Michon Geneviève auteur aut IRD Nasi R. auteur aut IRD Balent G. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Most people in forest and rural areas manage trees as part of their livelihood systems. The resulting "domestic" or "rural" forests are distinct from conventional forest. They have historically been overlooked by the forestry sector and impacted by forest policies and regulatory frameworks. These forests presently encounter requalification and valuation dynamics, fueled by a sustainable development ideology, and induced by both public powers and local communities. These dynamics move in two different directions: the naturalization of rural forests by policy makers, and their politization by rural people. We draw on long-term research experiences in France, Morocco, Southeast Asia, and Africa on forests managed by "farmers", among which some are analyzed in the Ecology and Society Feature, Public policies and management of rural forests: lasting alliance or fool's dialogue?. We first elaborate on domestication, analyzed at tree, ecosystems and landscape levels, as a concept allowing for a better understanding of the specific relationships developed between rural people and forests. We then engage in a critical review of how forest-related and sustainable development policies consider rural forests, and discuss how they address (or do not address) their specificity and encourage (or do not encourage) their development. specialized domestication forestry regulations local forest management patrimony political ecology public policies resilience 098 021 18 1 30 2013 1708-3087 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010060839 10.5751/es-05706-180130 1708-3087 [F B010060839] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010060839 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2013/05/010060839.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2013-05-31 2017-08-23 fdi:010060839 fre