From nature zone to nature territory : a matter of care ? About "parks", "reserves" and "wilderness" in Europe and in the USA

International guidelines advocate sustainability as a model, they push for more protected nature areas, areas set aside from humans damaging actions. Protection plans such as parks and reserves multiplied over the past century, especially in Europe and Northern America. Meanwhile, when observing how people act, it is hard not to question these long-appreciated forms of nature-dedicated places. The zoning of protected natural areas does not seem sufficient : managers' job no longer consists in protecting the borders of nature; recreational practices -once assigned to natural sanctuaries- diversify, hybridize, they do not limit to natural zones as specific areas. The partition of space between "natural" and "other" is wearing out. Where is nature ? Possibly everywhere. From city parks to wilderness areas, in the everyday, in the interstitial. Following Bruno Latour's propositions for a relative relativism, this communication intends to prove the necessity to overpass this nature/culture partition that has prevailed in the attempt to protect natural areas. Results from our field research in French and American parks show that the vital issue within and across these designated places lies in constructing a shared concern. This construct that emerge from particular associations between humans to provide a special attention towards places that are specific, involves a variety of entities and could become a form of "care". This monitoring, both arranging and caring, is made possible thanks to a spatiality of its own that we call "territoriality".