On the Patrimonialisation of the Environment and of its Economic Values: two Shared Perspectives

Résumé 0

Identified since the 19th Century, the concept of heritage is constantly expanding. Everything is now likely to become patrimonial, even the environment. However, at the same time, this heritage is now integrated into the sphere of commercial exchange whereas it was initially recognized for its symbolic qualities. This new register of justification has been studied in the case of territorial development. However, to the best of our knowledge, little work has concerned the social and political implications of the economic valuation of the natural heritage. This paper proposes the shared perspectives of a geographer and an economist. Based on a literature review and various case studies, it aims at discussing the social uses of economic valuation. It also questions how this tool takes part in the creation of the economic values of the natural heritage. We analyse how the monetary valuation, although highly criticized, gradually became a normative framework for designing public policies and an additional resource of authority in patrimonial expansion. But the transformation in public decision making encourages taking a better look at the way this tool is now mobilized in order to enforce, negotiate or co-build new values.