Scientific project of the unit
The Unit's approach is resolutely interdisciplinary and aims to integrate the various levels of organisation of space and societies, in line with CIRAD's mandate and new strategic thematic fields, i.e. in touch with the realities of the South, in the diversity of the terrains and partnerships it covers, and in respect of collaborative approaches. We are focusing on the essential but fragile mutual adjustment between environmental transformations and socio-economic and political transformations.
Three research orientations
The scientific project is structured along three orientations: Ecosystem services, Territories and landscapes et Policies, markets and sectors. The term orientation, rather than axis, reflects our concern to avoid a segmentation of our vision and to favour interdisciplinarity within the group, which is why we have chosen not to structure ourselves into teams.
Ecosystem services
This orientation aims to assess the capacity of tropical forests to provide ecosystem services in a sustainable manner in the face of global change. It involves:
- Understanding the combined impacts of anthropogenic disturbances related to the exploitation of forest resources and climate change on the functioning of tropical forests.
- Predicting, at different spatial and temporal scales, their capacity to provide ecosystem services to humanity in a sustainable manner.
Territories and landscapes
The dual objective is to:
- Valorise and integrate the scientific knowledge acquired on ecosystem services and landscape ecology in projects on the territory.
- Identify and develop territorial governance tools that will be able to articulate scientific knowledge, local knowledge and the diversity of socio-economic and environmental interests.
Policies, markets and sectors
The main objective is to assess the way in which public and private extra-territorial policies can combine to promote the sustainable development of tropical forest territories. We will seek to answer this question at the territorial level through an evaluation of both the processes and trajectories and the combined individual effects of these policies.
Three research questions
- Do global changes and associated new demands represent opportunities or threats for the sustainable management of tropical forest ecosystem goods and services?
- What changes and adaptations should be made to forest management methods and practices in order to integrate the expected modifications of global changes on the evolution of forest stands?
- Can new environmental and economic societal demands contribute to improving living conditions and reducing the vulnerability of the societies concerned?