Ph.D. student at INRAE Email :amelie.cenet@inrae.fr Adress : UMR SAS, 65 rue de St-Brieuc, CS 84215, 35042 Rennes Cedex, France Expertise : Landscape planning, Agronomy, Environmental science Keywords : spatial project, agroecological transition, territorial agronomy, public policies, stakeholder interactions, interdisciplinarity, landscape planning

Research

Ph.D. subject : Collective spatial projection processes to support territorial design of agroecological systems

Thesis abstract :

The thesis subject lies at the interface of landscape planning, agronomy and the environment and focuses on the territorial scale in view of transitioning agricultural systems to agroecology. This scale requires relating several farms from different systems and considering non-agricultural uses of a territory. The management and design of agroecological systems cannot be determined independently from other transition dynamics led by local authorities. This approach requires working in a specific context and interacting with agricultural and community stakeholders. To address these issues, this thesis in ‘territorial agronomy’ was developed in partnership with landscape architects’, in particular through CIFRE[1] funding supported by the Agence Folléa-Gautier of landscape and urban planners.

The first part of the thesis will establish a clear research position and a research question at a disciplinary interface that remains poorly documented. It aims to identify and organise (1) the issues and background related to territorial design of agroecological systems and (2) the issues of landscape architects’ practices regarding agricultural subjects. To change agricultural systems, the main obstacles identified that need to be overcome are a lack of considering the spatial dimension in agroecological transitions and a lack of relationships among stakeholders. Consequently, the thesis assumes that a localised spatial approach, which can envision changes in the organisation of space depending on agricultural and non-agricultural uses, can create relationships between stakeholders that lead to concrete actions. This approach is called a “spatial projection process”.

The second part of the thesis plans to design and experiment with this process in four complementary research situations, each related to a specific territory in France. These situations differ in their agricultural issue and the positions of agricultural and community stakeholders. Following these experiments, analysis and monitoring will assess the limits and opportunities provided by the spatial projection process in territories. The analysis will also identify perspectives for the design of agroecological systems.

The interaction with landscape architects and stakeholders in the field during the experiments implies producing both scientific and operational results

[1]CIFRE: Industrial Agreement of Training through Research