Livestock and territory: which interactions and what questions?

Abstract

Levers to consolidate sustainability deal with the following abilities: i) for the system to maintain its productive abilities and renew its related resources while responding to expectations from the economic sector: efficiency is thus the question; ii) for the activity to cope, beyond its own interests, with those concerns of other stakeholders surrounding it: at that time, interaction at the territory scale becomes central. By analyzing pluridisciplinary research performed in France and abroad, we have identified three main dimensions dealing with livestock and the territory: measuring the impact of livestock farming on landscape, analyzing diversity and dynamics of activities to connect local and global and, studying the interactions among actors at the territory scale to foster innovation that will strengthen territorial sustainability. Four case studies highlight challenges for research on relationships between livestock farming and territories. These studies are split on a gradient between the abilities to deliver objective measures for the impact of human activities and a comprehensive approach, including the subjectivities of actors which is critical for livestock farming in the future. The Main stake is to be able to bridge these two research perspectives and to include them in a “territorial transitions” research perspective that deals with theoretical frameworks and operating devices that accompany local actors in a changing process.