Appréhender les trajectoires d’engagement dans la gouvernance d’une politique environnementale : l’exemple de Natura 2000 en mer

As part of a study on governance in Natura 2000 projects at sea, different types of commitment have been studied through a dynamic evaluation grid, in order to describe commitment trajectories. Since the implementation of Natura 2000 areas in France is based on concertation and voluntary programs, the involvement of stakeholders (level, form and duration) is a deciding factor for both social learning processes within the governance mechanisms, and the policy?s general effectiveness. From Thévenot?s (2006) theorie of engagement regimes, we built an operational framework of the trajectories to study which types encourage a lasting involvement. The framework also enabled us to determine the different factors for stakeholder engagement and its evolution over time. These factors can be linked to individuals and to the design of the governance device itself. Several types of field surveys took place with participants from Natura 2000 sites at sea in Metropolitan France: quantitative and qualitative, exploratory and in-depth (2 sites chosen for their favorable conditions for long-term commitment). The results reveal that the commitment types are often combined and of a changing nature. Several regimes are often associated at a given time, before evolving to new regimes. The results of the different surveys converge and show recurrences in the trajectories. In particular, involvement changed from ?planned action? or ?justification? regimes towards the familiar regime and an attachment to social aspects, or towards the exploration regime. Thus, theoretical deductions ensue relating to these engagement regimes. Operational deductions also arise concerning the ways in which the governance mechanism can encourage commitment.