Development of an local ecological quality index (Leqi). Cross-learning from two experiments[Élaboration d’un indicateur de qualité écologique des territoires. Apprentissages croisés de deux expérimentations]

With the territorialization of public action, there is a growing need for new local indicators. If a growing body of research emphasizes that economic aspects alone can no longer be used to assess the performance of territories, and that it is important to take social and environmental dimensions into account when assessing development, few studies examine the extent to which these information systems give meaning to "the ecological quality of territories." The aim of the experiments we conducted in les Hauts de France and in Normandy (France), was to shed light on territorial dynamics from the perspective of their ecological quality, for the purposes of diagnosis, steering, advocacy, but also to support new forms of green territorial planning. This project is designed as a tool that can be used in several areas: territorial dialogue, monitoring of public policies, review of planning documents (PCAET, etc.). However, the research reported in this article reflects the methodological and epistemic specificities of these experiments: taking seriously one of the central themes of ecological economics, namely the concept of ecological "deliberative value," and opening up a debate on ecological values rather than selecting or fixing them according to expert opinion.