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Presentation short abstract

This work focuses on the Mediterranean region known as the Etang de Thau, located in the Occitanie region of France. Some of the theoretical contributions from Political Ecology included are those of Merlinsky (2016; 2018), Haesbaert (2011), Castro (2017), and Boelens et al. (2017).

Presentation long abstract

The concept of the Anthropocene (Crutzen, 1995) recognises that much of our planet's ecological systems have been altered by human action, specifically through appropriation, control and capitalist exploitation. Marine territories and oceans do not escape this dynamic. The industrial capitalist paradigm, through its scientific, technical and geopolitical devices, has globally established an industrial appropriation of the sea and its biodiversity, which is reflected in the extractive use of marine environments in the Mediterranean region. In contrast, the sustainability paradigm is an approach that seeks to balance economic and social development with environmental protection, meeting the needs of present generations without compromising those of future generations. Given the correlation and coexistence between these two paradigms, the concept of hydro-social territory (Boelens et al. 2017) allows us to apprehend the complexity of social relations in those territories where water sources exist, and where the productive and reproductive dynamics of communities are articulated, in addition to the effect of public and private interventions. Given this definition of hydro-social territory we will focus as more specific dimensions on oyster aquaculture production practices on the French Mediterranean coast (Occitania region), and on territorial management of environmental sustainability policies in marine ecosystems. How does the hydrosocial territory perspective contribute to rethinking policy management with an environmental perspective in a Mediterranean area? What contributions do these approaches make to Political Ecology?