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Forests are at the heart of the issues linked to climate change and the preservation of biodiversity. This thesis proposal focuses on the management of small rural forests in the face of these challenges in particular. Although these forests have been relatively neglected by public policy, they represent a particular challenge, not only because of the significant total area they cover as well as their distribution across the country, but also because of the many ecosystem services to which they contribute. Understanding the management choices made by small rural forest owners in the face of environmental change – and identifying the underlying factors – is therefore important if we are to respond to the challenges facing forest socio-ecosystems.

Although a large body of literature has examined the factors influencing the individual management choices of forest owners in Europe, it has done little to explore how small owners adapt to climate change and preserve biodiversity, and in particular how their management choices are influenced by social relations within a territory. This is the aim of this thesis proposal, which will use the concept of commoning and the framework of feminist political ecology in an original way to understand the social relations surrounding these commons, using an innovative mixed research method which combines Q methodology, interviews and participatory photography. The aim of the project is to encourage greater recognition and integration of small forests in forestry and climate policies, so that they may make a significant contribution towards tackling current issues.