THE IRD AROUND THE WORLD
Sweden
Switzerland
Italia
TUNISIA
MOROCCO
MEXICO
MALI
Syria
Lebanor
NIGER
Guadeloupe
SENEGAL
MARTINIQUE
CARIBBEAN
LAOS
India
EGYPT
BURKINA FASO
BENIN
THAÏLAND
GUINEA
CAMEROON
Colombie
Colombia
CÔTE
D’I VOIRE
FRENCH
GUIANA
ECUADOR
Ethiopia
VIETNAM
Sri Lanka
Togo
Seychelles
Gabon
KENYA
CONGO
INDONESIA
PERU
BRAZIL
Zimbawe
BOLIVIA
MADAGASCAR
REUNION ISLAND
FRENCH
POLYNESIA
CHILE
NEW
CALEDONIA
SOUTH
AFRICA
Argentina
OT H E R A LLO C AT I O NS
CENT RES AND OF FI C ES
LOCAL STAFF
EXPATRIATE STAFF
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Staff numbers
1-3
4-6
7-12
13-25
26-50
51-62
106
140
2
6
Distribution of budgeted staff at 31/12/2004
ANNUAL REPORT
EDITORIAL
2004 was the IRD’s sixtieth anniversary year. Six decades, during which the Institute
has forged a distinctive identity, established a sound body of experience and become a
key player in research for the development of Southern countries, in France, Europe and
internationally.
2004 was a particularly fruitful year and marks a further step in the
development of the Institute’s research structures. The evaluation
process, with reviews of two-thirds of our units, has produced a
new, refocused, structure based on 83 research and service units
that are now more ambitious and responsive. The administration
acquired reliable management tools that improve the visibility of
the Institute’s scientific topics and budget decisions.
2004 was also an exemplary year on the purely scientific side.
Our researchers achieved outstanding results on HIV, El Niño and
economic use of microbes, once again attracting eager interest
from the international scientific community.
These achievements are all good reasons to look forward
confidently to the future and the Institute’s next major structuring
deadlines, the 2006-2009 objectives contract and the ten-year
strategic plan.
Current changes in the French national research system, due to the blueprint Finance law,
the creation of the National Research Agency and the draft blueprint and programming
law, provide us with the opportunity to:
- improve our scientific clarity, by structuring scientific policy around key topics that are
major development challenges as well as being emblematic of our work: prevention of
natural disasters, access to resources, health, food and nutrition, public poverty reduction
policies, management of continental and marine biodiversity and ecosystems in the South.
- increase our visibility as a partner. In line with the strategic priorities defined by CICID(1),
the IRD will continue to provide leadership in development research among French
research bodies and in joint research units, in order to build Southern scientific capacities
and integrate them into international research networks. It will co-ordinate its work better
with regional authorities in mainland France and the French tropical dependencies. And
with the 7th Framework programme and the building of a European research area in view,
it will be working more in European networks and will be seeking to attract scientific
cooperation for the South from other European countries.
- extend our international activities. Under the Millennium Goals and the CICID guidelines,
we will continue our efforts in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia,
paying special attention to the Europe-Mediterranean-Africa linkage and stimulating
regional dynamics, for example in North Africa and the Andean countries.
Our expertise in multidisciplinary approaches to scientific problems, our geographical and
partnership capabilities are strong assets for responding to the diversity and complexity
of the long-term challenges facing Southern countries: equitable, sustainable development,
biodiversity management and cultural identities.
The IRD’s forthcoming objectives contract and strategic plan will spell out its scientific,
geographical and management policies for fulfilling its missions and using research,
partnership and training to improve living conditions and scientific capacities in the
countries of the South.
(1) CICID: Interministerial committee for international cooperation and development
Jean-François GIRARD
Chairman
Serge CALABRE
Director general
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HIGHLIGHTS
OF 2004
A wealth of experience
Bacteria for nitrate control
The IRD celebrated its sixtieth anniversary. Known for many years under its
old acronym of Orstom, it acquired “public sector science and technology
research establishment” status in 1984. In October 2004 the IRD and its
partners also celebrated its thirtieth year of work in Ecuador.
IRD microbiologists and their partners found two new bacteria living in oil
wells, both of which consume nitrates.
Second mandate for the Chairman
On 29 September the Council of Ministers confirmed Jean-François Girard
in his post as Chairman of the IRD Board of Trustees.
Tight structure: 83 units
After a rigorous review of those research and service units coming to the
end of their four-year terms (two-thirds of the total), the IRD’s new, tighter
structure includes 83 units.
El Niño accentuates glacier melt in the Andes
Research conducted since 1976 in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, now shows
that the melting of Andean glaciers is the result of more intense El Niño
episodes.
AIDS: generic triple therapy successfully tested in
Cameroon
IRD researchers and their partners, with ANRS support, showed that a
single tablet incorporating three generic anti-retroviral drugs is effective and
is well tolerated by people with HIV infection.
Thailand: a step forward towards eradicating motherto-baby HIV transmission
A clinical trial showed that a short course of AZT combined with a single
dose of another anti-retroviral drug, nevirapine, reduces the risk of motherto-baby HIV transmission to less than 2%. Without any treatment, that risk
is 35%.
Hub of excellence in Toulouse
The new premises of the laboratory for geological processes and transfers, in
Toulouse, were inaugurated on 9 September.
New malaria vector in Africa
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Malaria is the most widespread of all parasite diseases, affecting nearly
a million people worldwide. Studying mosquitoes collected in Cameroon,
scientists discovered a new species of Anopheles mosquito, called Anopheles
ovengensis.
Closer Mediterranean partnerships
The IRD opened an office in Morocco and increased it presence in the
Mediterranean region, in Algeria particularly.
THE IRD
IN A NUTSHELL
The IRD, a research institute to benefit development
Active international co-operation
Originally founded in 1944, the Institut de recherche pour le développement
is a public science and technology research Institute, reporting to the French
ministries in charge of research and development cooperation.
All IRD activities are carried out in collaboration with universities, other
leading higher education institutions and private and public research
establishments, in France and the developing countries.
Working throughout the tropics, the IRD has three basic missions: research,
training and consultancy work.
The IRD conducts its research in close coopération with its numerous partner
countries. It operates in some 40 countries and has 35 research centres and
representatives’ offices in France and elsewhere.
Our research programmes focus on the relationship between humans and
their environment in the countries of the South – always with a view to
assisting those countries’ development.
KEY FIGURES FOR 2004
193.8
million euros total budget
2 172
employees
938
83
staff outside mainland France
research and service units
234
grants awarded
to students from Southern teams
690
publication listed in Science citation
index (excludes social sciences)
162.22
72 %
16.82
789
799
584
31.5 %
million euros in subsidies
allocated to payroll
million euros own resources (mainly research agreements)
research staff
engineers and technicians
local and non-tenured staff
of staff in mainland France work in partner organisations
71 % of staff outside France work in Africa
115 long-term missions
26 joint research units with other French research bodies or universities
147 thesis grants
53 scientific exchange fellowships
34 in-service training grants
43 % of articles co-authored with Southern partners
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