Protected areas as zones of paradoxical composition. The case of an area “strictly protected for science”: The Lauvitel integral reserve (France)

This article adopts a spatial perspective to reconceptualise protected areas. We analyse protected areas as zones of paradoxical composition, that is, spaces where an objective of de-inhabitation and an objective of the selective reintroduction of human activities (re-inhabitation) are placed together —composed, in its etymological sense— in often complex and contested ways. Specifically, we examine the close association of conservation with scientific knowledge production, an activity historically intertwined with conservation efforts. Using a longitudinal case study of the Lauvitel integral reserve in France, an area ‘strictly protected for science’, we explore the devices enabling this composition through documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation. Our findings identify three interconnected, spatially distributed devices shaping this composition process: a filtering device at the reserve’s boundary, which regulates selective access; a discretion device within the reserve, maintaining the illusion of an untouched landscape; and a (re)presentation device beyond the reserve, fostering mediated access while sustaining the reserve’s exclusivity. We thus illuminate how protected areas are not simply exclusionary spaces but are shaped by negotiated and spatially differentiated forms of human presence. Our approach to protected areas as zones of paradoxical composition sheds new light on scientific presence in protected areas, engages with questions of Earth’s habitability, and opens avenues for future research on environmental justice. • De- and re-inhabitation objectives are placed together, or composed, in protected areas. • Protected areas can thus be analysed as zones of paradoxical composition. • They are established and maintained through specific devices. • They are inherently exposed to critiques in terms of environmental justice. • Doing science is a key albeit often unaccounted for way of inhabiting protected areas.