes, by the insufficient skills and expertise in engineering participation of the Administration staff and the poor integrated vision in policy making. As a result, the lack of coherence between political objectives constructed on a national or European scale and the complex social reality of the territory scale can lead to social opposition as experimented by the aquaculture sector.
Social acceptability: A question of participatory democracy?
The construction of social acceptability, conceived as the collective judgement of the population concerning a given policy or project, is sometimes based on the participation of the social actors concerned in the discussions that inform public decision-making. Intermediary democratic bodies where various participatory mechanisms are deployed thus play a key role in the emergence of acceptability. However, the question of the effects of participatory processes on the dynamics of social acceptability remains little studied today, whether by studies on social acceptability or those on public participation. Based on projects that raise environmental concerns, this special issue draws on the intersection of these two theoretical fields to analyze the impact of participatory democracy mechanisms on decision-making and the construction of social accessibility.
The contributions thus make it possible to reflect on how intermediary democracy bodies contribute or not to social acceptability. More specifically, they explore the institutionalization of the concept as a new standard of public management. They also address the effects of the participatory processes deployed in these forums on a given project’s acceptability and the impact on the final decisions. In sum, this issue allows us to see to what extent participatory mechanisms offer the conditions for a constructive debate that will better channel the societal conflicts that some industrial projects or public policies generate, intending to construct compromises that are projected into a future vision of development.
Le projet d'exploitation du gaz de charbon en Lorraine et son intégration dans le territoire Projet fédérateur « GazHouille » Financement CNRS-Défi ENRS Transition Energétique
