Nature's place in post-revolution Tunisian society, between protection policies and tourism : representations, institutional approaches and social practices ; El lugar de la naturaleza en la sociedad tunecina después de la revolución entre políticas de protección y explotación turística : representaciones, enfoques institucionales y prácticas sociales ; La place de la nature dans la société tunisienne post-révolution entre politiques de protection et exploitation touristique : représentations, approches institutionnelles et pratiques sociales

Abstract

In Tunisia, in the aftermath of the 2011 Revolution, many protected natural areas such as national and urban parks were severely degraded and vandalized. In parallel, in 2014, nature became a constitutional right and at the same time in the tourism sector, touristic offers more attuned to natural areas emerged. What do these contradictory behaviours tell us about Mankind/Nature relations in post-revolution Tunisian society? Our research focuses on the analysis of the social representations of nature, in particular "iconic" images, old and new, of nature (Part 1), the ambitions of public policies in terms of environmental protection that have followed one another since Independence, the environmental themes promoted by the actors of the post- revolution public debate (political, associative, media) (Part 2), as well as recent trends in Tunisian tourism and the new outdoor activities of the Tunisian people (Part 3). In the first part, our research highlights the persistence of certain images of nature. We can thus note the domination and the importance of images of a productive nature, a reservoir of resources but also for some of its components, images of paradise (gardens, oases). This transmission, from the pre-Christian era to the present day, has been possible thanks to various artistic media (mosaics, ceramics, poetry, painting.). Our research demonstrates both the persistence and the mobility of social representations of nature, as well as their diversity. Dissonances also appear between the representations of different groups of actors in Tunisian society, both ancient and contemporary (e. g. images and multiple representations of oases and the desert). In the second part, our research details the major stages of the process of institutionalization of nature initiated after the Independence of Tunisia and shows the predominance of an anthropocentric and eco-centred vision of nature. At that time the desire to protect nature prevailed both in the constitution and organisation of institutions and in the ...