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Partnerships: an outward-looking organisation

■ In countries of the South 36

■ In the French tropical dependencies 39

■ In mainland France 41

■ In Northern countries and with multilateral organisations 43

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countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Indian OceanPolitical events in Madagascar in 2002 pre-vented IRD teams from travelling to researchsites outside the capital and hampered theiractivities. Similarly in Côte d’Ivoire, IRD staffworking in Bouaké had to be evacuated.

In Senegal, two agreements were signed inJuly: one concerning emerging diseases, withCIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre forInternational Development) and the PasteurInstitute, and the other with the InstitutFondamental d’Afrique Noire (IFAN). A consulta-tive meeting with the IRD’s main partner in thatcountry, the Senegalese agricultural researchinstitute ISRA, discussed progress being made inagronomy, hydrology, hydrobiology and fisheryscience, and the reconstruction of the Bel-Aircentre in Dakar, including the installation of atechnical platform.

In Cameroon, the 19th consultative meetingevaluated and reorganised all the researchactions and projects in that country. At thesame time a consultative meeting was held withthe Organisation for Coordination in Control ofEndemic Diseases in Central Africa (OCEAC).

In South Africa, the IRD took part in the WorldSummit on Sustainable Development held inJohannesburg in September. We were man-dated by the French Ministry of Research tocoordinate a presentation of the action ofFrench research bodies in this field, which tookthe form of a publication. During the event, anIRD mission met the leading actors in SouthAfrican research.

In Niger, research and teaching continued withsupport from the French Embassy.

In Benin, the increasing momentum of hydrol-ogy research was reflected in the AMMA pro-gramme (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary

Analysis). Encouraging contactswere made with public healthactors, on the problems of malariaand trypanosomiasis.

MediterraneanIn 2002, the priority given to theEuro-Mediterranean-Africa axis wasconfirmed. Programmes relating towater are the core of IRD activity inMorocco, Tunisia, Lebanon andSyria. Three regional water pro-grammes were launched with sup-port from the European Union andthe French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

They are wide-ranging in terms of their regionalcoverage, partners (IRD, CEMAGREF, CIRAD) andmulti-disciplinary nature. They cover all aspectsof water: environmental (climate change),assessment of seasonal availability of water, andsocial aspects such as distribution in urban areasand community involvement in irrigation man-agement. The programmes use a model ofcomplex systems that is also part of a doctoralcourse given at Marrakesh.

Human and social issues also loom large inEgypt, where archaeological, urban and eco-nomic research is being carried out as part ofthe Barcelona Process or Euro-MediterraneanPartnership.

The overall geographical

pattern of IRD activities

outside France varied

little in 2002. Three

regional projects on water

were launched in

Mediterranean countries,

strengthening the priority

given to the Euro-

Mediterranean-Africa axis.

On behalf of the French

Ministry of Research,

the IRD was heavily

involved in preparing for

the World Summit on

Sustainable Development

in Johannesburg and coor-

dinated the contribution

of French research bodies.

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Inauguration of an ecology trail, Mbour, Senegal

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Meeting Jacques Chirac at the WorldSummit on Sustainable Development

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In Morocco, new activities are being developedin biotechnology for the environment, particu-larly depollution of vegetable oil refinery waste.

Latin AmericaThe IRD operates in eight countries in thisregion. In 2002, work focused on the regionalaspect of our activities.

With 23 current projects, half of which involvethe Amazon basin, Brazil remains the IRD’smain partner in the region. A new fisheries proj-ect has been set up in Nordeste region with theFederal University of Pernambuco. Regional co-operation featured the 6th workshop of ECOLAB(a scientific network for Amazonian coastalecosystems) held in September in Belém. A newframework agreement with the BrazilianAgricultural Research Corporation EMBRAPA wassigned on 1 October 2002. In November, theFrench Embassy and the Brazilian NationalCouncil for Scientific and TechnologicalDevelopment (CNPq) held a meeting in Brasiliafor the main players in French-Brazilian scientificand technological co-operation in order tostructure their exchanges more effectively.

In Chile, activities advanced in four areas: socialsciences, marine sciences, palaeoclimatology,and Andean tectonics. In marine sciences, amajor regional programme of research intomarine resources is being developed with theCatholic University of Valparaíso. The scientificand technical co-operation agreement with the Chilean National Commission for Scientificand Technological Research (CONICYT) wasrenewed for a further six years. Note that the

IRD representative office and the regional dele-gations of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairsand the CNRS now occupy the same premises.

In Mexico, the IRD’s second largest partner inLatin America, co-operation was extended byfive new programmes: three in humanities andsocial sciences, two in earth sciences and theenvironment. A letter of intention was signed inNovember with the Mexican National Councilof Science and Technology (CONACYT) to installin France an “overseas Mexican laboratory” forbiotechnologies applied to agriculture and theenvironment.

In Costa Rica, co-operation with the Interna-tional Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) con-tinued. The research into pests of tropical farm-ing systems is now reaching completion.

Bolivia has the largest IRD centre inthe Andes. Of thirteen current proj-ects, six concern health. An agree-ment was signed with the Juan Misael Saracho Autonomous Univer-sity in Tarija for a demographic pro-gramme. IRD staff did more teachingwork, particularly for the biologicaland biomedical sciences master’sdegree at San Andrés University, withsupport from the IRD Support andTraining department. There was alsoan increase in the demand for con-sultancy work from Bolivian min-istries.

In Colombia, research covers agricul-tural and microbial biodiversity, urbandynamics and regional societies in

new situations with regard to identity andmigration. Two new projects have begun: onrice with the International Centre for TropicalAgriculture (CIAT), and on the microbial diversityof thermal springs with the Pontifical XavierianUniversity (PUJ).

In Ecuador, the IRD maintained its volume ofresearch with thirteen current programmes. Aninternational symposium on the Guatemalamoth (a major potato pest), was held in Quito,jointly organised with the Catholic PontificalUniversity of Ecuador (PUCE); this resulted in aproposal for an international research project.Publications were issued in the field of naturalhazards: two volcanic risk maps and a book onthe subject of “Challenges for the Quito metro-politan district”.

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Oats harvest on the Bolivian Altiplano

the South

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In Peru, earth sciences advanced with newagreements with the commercial companyPerupetro and the geology, mining and met-allurgy institute INGEMMET. Also in the earthsciences, a hydrology project in the Amazonbasin opened in co-operation with thenational meteorology and hydrology serviceSENAMHI. Meanwhile an agreement was signedwith the Centre for Research, Training, Assis-tance and Promotion (CICAP) for a study of thestate of agriculture in Chiclayo region. In May,the framework agreement with the NationalCouncil of Sciences and Technologies (CON-CYTEC) was renewed for a further five years.Training in research continues to play a signifi-cant part in IRD activity in Peru.

AsiaIn Asia, 26 IRD research units were involved in28 programmes with roughly forty postings and

twenty missions in 2002. IRD scientists are atwork in China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Sri Lanka,Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Societies and Health department operates inall these countries and accounts for more thanhalf the IRD research staff in the region. Althoughinfectious disease is an important issue inThailand, in Southeast Asia as a whole ecosys-tems and terrestrial resources predominate, whilewater and climate research is based in India.

In China, two IRD teams responded to the callfor “networked research” (P2R) proposals issuedby the Chinese programme for management ofsocial transformations (MOST) and the FrenchMinistries of Research and Foreign Affairs. A letter of intention was signed between theIRD and Sun Yatsen University in Gwangzhou inJune 2002, as was a co-operation agreementinvolving Lyon III University. The research isbased at the Franco-Chinese Centre for theSociology of Industry and Technology.

In India, the joint committee of the Franco-Indian Water Research Unit (CEFIRSE) met inOctober 2002. Also in October a mission wassent out for the IRD-Jawaharlal Nehru Universitystudy of Himalayan glacier hydrology and clima-tology. The study of micro-finance systems insoutheast India began in April 2002 with aneconomist seconded from the French Institutein Pondicherry.

In Indonesia, an agreement was signed in May2002 with the research agency of the Ministryof Fisheries & Maritime Affairs to continue thework on biodiversity and catfish farming, whichbegan with European funding in 1996, underthe title Catfish Asia. ■

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Handicraft in Thailand

THE CHALLENGE PROGRAM ON WATER AND FOOD

TO TAKE ADVANTAGE of the internationalisation of agriculturalresearch and meet donors’ expectations, the centres ofthe Consultative Group on International AgriculturalResearch (CGIAR) have launched a number of Challenge

Programmes. These CPs are designed to address global chal-lenges in sectors that are part of the CGIAR’s core mission: pro-duction of global public goods, poverty reduction, food security.They bring together the various players involved in internationalcentres, national structures in the South, research institutes in theNorth, and non-governmental organisations.The first programme,launched by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI),

is on “Water and Food”. Water management is becoming increas-ingly difficult. In the 20th century, the world’s population increasedthreefold and the use of potable water sixfold; some 80% of it isused in agriculture. This presents a huge challenge: how to pro-duce more food with less water in a manner that is both environ-mentally sustainable and socially acceptable.The programme is structured by theme and by river basin:- the five research themes are crop water productivity improve-ment, multiple use of upper catchments, aquatic ecosystems andfisheries, integrated basin water management systems, and theglobal and national food and water system;

- benchmark basins are areas where water resources are understrain and incomes are low. Phase I addresses the Yellow Riverbasin, the Mekong, the Indo-Gangetic system, the Nile, Limpopoand Volta in Africa, the Karkheh basin in Iran, São Francisco inBrazil, and the Andean basins.The initial budget for CP Water and Food is estimated at US$82million, of which 75% is to be awarded by competitive grants, therest being spent on preparation, monitoring, reporting and exten-sion work. The IRD is the only European research body in the man-aging consortium, which launched a call for concept notes inDecember 2002.

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tropical dependenciesIn the French tropical dependencies

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on the South American continentBecause of its location, the IRD centre in FrenchGuiana is in a privileged position for intensivecooperation with Brazil, Surinam and Guyana.For example, the joint research unit CELIA isinvolved in a number of partnerships workingon the management of multilingual situationsin schools and the difficulties pupils in FrenchGuiana have in learning French.

The IRD is also working with its C3I partners andthe other research institutes in Guiana to drawup a research, training and applications pro-posal for the French Guiana university centre(Pôle universitaire de Guyane, PUG).

in the CaribbeanThe IRD Martinique-Caribbean centre has threelaboratories. The soil science laboratory and thenematology laboratory work in close collabora-tion with partners at PRAM in Martinique (Pôle

de recherche agronomique de la Martinique),while the third, the social sciences laboratory, ispartnered with Antilles-Guyane University.

in the Indian OceanSince the redeployment of the IRD’s ReunionIsland centre in 2001, the teams on site havebeen consolidated and have developed valuablepartnerships.

The research units ACTIVE (UR061), CYANO(UR099) and THETIS (UR109) work on fishery andmarine environments with partners in theisland’s deep sea fishing industry, La RéunionUniversity, Toulouse University, ARVAM (Agencepour la recherche et la valorisation marine), IFRE-MER (French Research Institute for Exploitationof the Sea), CNES (National Centre for SpaceStudies), the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission(IOTC), NASA and the company CLS, producer ofArgos beacons.

The research units working in health and social sciences (UR029 and UR093) are partnered with La Réunion University and the regional healthand social affairs authority (DRASS).

The IRD was particularly active

in the French tropical overseas

dependencies in 2002.

The Institute chaired “C3I”,

the joint committee of the four

French research bodies for the

overseas dependencies (CIRAD,

IFREMER, INRA and the IRD).

The purpose is to provide expert

advice for local authorities,

collaborate with universities

and other research bodies in

the dependencies and establish

partnerships with neighbouring

countries.

INAUGURATED on 18 October 2002, PRAM has researchers from four French government research bodies: theagriculture and environment engineering research institute CEMAGREF, CIRAD (Agricultural Research Centrefor International Development), INRA (National Institute for Agricultural Research) and the IRD. Its researchprogrammes, some cross-cutting and others sectoral, focus on the following themes:

- soil properties and structures,- plant protection,- agriculture and environment,- socio-economic trends in the farming world,

- crop diversification (pineapple, banana, fruit treefarming, vegetables etc.),- animal production, animal health.

PRAM, THE MARTINIQUE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTRE

On Réunion Island

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tropical dependenciesin the Pacific

New Caledonia

The Nouméa centre is the IRD’s biggest estab-lishment in the overseas dependencies. It has13 research units and 5 service units workingin a number of disciplines. Research projectsinclude plant symbioses, tropical tuna and plantbiodiversity.

Partners include French institutions (e.g. Univer-sity of New Caledonia, IFREMER, Pasteur Insti-tute and CNRS) and institutions from elsewherein the region such as the Secretariat of theCommunity of the Pacific, CSIRO (Common-wealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organ-isation, Australia), the Agence universitaire de laFrancophonie, the University of Hawaii andKyushu University.

Among recent research results, research unitUR037 has developed applications in connectionwith prospecting for nickel deposits. Thisresearch also advances rehabilitation of miningsites by revegetation.

Also involved in the revegetation work is the IRD service unit ENBIOPAC (US001), whichaltogether has five programmes under wayon biodiversity and terrestrial environment in the tropical Pacific. Another concerns natural terrestrial substances and traditionalknowledge.

The pharmaceutical chemistry of naturalmarine substances is the focus of researchby a joint team of the IRD’s UR152 and theUniversity of New Caledonia, in partnershipwith Pierre Fabre Laboratories. The teamparticularly aims to find, among the manysubstances produced by marine inverte-

brates, molecules that can be used against dis-eases such as malaria, dengue, cancer and dis-eases of the nervous system.

The Géosciences Azur joint research unit is con-ducting multidisciplinary research into move-ments of the Earth’s crust and their associatedhazards in Vanuatu, Futuna and New Caledonia.

Under the National Coastal EnvironmentsProgramme (PNEC), UR103 has conducted sev-eral surveys aboard the IRD’s oceanographic ves-sel Alis, studying the transport of terrestrial andhuman particles, particularly in the lagoons ofNouméa and Fiji. In Fiji, the work is conductedin close co-operation with the University of theSouth Pacific, under the aegis of the FrenchEmbassy in Fiji.

Under the national climate dynamics researchprogramme PNEDC, UR065 is studying climatevariability while UR055 researches into palaeo-climates. Both teams are studying living coralsto discover more about interactions betweenthe climatic phenomenon known as El NiñoSouthern Oscillation (ENSO) and the region’senvironment.

The New Caledonia image processing labora-tory LATICAL, a joint service unit between the IRD(UR140) and the University of New Caledonia, isdeveloping environmental information systemsfor sustainable development of water resources,particularly in the Loyalty Islands.

On the archaeology side, UR092 is studyingancient human settlements on volcanic islandsin the Western and Central Pacific.

The Nouméa centre also provides researchtraining for French and foreign students andyoung researchers. Trainees join and work withthe teams. Their status depends on their prior

qualifications: they may be interns, researchscholarship students, or doctoral or post-doctoral fellows.

French Polynesia

Work in French Polynesia involves the C3I co-oper-ation committee and collaboration with otherresearch bodies. One example is the scientific andlogistical partnership with INSERM’s GustaveRoussy Institute to study thyroid cancer.

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Revegetation in New Caledonia

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joint research unitsOver the years, IRD partnerships with otherFrench research bodies and higher educationestablishments have become increasingly variedand productive.

The most visible sign of this is the increasingnumber of joint research units (UMRs). To date,17 of the IRD’s 97 research units are UMRs. In4 of them the IRD is the only research body,in 13 at least one university is involved, and in5 a grande école, either ENSAM or ENS.

federative research institutesFederative Research Institutes (IFRs) are a newform of structure launched in 2000. They com-prise scientific teams and resources from variousresearch bodies and universities, initially in lifesciences. Since the scheme’s extension to coverenvironmental issues, the IRD has been moreinvolved: we now work in ten IFRs, some thirtyIRD units being directly involved.

universe sciences observatoriesThe IRD works directly with universities and theCNRS in four Universe Sciences Observatories:OSUG in Grenoble, the Midi-Pyrénées observa-tory in Toulouse, the Marseille Oceanographycentre and the Oceanological Institute inVillefranche-sur-Mer.

hosting researchersResearchers and lecturer-researchers from otherFrench research bodies and universities arehosted by the IRD under varying compensationand benefit arrangements (détachement, mise

à disposition or délégation). In each case, theIRD covers the expatriation costs for staff postedoutside France.

This year the IRD hosted 48 researchers and lec-turer-researchers.

the IRD and higher educationThe IRD fosters personal ties with higher educa-tion establishments. IRD researchers are heavilyinvolved in teaching undergraduate and post-graduate courses in universities, both for initialand in-service training. Most IRD research unitsare recognised as research training bodies andwork with doctoral schools. In 2002, 400 doc-toral students were supervised by IRD researchers.

We strongly encourage our researchers to obtainthe post-doctorate qualification for researchsupervision; they can then go on to qualify asuniversity teachers, and an increasing numberof them now do so.

co-operation agreementsAlongside the creation of new units, since 1998the IRD has been making agreements with otherFrench institutions for general scientific andtechnical co-operation. This covers joint researchwork, support for Southern teams and trainingfor foreign students. More than 50 of theseagreements are currently in force. ■

mainland FranceMainland France

ENVIRONMENTAL OBSERVATORIES

THE IRD continues the observationalmission it began fifty years ago.In 2002, the Ministry of Researchlaunched the Environmental

Research Observatories (ORE) project, andthe IRD was deeply involved from the outset.The French national co-ordinating commit-tee for earth and environmental sciences,which assesses research, has validated 27ORE projects, of which 6 are headed by theIRD and one is jointly run with INRA.The seven observatories involve a significantproportion of the IRD’s human resources:

75 researchers, engineers and techniciansfrom 14 units. A dozen French universitiesand research centres and some 40 institu-tions in partner countries are involved. Sitesare located throughout the tropics, and pri-ority themes are water resources, soil andclimate. These observatories are only abeginning. The IRD’s association with otherFrench and international partners shouldmake it possible for some OREs to tacklenew projects addressing issues in the lifesciences, medical research and human andsocial sciences.

Greenhouse at the IRD’s Montpellier centre

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Bordeaux / Talence / Pessac- Maison des Suds : 3- Centre d’économie du développe-

ment, université Montesquieu : 1- Département de géologie et océano-

graphie, université Bordeaux I : 1Brest- Laboratoire de physique des océans,

université de Bretagne occidentale : 1Clermont-Ferrand- Laboratoire Magmas et volcans,

université B. Pascal : 2Grenoble / Le Bourget du Lac /Thonon-les-bains- Laboratoire d’études des transferts en

hydrologie, université J. Fourier : 11- Laboratoire de géophysique interne et

de tectonophysique / site de l’université de Savoie : 2/ site de l’université J. Fourier : 1

- Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysiquede l’environnement, université J. Fourier : 2

- Agence nationale pour la valorisation dela recherche : 1

- Centre alpin de recherche sur les réseauxtrophiques des écosystèmes limniques,université de Savoie : 1

Lyon- Laboratoire d’écologie des hydrosystèmes,

université C. Bernard : 4- Laboratoire d’écologie microbienne,

université C. Bernard : 2

Marseille / Aix-en-Provence- Institut fédératif de recherche de

biotechnologie agro-industrielle deMarseille, universités de Provence et de Méditerranée : 19

- Laboratoire population environnement,université de Provence : 15

- Centre d’océanologie de Marseille,université de Méditerranée : 5

- Laboratoire “Sociologie, histoire, anthro-pologie des dynamiques culturelles”,EHESS : 4

- Faculté de médecine, université deMéditerranée : 2

- Centre de formation et de recherche enmédecine et santé tropicales, universitéde Méditerranée : 1

- Groupement de recherche en économiequantitative d’Aix-Marseille, universitésde Méditerranée et d’Aix-Marseille : 1

- Laboratoire “Téléanalyse, espace etsociété” : 1

- Laboratoire “Temps, espaces, langages,Europe méridionale et Méditerranée”,université de Provence : 1

Montpellier- Maison des sciences de l’eau, université

Montpellier II : 18- Centre de biologie et de gestion des

populations : 10- Laboratoire d’étude des interactions

entre sol, agrosystème et hydrosystème,ENSAM : 7

- Cemagref : 6- Institut d’élevage et de médecine vétéri-

naire des pays tropicaux : 6- Laboratoire matières organiques des sols

tropicaux, CIRAD : 6- Laboratoire symbioses tropicales et

méditerranéennes, campus deBaillarguet : 6

- CIRAD Montpellier : 5- École nationale du génie rural, des eaux

et des forêts : 4- Centre d’écologie fonctionnelle évolutive,

université Montpellier II : 3- Agropolis : 2- Département des maladies infectieuses,

institut Bouisson-Bertrand : 1- Institut agronomique méditerranéen de

Montpellier, Centre international deshautes études agronomiques méditer-ranéennes : 1

- Laboratoire génomes populations interactions adaptation, universitéMontpellier II : 1

- Laboratoire rétrovirus, universitéMontpellier I : 1

Nancy- Centre de recherches pétrographiques et

géochimiques : 1Nice / Villefranche-sur-Mer / Sophia Antipolis- Géosciences Azur, université Nice -

Sophia Antipolis : 11Pau- Université de Pau : 1Perpignan- Université de Perpignan : 2Sète- Centre de recherche halieutique méditer-

ranéenne et tropicale : 15St-Christol-lès-Alès- Laboratoire de pathologie comparée : 1Strasbourg- Institut de physique du globe,

université L. Pasteur : 2- Centre de géochimie de la surface,

université L. Pasteur : 1- Centre de géographie appliquée,

université L. Pasteur : 1Toulouse / Castanet Tolosan /Castres- Laboratoire “Mécanismes et transferts

en géologie”, université P. Sabatier : 14- Laboratoire d’études en géophysique

et océanographie spatiales, université P. Sabatier : 9

- Centre d’études spatiales de la biosphère, université P. Sabatier : 4

- Faculté de pharmacie, université P. Sabatier : 3

- GIP Medias France : 2- Groupement de recherches géodésiques

spatiales : 2- Laboratoire de biologie moléculaire

CNRS-INRA, Castanet Tolosan : 2- Laboratoire d’hydrobiologie, université

P. Sabatier : 1- Pierre Fabre Médicaments, Castres : 1

Paris / Île-de-France- Muséum national d’histoire naturelle : 18- Laboratoire d’Océanographie Dynamique

et de Climatologie, université P. & M. Curie : 12

- Centre d’études africaines : 8- GIS “Développement et insertion interna-

tionale” : 7- Laboratoire Populations, génétique et

évolution, CNRS Gif-sur-Yvette : 6- Centre d’économie et d’éthique pour

l’environnement et le développement,université Versailles St-Quentin-en-Yvelines : 5

- Centre “Population et développement”,Vincennes : 5

- Institut biomédical des Cordeliers,université P. & M. Curie : 5

- ENS Ulm : 3- Faculté de pharmacie, université

P. & M. Curie : 3- Centre d’étude de l’Inde et de l’Asie

du Sud : 2- Centre d’études et de recherches en

économie du développement, universitéParis X Nanterre : 2

- Laboratoire de minéralogie et de cristal-lographie, université P. & M. Curie : 2

- Agence française de l’ingénierie touris-tique :1

- Centre de recherche et de documenta-tion sur l’Amérique latine : 1

- CIRAD Paris : 1- Comité international de coopération

dans les recherches nationales en démographie : 1

- École française d’Extrême-Orient : 1- Faculté de pharmacie, université Paris

Sud : 1- Institut d’étude du développement

économique et social, universitéPanthéon-Sorbonne : 1

- Institut français d’urbanisme, universitéVincennes St-Denis : 1

- Institut national d’agronomie Paris-Grignon : 1

- Institut scientifique et technique de lanutrition et de l’alimentation, CNAM : 1

- Laboratoire “Langues et civilisations àtradition orale”, CNRS Villejuif : 1

- Laboratoire “Préhistoire et technologie”,CNRS Meudon : 1

- Laboratoire “Structure et fonctionnementdes systèmes hydriques continentaux”,université P. & M. Curie : 1

- Laboratoire d’écologie végétale,université Paris sud : 1

- Laboratoire des sciences du climat et del’environnement, CEA Gif-sur-Yvette : 1

- Laboratoire Géotropiques, universitéParis X Nanterre : 1

- Laboratoire inter-universitaire des sys-tèmes atmosphérique, université Paris XIIVal-de-Marne : 1

- Laboratoire Paléontologie et stratigra-phie, université P. & M. Curie : 1

- Maison René Ginouvès d’archéologie etd’ethnologie : 1

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IRD STAFF IN MAINLAND FRANCE at 31 December 2002

42 43

The IRD is actively involved in various forms of partnership within the French sci-entific community. These take the form of partnerships of scientific interest (GIS),public interest (GIP) or economic interest (GIE), research groups and regional andnational multidisciplinary programmes.

ZONECO: inventory of marine and mineral resources in the New Caledonia exclusive economic zone

ZEPOLYF: economic zone of French Polynesia

REGIONAL PROGRAMMES

PNEDC: climate dynamicsPROOF: biochemical processes in the ocean, fluxesPNEC: coastal studiesPNRH: hydrologyPNRN: natural hazardsPNSE: soils and erosionPNTS: space-based remote sensingLITEAU: littoral zone

NATIONAL PROGRAMMES

GDR Marges: dyanmics of continental plate margins

RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS

(these are forms of research partnership with a particular legal status in France)

GIS Aire développement: overseas research investment agencyGIS Aquaculture: tropical and Mediterranean aquacultureGIS BRG: genetic resources bureauGIS Ceped: centre for population and developmentGIS Dial: development and international integrationGIS Génoplante: plant genomicsGIS IDDRI: institute for sustainable development and international relationsGIS Réseau Amérique latine: promoting and disseminating Latin-American researchGIS Sciences de l'eau: hydrobiology, water quality, water treatment, quantative

hydrologyGIS Silvolab: tropical rainforest ecosystems: physical and biological bases of their

functioning and management, as applied to French GuianaGIP Ecofor: forest ecosystemsGIP Medias-France: network for regional research into environmental changes in

the Mediterranean basin and subtropical AfricaGIP Mercator: oceanic and climatic forecastingGIP OST: science and technology monitoringGIE Genavir: management of oceanographic survey vessels

PARTNERSHIPS OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST (GIS),PARTNERSHIPS OF PUBLIC INTEREST (GIP), RESEARCH GROUPS (GDR),NATIONAL AND REGIONAL PROGRAMMES

PARTNERSHIPS OF SCIENTIFIC INTEREST (GIS)PUBLIC INTEREST (GIP) AND ECONOMIC INTEREST (GIE)

European UnionIn 2002, the Institute co-ordinated or partici-pated in 20 EU projects (up from 19 in 2001),mainly on water, health and living resources.

The European Framework Research and Devel-opment Programme (FRDP) remains the Insti-tute’s principal target, in particular its Interna-tional Co-operation programme (INCO), underwhich 33% of the projects submitted by the IRDobtain funding. In the last two calls for propos-als, seven of the Institute’s projects wereselected (five on health and two on water), fourof which it is co-ordinating (two in sub-SaharanAfrica and two in countries of the Mediter-ranean Basin).

Under the FRDP Environment and SustainableDevelopment programme, four projects (threeon water and one on biodiversity) and oneaccompanying measure on water receivedfunding.

Under the Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources (LIFE) programme, the IRDis co-ordinating two projects (fishing and

tuberculosis) and taking part in three others(fishery and biodiversity).

The Institute prepared for the launch of thesixth Framework Programme. The EuropeMission organised information meetings on pri-ority themes and how to respond to calls forproposals. It also implemented a support mech-anism for drafting research projects. Six projectswere tendered in response to calls for proposalsin late 2002.

At the request of the European Commission,the Institute played a significant role in the con-ference on research co-operation between theEuropean Union and the African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) countries, which was held in SouthAfrica; and one of the Institute’s units con-ducted an evaluation of Moroccan research.

international agricultural researchcentresCo-operation with nine of the sixteen centres in the Consultative Group for InternationalAgricultural Research (CGIAR) involved forty

researchers. Twenty-seven of them wereassigned to international agricultural researchcentres (IARCs) and thirteen were involved in “shuttle research” or in one of the two newprogrammes conducted at the Agropolisadvanced research platform in Montpellier –“rice virus pathogenesis” and “techniques foranalysing resistance to cassava blight”.

This co-operation has several focuses:

- maintaining co-operation on genetic resources(Latin America and Africa);

- strengthening research on natural resources,in particular in the area of water and soil man-agement (mainly in South and South-East Asia);

- the development of “shuttle” research pro-grammes aimed at extending or enhancingwork already accomplished under a co-opera-tion programme with an IARC, by enablingresearchers to travel to each other’s facilities;

- increased involvement in training of localresearchers, thus helping to build local scientificcapacity and promote French approaches andmethodologies (nine PhDs, four Masters andseveral post-doctoral diplomas).

Co-operation with IARCs also included theimplementation of a new form of partnership,the Challenge Programmes, which involveSouthern actors and Northern research organi-sations more closely. The IRD was a driving forcebehind the implementation of the first of these,the Water and Food Programme, in which weare the only European research organisation.We are taking an active part in the programmeon Africa. ■

The Institute continues to be

an active partner of the European

Commission and international

agricultural research centres,

particularly since the launch

of the CGIAR’s Challenge

Programmes.

<partnerships

Northern countriesIn Northern countries and with multilateral organisations

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YOUNG EUROPEAN RESEARCHERS TRAINED AT THE IRD

Alessandra Ribodetti, a young PhD in marine geoscience, was awarded a EuropeanUnion post-doctoral grant and was supervised by researchers from the IRD.

IDID MY PHD through a Franco-Italian co-operation pro-gramme. I was keen to pursue my research, so Iapplied for a European grant to do a post-doc in aninternationally recognised laboratory. I started my

grant at the École des Mines in Paris, then came to theGéosciences Azur joint research unit, where I workedwith researchers from the IRD.My area is seismic imaging of the earth’s crust and its

applications for surveying risk areas. I really appreci-ated having quality resources and equipment for mywork. What’s more, I was fully integrated into a team,which is essential in research. The quality of the super-vision was excellent and I enjoyed genuine synergy withmy colleagues. Working in another country is also a keyasset for anyone beginning a career in research thesedays. ■