Abstract ID: 3.11418 | Accepted as Talk | Talk/Oral | TBA | TBA

The socio-ecological crisis has prompted us to re-examine the models of society upon which our priorities, actions, and interactions with other-than-humans are based (Aubert & Botta, 2022). Pascual et al. (2023) highlight a contemporary “value crisis” underlying the interconnected challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change. In this context, the complex relationship between humans and forests in mountainous regions provides an opportunity to rethink governance in socio-ecological systems. This presentation explores how relationality can offer a transformative change to reimagining forest governance in mountain territories, where diverse socio-ecological challenges converge. We explore forest socio-ecological systems in mountain areas, highlighting interdependencies that go beyond simple resource extraction or economic transactions, and reflecting deep interdependencies through emotional, cultural, and spiritual connections. We focus on the French Jura and Romanian Carpathians, where these high-altitude forest landscapes, renowned for their rare and valuable lutherie wood, encounter challenges from illegal logging, deforestation, and the increasing demand for renewable raw materials. Our goal, through our modelling approach, is to integrate ecological and social connectivity using a mixed-methods approach. This approach captures the spatial and holistic dimensions inherent in the relationships enacted within these mountainous forest systems. By analysing interactions and interdependencies among these diverse social and ecological configurations, we aim to illustrate the complex relationships of use, subsistence, and governance. This highlights the need for participatory approaches that rethink territorial solidarity and foster coexistence and mutual well-being among all entities involved, both humans and other-than-humans (Marage & Jégou, 2022). Therefore, our research contributes to the understanding of relationality in forest governance while addressing the broader need to embrace relationality to tackle contemporary environmental challenges. According to Foggin et al. (2021), we advocate for moving beyond traditional, technocratic governance models toward relationally oriented frameworks that recognise the ethical and cultural dimensions of our interactions with other-than-humans.