The Inhabited forest: a partnership management mechanism?
The Inhabited forest (Forêt habitée) represents a partnership management mechanism designed to enhance the economic development of rural areas in Quebec. The objective of this research project is to validate the inhabited forest concept and to delineate, from a stakeholders’ perspective, a definition that is both shared and practical. A perceptual analysis is carried out using a needs-analysis method. The results show that actors’ perceptions coincide with the idea of the inhabited forest and the theory of partnership management. Moreover, perceptions of what situation is desirable suggest that the participants adopt the same definition, provided by the elements structuring the concept of the inhabited forest. However, a noticeable deviation exists between the idealised vision and reality as perceived by the participants. On the whole, partnership management, as conveyed by the concept of the inhabited forest, seems to constitute a practicable approach, according to stakeholders.