NANCY Seminar – Sandrine ALLAIN (INRAE)

Event details :

Title:  Changes in the woodlog industry and governance:  Between the domestic world, market logic and energy transition policies. A case study from the Chartreuse region.

Abstract:  We conduct exploratory research on wood logs, using the Chartreuse region as a case study, to understand how and why this sector is evolving in conjunction with, but distinct from, other forms of wood energy. To this end, we mobilize an ecological socio-economics perspective, which postulates a “double embedding” of the economy (social and physical-ecological). We show that, on the one hand, logwood is subject to complex political and economic mutations due to its status as a renewable energy, a low-cost fuel, but also a source of pollution. On the other hand, beyond the constraints of access and exploitation of mountain forests, log producers work according to principles of habit and proximity, so that traditional economic adjustments have little effect. Finally, in terms of the use of logs by private individuals, some of them are making new demands (in terms of quality, quantity and practicality). This new demand, stimulated by public policies, is a driving force for remote change in the “physiognomy” of the log industry.