Drawing together the knowledge of forestry and pastoralism experts in the construction of a technical support tool for silvopastoralism

Abstract

A growing body of literature documents emphasizes the value of the hybridisation of different types of knowledge for environmental management. This is particularly true for silvopastoralism: although silvopastoralism appears to be a relevant way to manage large forests areas in the northern Mediterranean region, knowledge pertaining to silvopastoralism is distributed between foresters and pastoralists, with a lack of shared knowledge making joint action difficult. The consensus about the need of knowledge hybridisation, however, is not enough to make it happen and a whole field of research investigates the methods which can be used to create shared knowledge. This paper studies one of these methods - the participation of experts in modelling - used in a French research development program to design a technical support tool for silvopastoralism. After having described the modelling process conducted by forestry and pastoralists experts, it presents the conceptual silvopastoralism model they produced and analyses the shared knowledge - especially intermediary concepts and expert typologies - it contains. The paper finally outlines the conditions needed for the participation of experts in modelling to create shared knowledge, its limitations in generating quantitative expertise and discusses how the knowledge created can be shared with a wider audience.