Assessing the operational perspectives of agrosilvopastoralism in the Mediterranean Region: Learnings from observations in Corsica

Abstract

European public authorities today promote the development of agrosilvopastoralism to ensure, through grazing, the maintenance and preservation of Mediterranean forest areas while strengthening productive forestry activities. From the observation that agrosilvopastoral projects often remain at an experimental stage, we emphasize that agrosilvopastoralism, a complex multifunctional production system, must not only respond to technical issues but also innovate in terms of organization and governance. The article explores and describes several agrosilvopastoral projects and initiatives currently being implemented in Corsica, the most forested region of France. We mobilize the theory of innovation to explore how agrosilvopastoralism could contribute operationally in redesigning livestock systems and in promoting more coherent and inclusive socioecosystems in the inland, mountainous areas of the Mediterranean region that are mostly subject to abandonment. Drawing from materials relating to the implementation of a PRIMA European project, we suggest that the establishment of living laboratories (Living Labs) could create formalized participatory spaces to co-construct shared strategies and solutions through the territories by overcoming sectoral approaches in terms of policies and regulations.