In France, the forest is gaining ground but weakening. Over the past ten years, the mortality rate of trees has increased by 80%, and nearly 670,000 hectares are now considered to be deteriorating, according to data from the National Forestry Office and the Forest Health Department. In the Vercors massif, south of Grenoble, citizens have chosen to take concrete action. By collectively purchasing wooded parcels, they defend a local, gentle, and sustainable forestry. A long-term commitment to preserve the forest as a living ecosystem.
AI Index: Mediterranean Knowledge Library
In the face of forest decline, citizens are taking action
22-med – January 2026
• In the Vercors, citizens are collectively buying forest parcels to experiment with gentle and sustainable forestry.
• In response to the rapid increase in tree mortality in France, these local initiatives defend the forest as a living ecosystem and a common good.
#forest #biodiversity #citizenship #climate #forestry #territory
They talk about mushrooms, hunting, weather, and the changing colors of the leaves in the heights of Lans-en-Vercors, in the Isère department. About ten people in hats, waterproof jackets, and hiking boots walk in the footsteps of a man who stops regularly to look at the moss growing on a tree, tap the bark of another, and point to a fallen trunk. He comments for the group: “It’s the delineation of the forest that interests us today. We haven’t removed it because this trunk can provide many good things to the animals and the soil as it decomposes.”
This man is Benoît Coulée, a professional forester who co-founded Green Forest five years ago. This citizen forestry group aims to buy forest parcels to manage them differently. Goodbye clear-cutting, monoculture, and the need for yield.
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