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In the Pyrenees, the decentralised manner in which planning permission is awarded to projects might give the impression that the expansion of ski resorts is now more attuned to the concerns of local people, with potential conflicts handled more effectively than they were in the past. The reality is in fact quite different: The direct proximity of highly artificial spaces dedicated to winter sports with zones of exceptional environmental and natural importance continues to produce many conflicts; however, these receive relatively little media attention, but they have the potential to block development. Today’s anti-development associations are using new tools and methods, and their ability to counter proposed projects is undeniable. Presenting a resistance that is “solid, well-organised and backed up by legal expertise”, they use legal channels to campaign against projects they consider to be harmful, and they eschew mass demonstrations. This marks a clear break from previous approaches. Unlike the protest movements of the 1970s, these citizens’ associations remain pragmatic, non-hierarchical and local, led by ‘mountain folk’. Some local campaigns are ambiguous in nature and bring together a highly diverse array of stakeholders with interests in the local economy. Protest groups first and foremost, these associations rarely transcend their oppositional stance to propose real alternatives and become a force for territorial innovation.

In the Pyrenees, the decentralised manner in which planning permission is awarded to projects might give the impression that the expansion of ski resorts is now more attuned to the concerns of local people, with potential conflicts handled more effectively than they were in the past. The reality is in fact quite different: The direct proximity of highly artificial spaces dedicated to winter sports with zones of exceptional environmental and natural importance continues to produce many conflicts; however, these receive relatively little media attention, but they have the potential to block development. Today’s anti-development associations are using new tools and methods, and their ability to counter proposed projects is undeniable. Presenting a resistance that is “solid, well-organised and backed up by legal expertise”, they use legal channels to campaign against projects they consider to be harmful, and they eschew mass demonstrations. This marks a clear break from previous approaches. Unlike the protest movements of the 1970s, these citizens’ associations remain pragmatic, non-hierarchical and local, led by ‘mountain folk’. Some local campaigns are ambiguous in nature and bring together a highly diverse array of stakeholders with interests in the local economy. Protest groups first and foremost, these associations rarely transcend their oppositional stance to propose real alternatives and become a force for territorial innovation.

L’efficacité de l’intercommunalité dans la reconversion de l’économie des territoires touristiques montagnards se prête particulièrement bien à une analyse en termes de gouvernance. Mettre l’accent sur les processus de négociation, de concertation, de coopération entre les sphères publiques, privées et les réseaux permet d’évaluer les liens de solidarité dans la gestion des crises, notamment lors de l’accompagnement du désarmement de petites stations de ski ou de leur adaptation à un hypothétique « tourisme 4 saisons ». La manière dont la gouvernance intercommunale de la ressource touristique est conduite à cette occasion montre les fractures de ces territoires dans la gestion des emplois, de l’habitat, des intérêts, des ressources, des enjeux, des représentations. Les dynamiques interterritoriales aboutissent à des coopérations différenciées et à des systèmes gigognes qui demeurent isolés, couvrant chacun des projets concurrents. Dans les 11 stations de ski pyrénéennes en Catalogne française, les modes de gouvernance restent souvent « confinés » et compartimentés, les regroupements s’y opèrent sans réelle discussion démocratique avec la population. Parce qu’elle n’y fait que très rarement débat, l’intercommunalité parvient mal à atteindre des consensus entre décideurs pour sauver de la fermeture définitive les domaines skiables menacés par un enneigement structurellement déficitaire.

The efficiency of inter-municipal relations in regenerating or restructuring the economy of mountain tourist areas is well suited to an analysis in terms of governance. Focussing on the negotiation, consultation and cooperation processes between the public and private spheres, and associated networks of actors, provides an opportunity to assess the ties of solidarity in the management of crises. More specifically, this study examines inter-municipal relations in the context of the crisis now facing many small ski resorts in the Pyrenees, where declining snowfalls may lead to the dismantling of facilities or their adaptation to a hypothetical “4-season tourism”.The manner in which inter-municipal governance of the tourism resource is implemented in this context reveals fractures among the different actors relating to the management of jobs, housing, interests, resources, the issues at stake, and representations. Inter-territorial dynamics results in different types of cooperative arrangements and nested management systems that remain isolated, each covering competing projects. In the 11 Pyrenean ski resorts of French Catalonia, the different types of governance often remain narrowly delimited and compartmentalised, and inter-municipal cooperation takes place without any real democratic discussion with the resident population. Since debate is very rare, inter-municipal relations are at pains to bring about consensus between decision-makers on how to save the local ski areas threatened with permanent closure by a structurally deficient snowfall.

The cross-border comparative study of the forms and outcomes of the introduction of sustainable tourism by inter-communal efforts in the western Pyrenees has revealed the difficulties of imposing the model, and, worse, this model is often the alibi justifying a mass of incoherent tourist policy, which, being defective in forward planning and territorial coherence, makes it difficult to apply. Research on this theme was carried out from 2004-2006 at the Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour in collaboration with the University of Saragosse. The three conclusions it reached are presented in summarized form as follows: 1 - incorporation of tourism in the field of sustainable development has been belated and hesitant, resulting in big delays as far as its application is concerned; 2 - in France more than in Spain, the multi-level nature of inter-communal bodies together with the lack of transfer of competences in mass tourism have produced the breaking-up of territorial-based development and its management, excluding long-term consideration project-wise. 3 - the overbearing presence of big leisure-construction operations is upturning the traditional residential and land management balance and reveals insufficient initial planning efforts.

The cross-border comparative study of the forms and outcomes of the introduction of sustainable tourism by inter-communal efforts in the western Pyrenees has revealed the difficulties of imposing the model, and, worse, this model is often the alibi justifying a mass of incoherent tourist policy, which, being defective in forward planning and territorial coherence, makes it difficult to apply. Research on this theme was carried out from 2004-2006 at the Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour in collaboration with the University of Saragosse. The three conclusions it reached are presented in summarized form as follows: 1 - incorporation of tourism in the field of sustainable development has been belated and hesitant, resulting in big delays as far as its application is concerned; 2 - in France more than in Spain, the multi-level nature of inter-communal bodies together with the lack of transfer of competences in mass tourism have produced the breaking-up of territorial-based development and its management, excluding long-term consideration project-wise. 3 - the overbearing presence of big leisure-construction operations is upturning the traditional residential and land management balance and reveals insufficient initial planning efforts.