Abstract ID: 3.13632 | Accepted as Talk | Talk | TBA | TBA

The Vercors is a mountain range in Franch Prealps, facing strong residential and tourist pressure, in a context of climate change that is reflected in a decline in average snow cover and a growing scarcity of water resources. Over the past few years, a large-scale project to create a new tourist unit for a high-end clientele has generated considerable controversy among the local population. Initially formed in opposition to this project, the “Vercors citoyens” collective set about building a project for the range, including diagnostics and prospec- tive visions from local residents in all their diversity. To carry out this process, the collective approached the University of Grenoble and the Labex ITTEM. From a transdisciplinary perspective, a steering committee was set up, with researchers, members of the citizens’ collective and representatives of the Union Nationale des Acteurs du Développement Local (UNADEL – a national network of associations promoting local development). Inspired by a method developed by UNADEL (territorial listening), the citizen listening approach was deployed along the way, supported by the methodological support of researchers. The idea is simple: citizens listen to other citizens in pairs. To put this into practice, various tools were proposed and then co-constructed: a listener’s guide, an interview guide, an analysis guide, and so on. Analysis of the 80 listening sessions carried out over 6 months has enabled us to draw up a summary of the findings and visions gathered. The results are presented at “mirror meetings”, at which the transdisciplinary team presents the initial findings to the population and gathers new contributions. This experience was underpinned by the strong will of a collective of citizens. The mobilization was made possible by the existence of a strong controversy over the future of this territory. We can deduce from this that the territorial issues of adaptation to global change, through the tensions they generate, are conducive to the emergence of innovative transdisciplinary approaches. In the case of the approach presented here, however, we can ask the remoteness of the spheres of local public action, and therefore of the ability of deci- sion-makers to take this dynamic into account.