“When it comes to protecting forests, the strictest rules are not always the most effective”

Article co-authored under the original title: « Pour protéger les forêts, les règles les plus strictes ne sont pas toujours les plus efficaces », by Julie Subervie (Research Director, INRAE), Gabriela Demarchi (CIRAD), Philippe Delacote (Research Director, INRAE, BETA) and Thibault Catry (Research Engineer, IRD) and published on 4 November 2026 on The Conversation website.

In this article, the authors reflect on forest protection policies and highlight the importance of finding approaches tailored to the realities on the ground to reconcile ecosystem conservation with the sustainable management of forest resources.