INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT
Annual
report
2008
Con
duc
ting
Find research
Training
ing a
scientis ts
pplica
tions S
haring knowledge and resources
Cover : Drawing water/Burkina Faso.
Taking cores from coral/French Polynesia.
Contents
Introduction
Research
for the South
Training, sharing,
finding applications
The IRD around the world s04
Editorial s05
The IRD in a nutshell s06
Highlights of 2008 s06
Research at the service
of development s 10
Six major programs s 12
Capacity-building
support for Southern
scientific communities s32
Applications and
consulting s34
Knowledge Sharing s36
INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT
Working
in partnership
Partnerships
around the world s40
Resources
for research
Shared equipment
available to partners s48
Internationals42
Information systems s49
French overseas
territoriess44
Human resources s50
Metropolitan
Frances45
Financial resources s52
AIRD
AIRD:
mobilising research
for development s 55
Annual
report
2008
Appendices
The IRD’s
decision bodies s58
Central services s59
Research units s60
IRD facilities around
the world s62
The IRD around the world
Bondy
211
Belgium
Switzerland
France
Montpellier
286
(see insert)
Spain
United States
Marseille
219
China
Tunisia
Morocco
IRD Centre
Host structure *
Algeria
* Universities, research institutes, other bodies
Egypt
Mali
Guadeloupe
Mexico
Niger
Senegal
Martinique
Burkina Faso
French
Guiana
Colombia
Côte
d'Ivoire
Thailand
Ethiopia
Cameroon
Gabon
Peru
Vietnam
Benin
Ecuador
Kenya
Angola
Brazil
French
Polynesia
Laos
India
Seychelles
Indonesia
Vanuatu
Madagascar
Bolivia
Botswana
La Réunion
Chile
New
Caledonia
South Africa
Argentina
IRD centre or office
Local staff
Expatriate or seconded staff
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Other form of presence
1 - 10
11 - 20
25 - 33
40 - 74
107
Staff
Staff numbers at 31/12/08
Source: Personnel department
Editorial
The IRD is a unique institution in the landscape of European research for development. Its task is to conduct
research in the South, for the South, with the South.
2008 saw three major changes at the Institute that will shape its future. The site policy was finalised, working
with our partners to establish scientific policy, geographical locations and research priorities. The Agence interétablissements de la recherche pour le développement (AIRD), in its second year of operation, was active in
bringing its founder members closer together and launched three new programs − two on infectious diseases
and one on demographic issues. Thirdly, the IRD head office moved to Marseille in September 2008 as planned,
updating its office administration system at the same time.
The Institute’s research structure was tightened up and is now based on 66 research units,
70% of which are joint units with universities and other research bodies. This allows us
to mobilise a wealth of scientific and human potential to study problems of importance
for Southern countries. This potential was further strengthened by two new partnership
arrangements: international joint research laboratories and joint chairs with Southern teams.
The quality of the research teams’ work is attested by its high and steadily growing number of
scientific publications, which have doubled in ten years. Nearly half of these are authored jointly with Southern
researchers. The Institute’s structures, its research units particularly, are now evaluated by an external body, the Agence
d’évaluation de la recherche et de l’enseignement supérieur (AERES). The researchers are working on issues of major global
importance today: global warming, emerging diseases, biodiversity, access to water, migration, poverty, world hunger. The teaching and
training they provide empowers and enables Southern scientific communities.
Working on a range of themes, recognised Europe-wide for its research, operating in partnership with the South, with its networking and its structured presence in some fifty
countries, the IRD continued in 2008 to exemplify an original approach in research, consultancy and capacity-building activities for the benefit of countries who see science and
technology as one of the principal levers for their development.
In the latter part of 2009 the Institute will prepare new research programs and its next objectives contract with the government.
Jean-François Girard > Chairman
Michel Laurent > Director General
Annual report 2008 s
The IRD in a nutshell
An institute at the service
of Southern countries
Partnerships in France and
the world
Mobilising the scientific community
in support of the South
The Institut de Recherche pour le Développement is a French public
research institute that has been working in Southern countries for
over sixty years. It operates under the joint authority of the French
ministries responsible for research and overseas development.
In close collaboration with their colleagues in partner institutions,
858 researchers, 973 engineers and technicians* and 341 local
staff were at work in some fifty countries in 2008. They took part in
numerous national, European and international programs.
Through AIRD, the Agence inter-établissements de recherche pour
le développement, the IRD has the task of mobilising French and
European universities and major research bodies to work on priority
research issues for development in the South.
All its work – in research, consultancy and capacity-building
activities – is designed to assist the economic, social and cultural
development of Southern countries. The six priorities around
which the work hinges are poverty reduction, migration, emerging
diseases, climate change and natural hazards, access to water,
and ecosystems.
In September 2008 the IRD moved its head office to Marseille. It
has 30 other establishments including two in Metropolitan France
(Bondy and Montpellier), five in the French overseas territories (la
Réunion, French Guiana, Martinique, New Caledonia and French
Polynesia) and 23 in countries of the intertropical zone in Africa,
the Mediterranean, Asia and Latin America.
The founder members of AIRD are Cirad, the CNRS, the Conférence
des Présidents d’Université, Inserm, the Institut Pasteur and the
IRD.
*Engineers and technicians: this refers not to job content but to staff categories in
the French civil service.
2008
HIGHLIGHTS of the year
INSTITUTIONAL > Official opening of the new IRD head
office in Marseille by the Minister for Higher Education and
Research, 8 December > International partnerships
strengthened. In Senegal, new headquarters agreement
with the Republic of Senegal signed and agreement with
Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar renewed. In Morocco,
intergovernmental agreement and framework agreement
between the IRD and the Hassan II Academy of Science and
Technology signed > On 23 December, agreement signed
with INPE, Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research,
on "scientific and technological cooperation in space
applications for sustainable development".
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
MIGRATION > Migration monitoring units set up in
Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso.
POVERTY REDUCTION > Draft agreement between
the Hewlett Foundation, AIRD, the IRD and the AFD signed
on 22 January: €2.4 million for research on the impact of
migration and reproductive health on poverty reduction.
Key Figures 2008
€219 million budget > €194 million in State subsidies €25.6 revenue from research contracts 70% allocated to staff pay (including expatriation)
2 172 staff including 858 researchers, 973 engineers and technicians* and 341 local staff 38% of staff working outside Metropolitan France. Of these,
over 50% were in Africa or the Mediterranean countries 182 long missions (over two months) accomplished 66 research units including 49 joint units with
universities or other research institutions 1 100 articles listed on Web of Science or 1.9 articles authored per researcher per year 42% jointly authored with
Southern partners 260 articles in the human and social sciences (2007 data) 6 500 hours of teaching provided by IRD scientists two-thirds of which were
taught in Southern countries 750 doctoral students supervised including 450 Southern students 125 theses funded by the IRD 170 fellowships
granted to Southern scientists.
CLIMATE AND HAZARDS > Under the RIPIECSA fund,
West African research teams submit 25 projects on adapting
to climate change > Symposium on metal pollution and its
impact on environment, health and society, in Bolivia.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES > HIV: Triple recognition
for the IRD’s HIV/AIDS and Associated Diseases
laboratory. Recognised by WHO as a SupraNational
Reference Laboratory > IRD becomes a partner in
Infectiopôle Sud in Montpellier, Marseille and Nice.
ECOSYSTEMS AND NATURAL RESOURCES >
New Caledonian lagoons and kaya sacred forests in Kenya
added to Unesco world heritage list > An IRD researcher
at Sète appointed scientific moderator of the Eur-oceans
network (more than 500 researchers from 60 research
bodies in 25 countries) > Research into gene transfers
between cereal species (rice, maize and sorghum).
WATER > 13th World Water Congress in Montpellier,
1 to 4 September> CARAIBE-HYCOS program:
management and conservation of water resources
on the islands of the Caribbean.
Annual report 2008 s
INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Piton de la Fournaise erupts/La Réunion.
Research
for the South
Research
at the service
of development
€124
MILLION
FOR RESEARCH
Six major programs:
Natural hazards and climate
Sustainable management of Southern ecosystems
Water resources and access to water
Food security in the South
Public health and health policy
Development and globalisation
INCLUDING
€101.7
MILLION FOR
STAFF PAY
Annual report 2008 s
Research at the service of development
The IRD has a specific, original role among French research institutes.
It conducts research on themes important for development, at the
service of its partners in North and South alike. IRD research is
focused on the intertropical zone, with the priority goal of improving
the living conditions of vulnerable populations and empowering
Southern scientific communities.
The broad research themes are defined jointly with partner
institutions’ researchers. The scientific outcomes from the work are
joint publications, patent applications and a systematic sharing of
the knowledge acquired. With the synergy generated within the joint
research units, the IRD researchers manage their knowledge assets
together with their Northern partners, who are encouraged to work
in and with the South.
In this third year of its 2006-2009 objectives contract with the
government, the IRD pursued its research work under its six major
programmes which focus on six scientific priorities: Public policy
on poverty reduction and development; International migration
and development; Emerging infectious diseases; Climate change
and natural hazards; Water resources and access to water; and
Ecosystems and natural resources.
Because the research is carried out in parts of the world that are
unfamiliar to its researchers, the Institute requires that they adhere
to particularly demanding rules of ethics and professional conduct.
That is the reason for the in-house consultative committee on
professional conduct and ethics (CCDE).
Set up in 2000, the CCDE helps formulate and examine the ethical
questions that arise during field work. In its eighth year of existence
the Committee examined a dozen research projects, most of them
in biomedical areas. Half the projects examined concerned vectorborne diseases such as malaria and chikungunya, antiretroviral
treatment of AIDS or the nutritional transition in North Africa with a
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
view to obesity prevention. It also considered the effects of mining
projects on the environment, particularly in New Caledonia. It
took part in some twenty national and international conferences
discussing matters of deontology in research for development.
Evaluation bodies renewed
The scientific council and its six committees, which are
the IRD’s forward thinking and individual evaluation
bodies, were entirely renewed and now have 186
new members. This time a higher proportion of the
membership are women - 35% as against 24% on
the previous council. As well as its usual activities, the
council and its committees assessed eleven proposals for
international joint laboratories, submitted in response to
the IRD’s first call for proposals. These laboratories will
have teams from the IRD and Southern research and
higher education institutes working together on a shared
platform − a new way of structuring scientific partnership
with Southern countries and a useful instrument in
pursuance of French policy in this regard.
The evaluation of the units is now handled by a new
body, the Agence d’évaluation de la recherche et de
l’enseignement supérieur (AERES). In 2008 AERES
assessed ten proposals to create or renew the mandates
of joint research units in which the IRD is involved,
including the international joint unit on Mathematical and
Computer Modelling of Complex Systems (UMMISCO).
Publications still on the rise
IRD researchers published about 1100 articles listed on Web of
Science. The number of articles published has been rising by about
10% a year since 2006. The number of internationally referenced
publications has doubled in ten years. Including published output
by joint research units of which the IRD is a member the total comes
to around 1800 articles.
Fifty-four per cent of IRD articles were in journals with a high impact
factor in their fields. More than 10% of articles were published in
top journals – for example 12 in Journal of Hydrology, 8 in Emerging
Infections Diseases, 5 in PNAS, 3 each in BioInformatics and Global
Biogeochemical Cycles, 2 each in The Lancet, Nature Cell Biology
and PloS Pathogens, 1 in Nature.
Ten researchers (14% of the researchers, engineers and technicians
who published in 2008) signed at least ten articles. Ninety-one
researchers signed at least five. The average number of articles
to which each researcher contributed was more than 1.9. The
proportion produced by joint research units of which the IRD is a
member rose significantly. With the collaboration generated by the
joint units, joint publication with other research institutes (CNRS,
Cirad, INRA, MNHN, Inserm etc.) rose from 49% of the total in 2007
to 61% in 2008, and joint publication with universities (Paris 6,
Montpellier, Toulouse, Aix-Marseille, Grenoble etc.) from 43% to
56%. In the human and social sciences, the number of publications
increased steadily between 2005 and 2007. There were 260 articles
in 2007, 30% more than in 2006, while for books and chapters of
books 2007 output was almost double that of 2005.
Soil study/Thailand.
The rate of joint publication with Southern countries was stable at
about 42%, the main partners involved being in Brazil, Cameroon,
Peru, India, Burkina Faso, Chile and Thailand. Joint publications
are increasing steadily in South America, Asia-Pacific, North Africa
and the Middle East. Seventy per cent of joint publications in West
and Central Africa concern health (roughly 110 publications). In
South Africa, however, joint publications with the IRD were fairly
evenly spread between the guideline themes.
IRD scientists gave approximately 6500 hours of teaching in higher
education establishments, one third of the total being in Southern
countries. Most teaching (68%) addressed Master’s students, in
France as elsewhere. Nearly two-thirds of the total teaching hours
were given in France, mainly in the research clusters of Montpellier
(32% of teaching hours in France), Ile-de-France (28%) and
Marseille (12%). Africa accounted for nearly 55% of teaching hours
in the South. Most of this was in West Africa (25% of all teaching
hours in the South) and North Africa (19%).
Teaching and research-based
training
IRD teams continued to provide continuing education, teaching
trainees in the use of various tools, survey methods, etc. They
dispensed 2350 hours of training, of which 55% were in the South.
Implementation of the site policy and the transformation of
research units into joint units led to a partial reorganisation of the
teams’ activities. Nonetheless, the IRD achieved a comparable level
of input into teaching and training in research to that of 2007.
Training for new researchers remained steady: 750 doctoral
students were being supervised by IRD scientists in 2008 and
110 theses were submitted. Some 60% of these students were
from Southern countries. Meanwhile some 710 interns, two-thirds
of them from Master’s courses or écoles d’ingénieurs, were being
supervised by IRD teams.
IRD articles listed on Web of Science
IRD human and social sciences publications, 2005-2007
1 200
300
1 100
1 000
1 000
219
913
800
679
580
600
566
599
726
259 260
250
201
200
760
138
150
622
193
100
Books
50
30
11
21
Scientific publications
51
46
Book chapters
22
Articles
0
400
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007 2008
2005
2006
2007
Figures at 25/03/2009. Source: Web of Science SCI base (Thomson-Reuters).
Annual report 2008 s
Natural hazards and climate
Natural hazards are not spread uniformly across the globe. Earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, landslides, tsunamis and floods are all most likely to occur
in Southern countries. Research has a leading role to play towards managing
these hazards and reducing the vulnerability of populations at risk.
The IRD plays a part in establishing and running early warning and monitoring
networks, helping to improve seismic hazard management. It also considers
it a priority to educate communities at risk. Its research in this field focuses
primarily on the eruptive dynamics of volcanoes close to major towns and on
high-intensity seismic events.
An increasing number of IRD scientists are analysing the hazards connected with
climate change and desertification. Global warming caused by increasing emissions
of greenhouse gases is now an established fact. Extreme events like drought,
hurricanes and floods are becoming more frequent and more intense. To better
understand the causes and consequences of such climatic disruptions, the IRD is
studying past and present-day climates and ecosystem trends. Modelling is one fastdeveloping tool the scientists use to take their research to deeper levels and analyse
more precisely the impacts on tropical aquatic and land-based ecosystems and on
health. Remote sensing and environmental monitoring systems are also precious tools
for advancing analysis and predicting natural phenomena and their consequences.
Urbanisation/Bolivia.
56
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
RESEARCH
STAFF
€10.01
MILLION
105
ARTICLES
IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE HUMBOLDT CURRENT
ECOSYSTEM
The Humboldt Current system off the coast of Peru and Chile,
an outstandingly productive marine ecosystem, receives the
full impact of climatic disturbances moving in from the Pacific.
Researchers from the IRD and the Instituto del Mar del Perú
(IMARPE) are producing the first scientific overview of the
ecosystem in 20 years and working to assess the role of global
warming in the changes now taking place. This is of major
importance for achieving a sustainable fishery.
The Humboldt Current is a system of currents flowing more or less
parallel to the coast, with an upwelling of cold water from the
depths that is coupled with the trade winds system. This ecosystem
periodically undergoes severe climatic stress. For months at a
time, warm El Niño or cool La Niña episodes disrupt the system of
winds, rainfall, ocean currents, sea temperatures and sea oxygen
levels. As well as these shorter-term ocean-atmosphere oscillations
the ecosystem undergoes variations on the scale of decades or
centuries, as palaeoclimatic research has revealed.
The Humboldt Current system covers less than 1% of the world’s
ocean surface but provides more than 10% of global fish catches.
The exceptionally high productivity is due to a strong upwelling
that brings nutrients and cold water to the surface along the
coast. These nutrient-rich waters, about 16°C at the surface,
encourage the growth of plant and animal plankton that constitutes
the first link in a food chain involving large numbers of fish species.
ecosystems elsewhere. But because these processes are
particularly intense in the Humboldt Current system, it
is an excellent laboratory for examining the impact of
climate change on living marine species.
Paradoxically, this upwelling imposes strict environmental
constraints. It reduces oxygen levels in the water, forcing many
fish species to concentrate in a small volume of water near the
surface. This oxygen minimum zone is the world’s largest and most
intense, and also the closest to the sea surface. Unexpectedly,
research shows that the region contributes to global greenhouse
gas emissions, partly because of the denitrification that occurs in
its acidic, oxygen-poor water.
The impact of climate change on the Humboldt Current ecosystem
is already perceptible, with the zone of oxygen-depleted water
expanding. Some marine species, unable to withstand the
constraints of a shrinking habitat, have had to leave the area.
Others have adapted to the ecosystem’s fluctuations. Peru’s
anchovies, for example, have proliferated and now support the
world’s largest single-species fishery.
The oxygen depletion and acidification caused by global warming
affect not only Peruvian and Chilean waters but also ocean
[ Contact: arnaud.bertrand@ird.fr ]
[ Publication: Progress in Oceanography (2008) ]
PAR TNERS
The Instituto del Mar del Perú (IMARPE)
is a specialist technical institute of the Peruvian Ministry of Production,
under the supervision of its Fisheries department. Its mission is to
study the sea and its resources off the coast of Peru. It advises the
Peruvian government in matters concerning industrial and artisanal
fishery, aquaculture, other uses of marine resources, and the conservation
of biodiversity and the marine environment. IMARPE research concerns
physical, chemical, biological and biogeochemical processes. Subjects
range from the El Niño phenomenon to the ecosystem approach to fisheries.
The current cooperation between the IRD and IMARPE began in 2001.
It is focused on multidisciplinary study of the Humboldt Current
system and its resources, particularly pelagic fish (anchovies). It
includes an important initial and lifelong training component,
with Master’s and doctoral courses.
Fishing/Peru.
El Niño damage/Peru.
Annual report 2008 s
THE AMAZON FLOODPLAINS: CARBON SINK
The role played by humid tropical ecosystems in the
global carbon cycle is not yet well understood.
Since 2000 IRD researchers and their Brazilian
partners have been studying the floodplains along
the Amazon River and its tributaries to improve
understanding of how these ecosystems function and
in particular how they store carbon in their sediments.
PA RT N E RS
Department of Environmental
Geochemistry, Fluminense Federal
University, Niteroi
Established in 1972, the Department of Environmental Geochemistry
is one of the oldest university departments studying surface
geochemical processes in Brazil. In 1991 the department established
a graduate school for Master’s and doctoral studies which is now
considered a benchmark program in the geosciences field in Brazil.
In the past 25 years cooperation between the Geochemistry
Department and the IRD has generated numerous Master’s and
doctoral theses as well as many publications, lectures and teaching
units. Focusing on such fields as palaeoclimatology,
lake sedimentology and molecular and organic geochemistry,
the partnership should soon extend to new sites in the
Andes region under various South-South
cooperation projects.
Numerous studies have shown that the Amazon forest accumulates
carbon by fixing atmospheric CO2 at a rate of 1.6 billion tonnes a
year. However, there seem to be considerable inter-annual variations
and the forest may also, under certain conditions, emit more carbon
than it absorbs. The rivers and swamps of the Amazon basin are
major sites of gas emission into the atmosphere, including CO2.
The Amazon floodplains, called varzeas, are rarely taken into
account in carbon cycle studies. Yet they account for roughly 5 to
8% of the Amazon basin’s area and, unlike the rivers, support a
very high biomass. Research by the IRD and its partners shows
that over the last century, the varzeas have accumulated large
quantities of organic carbon − in the range of 30 to 100 grams per
square metre per year. Much of this is due to the presence of swamp
forest and aquatic plants such as macrophytes and phytoplankton.
Preliminary estimates of carbon accumulation in the varzeas give
a value of about 30 million tonnes of carbon per year for the whole
of the Amazon floodlands. However, manmade changes on the
floodplains could undermine their function as carbon sinks. Is there
not a risk that advancing forest clearance, dredging, dam building
and other human activities to the detriment of the swamp forest
will upset a balance that has lasted thousands of years?
Conducted in close collaboration with the IRD’s Brazilian partners
Fluminense Federal University in Niteroi, the University of Brasilia,
the Mineral Resources Development Company and the National
Water Agency of Brazil, this study opens new prospects for research
into the accumulation of carbon elsewhere in the basin, in the
Iquitos region in Peru.
[ Contact: patricia.turcq@ird.fr ]
[ Publication: Oecologia Brasiliensis (2008) ]
Taking sediment cores/Brazil.
Amazonia/Brazil.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Sustainable management of Southern
ecosystems
Tropical ecosystems contain an exceptional wealth of biodiversity and living
resources which humanity needs to conserve over the long term. Every year,
Unesco is adding new tropical sites to its world heritage list, examples being
the New Caledonia lagoon and the kaya sacred forests of Kenya. However,
these ecosystems are often jeopardised by over-intensive use of their
resources (overfishing, deforestation etc.), poorly managed urbanisation and
climate change.
To help Southern countries develop harmoniously, the IRD conducts research
into biodiversity and into optimal, integrated, sustainable resource use. It adds
to knowledge of biodiversity and focuses on conservation and beneficial use.
As regards natural resource use, over the years IRD research teams, in close
partnership with Southern scientists, have become expert in specific areas such as
freshwater aquaculture, coral reefs, laterite soils and drought resistance in crops. IRD
researchers also put their knowledge to good use in work with their Northern partners,
who are encouraged to work for sustainable management of Southern ecosystems.
Rice field/India.
135
RESEARCH
STAFF
€21.56
MILLION
240
ARTICLES
Annual report 2008 s
ENDANGERED CORAL ECOSYSTEMS: MARINE PROTECTED
AREAS COULD HELP
Coral reefs, which are home to thousands of fish species,
are today threatened with extinction. The cause: global
warming, which is killing the corals as ocean temperatures
rise. In collaboration with an international team, the
IRD has measured the long-term impact of El Niño on
Indian Ocean corals and the fish communities that live
on and around them. It is a major study that is now
producing practical recommendations for maintaining
coral reef biodiversity.
PA RT N E RS
International involvement
This major region-wide study would not have been possible
without close collaboration among scientists working in the
Indian Ocean. In addition to the IRD’s CoRéUs research unit, the work
involved scientists from the University of Newcastle (United Kingdom),
James Cook University, Townsville (Australia), the Wildlife Conservation
Society of New York (United States) and on the French side
the Universities of Reunion (ECOMAR), Marseille
and Perpignan.
The cause of coral bleaching is well known. Coral polyps live in
symbiosis with microscopic algae called zooxanthellae which
provide them with the nutrients they need for growth. When
sea temperatures rise even a few degrees, the polyps expel the
zooxanthellae even though they are vital to their survival. They then
become exhausted, starve to death and lose their colour, leaving
only their white skeletons.
We know that coral bleaching disrupts the reef ecosystem, but its
effects on fish populations had never been studied on a large scale.
Work published by an international team including an IRD scientist
has revealed the impact on fish communities of the mass coral
bleaching event caused by the intense El Niño episode of 19971998. The study covers some sixty coral reef sites in the Indian
Ocean, including nine in a marine protected area where fishing has
been banned since the mid-1960s. It makes a comparative analysis
of data on fish and coral populations collected in the mid-1990s
and in 2005 in the Maldives, the Chagos Archipelago, Kenya, The
Seychelles, Tanzania, Mauritius and La Reunion.
This extensive study shows that when coral communities that are
normally home to hundreds of fish species decline, changes occur in
the diversity, size and structure of their fish populations. It reveals
that those fish that depend directly on the corals for protection
and/or food are the hardest hit by coral bleaching caused by
global warming. And although the fish are larger and more densely
distributed in marine protected areas, the researchers have found
that the corals there do not revive any more quickly than elsewhere.
This might be partly because the protected areas are close to the
equator, where ocean waters warmed most intensely in 1998.
In view of this, the scientists recommend that protected areas be
established far enough from the equator to minimize heat stress on
the coral reefs and ensure the survival of the many fish species that
depend on live coral.
[ Contact: pascale.chabanet@ird.fr ]
[ Publication: PloS ONE (2008) ]
Bleached coral/La Réunion.
Sea bed/Madagascar.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
FARMING THE GIANT OF THE AMAZON
and physiological peculiarities. The main difficulty is that it is
impossible to distinguish males from females outside the short
breeding season. The empirical method fish farmers had been using
until now was to stock huge ponds. This was not very profitable as it
rarely allowed more than one breeding pair per hectare.
restock wild areas with Arapaima. A program is planned for
Lake Imiría, south of the city of Pucallpa in Peru, where there
are now no more than a few dozen specimens.
[ Contact: jesus.nunez@ird.fr ]
[ Publication: Fish Physiology and Biochemistry
(2008) ]
Known as paiche in Peru and pirarucu in Brazil, Arapaima gigas is
the largest freshwater fish in South America. Some adults can grow
to over three meters long and weigh nearly 200 kg. Arapaima gigas,
which has flavoursome flesh and no small bones, lives in natural
pools and slow-flowing areas of rivers. It has been intensively
fished since the early 18th century. The natural population of the
species is in constant decline and is now estimated at somewhere
between 50,000 and 100,000 individuals.
To increase yields while reducing pressure on wild Arapaima
populations, the IRD and its partner the Instituto de Investigaciones
de la Amazonia Peruana at Iquitos in Peru have developed two
minimally invasive methods for determining the sex of an individual
by means of a simple blood test. One consists of measuring levels
of male and female hormones; the other is based on testing for
vitellogenin, a protein synthesized in the livers of sexually mature
females. By establishing hormone levels, the researchers can
determine sex with 95% accuracy in adults and 100% in immature
fish. With the vitellogenin tests, which only works with adult fish,
they correctly establish the sex of 100% of the individuals tested.
To stem the decline, the so-called Giant of the Amazon has now
been put on the IUCN red list of threatened species and fishing
is regulated. Some farms have started up, but captive breeding
has proved problematic because of the species’ behavioural
With breeding under better control, Arapaima farming could become
one of the world’s most profitable forms of fish farming, with up to
4000 fry per brood reaching as much as 12 kg each after only 12
months’ growth. The IRD researchers’ findings will also be used to
The Amazon and its tributaries are home almost a tenth of global
biodiversity in freshwater fish. But intensive fishing of Arapaima
gigas, the "giant of the Amazon" threatens the survival of the
species in the region, and hence its biodiversity. Fish farming
opens prospects for conservation. The first results from research
in Peru on the sexing of these fish should help to make captive
breeding of the species more economically profitable while also
ensuring its survival.
PA RTNER S
The Instituto de Investigaciones de
la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP) is a decentralised
public research institute founded in 1979 with a view to improving
quality of life for the peoples of the Amazon. Its main mission is
research towards sustainable development and natural resource
conservation in the Amazon region of Peru. The IIAP conducts basic
and applied research to inventory, characterise and evaluate natural
resources and to promote their rational use and industrialisation as part
of the region’s economic and social development. In the fish farming
sphere, under the Paiche project that began in 2006 a joint team of
researchers from the IRD research unit CAVIAR and from the IIAP’s
aquatic ecosystems programme have developed a method for sexing
Arapaima. The IIAP’s important contribution included making its
infrastructure and the experimental station in Quistococha, Iquitos
(Peru) available for the work. The project also received Peruvian
funding (INCAGRO).
Arapaima gigas.
Fish farm/Peru.
Annual report 2008 s
Water resources and access to water
Water has become a major challenge for sustainable development in Southern
countries. It is estimated that nearly one billion people have no access to
clean water and two-and-a-half billion are without sanitation facilities. One of
the United Nations Millennium Development Goals is to reduce these figures
by 50% by 2015 − a particularly ambitious aim when the world population
and its water needs are growing constantly.
IRD scientists are working to locate usable water reserves and improve
management of this vital resource. They are studying the water cycle in
the catchments of major world rivers such as the Amazon, Senegal River
and Mekong. They measure not only available quantities but also the water’s
physical, chemical and ecological properties. This is important, because many
aquatic ecosystems are being damaged by human activity, especially estuaries,
lagoons and mangrove swamps in coastal areas. The teams use computer models
based on field observations to evaluate the resource, its variability and conditions for
accessibility.
Working with Southern partners, the IRD is helping to introduce sustainable water
management that reconciles its different uses − in the home, on farms, in industry and
for energy production.
Scarce water/Morocco.
140
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
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LAKE CHAD: ADAPTING TO A FLUCTUATING RESOURCE
Lake Chad, located in the heart of the Sahel strip, is a vital
water resource for fishermen, herders and crop farmers in
the countries that border its shores − Niger, Nigeria, Chad and
Cameroon. The lake has undergone enormous changes in recent
decades. A multidisciplinary research program involving the IRD
and partner institutions North and South was set up to study the
hydrological, climatic and anthropogenic factors behind these
changes.
Fifty years ago, Lake Chad covered 20,000 km² − almost a
freshwater sea. With the droughts of the 1970s and 1980s it shrank
very rapidly to approximately 2000 km². This had considerable
human consequences: many living by the lake had to move away,
many had to find new work.
The research the IRD is taking part in is aimed at understanding
the relationship between climate, water resources and the uses of
those resources. Along the river Komadougou Yobé which flows into
the lake at its northwestern end, rapid expansion of farmland and
irrigation has caused several problems. Much water has been lost
through evaporation; pollutants have infiltrated the groundwater;
soil salinisation has set in. South of the lake, surveys among the
Cameroonian population show the impact of human activity on
the distribution of water in the floodplains. Through this work, the
teams − comprising of hydrologists, geologists, agronomists and
geographers − are developing an overall understanding of the
changes affecting Lake Chad.
The research is also aimed at more effectively forecasting
environmental changes for the coming decades. Scientists
are working to develop hydrological and climate models. Lake
bottom sediments hold an extensive record of past fluctuations in
lake levels, and these data are being used to extend the models
over a time scale far longer than can be achieved with ground
measurements alone. Preliminary cores have been taken, marking
the start of this ambitious project. The analyses will be mainly
based on geochemical measurement of mineral and organic matter
taken from the sediments and on observation of bio-indicators −
diatoms, pollen grains and phytoliths.
is managing part of the investigations. This research should expand
further in the next few years, drawing all the countries bordering
on the lake into partnership, since all are concerned by the
issue of water resources, their use and their future.
[ Contacts: pierre.genthon@ird.fr;
florence.sylvestre@ird.fr; guillaume.favreau@ird.fr ]
[ Publications: Two international conferences in 2008
(San Francisco and Houston) ]
The program is of region-wide importance and involves a large
number of researchers. In Niger, with the aid of its centre in Niamey,
the IRD has long-standing partnerships with the Department of
Water Resources in Niamey, the Regional Hydraulics Department
in Diffa and Abdou Moumouni University in Niamey. In Chad, the
IRD works closely with the National Research Support Centre, the
University of N’Djamena and the Ministry of the Environment, Water
and Fishery Resources. In Cameroon, the University of N’Gaoundere
PA RTNER S
The Soil Science Laboratory, Faculty
of Agronomy, Abdou Moumouni
University, Niamey.
This laboratory, in collaboration with the joint Hydrosciences research
unit in Montpellier, is analysing soils and subsoils in connection with
agricultural development in the Komadougou Yobé river valley and in
a polder of Lake Chad. Agriculture in the region has been expanding
fast; to achieve sustainable development it is essential to gain a sound
knowledge of water availability, particularly groundwater, and the
quantitative and qualitative impacts that current farming practices
are having on the resource. Another preoccupation is the severe
constraints imposed by climate change and by the dams, canals,
dikes and polders built for water management on the inflowing
rivers and around the lake.
Lake Chad seen from space, 2001.
Lake Chad 1963-2001.
Annual report 2008 s
UNDERSTANDING FLOW RATE CHANGES IN RIVERS OF
THE AMAZON BASIN
The Amazon basin is the world’s largest river basin,
covering some six million km². Understanding changes
in the flow rate of the Amazon and its tributaries is
crucial for local people, whose livelihoods depend on
river transport and fishing. The IRD and its partners,
who have been studying water resource trends in the
region for more than twenty years, aim to achieve that
understanding.
PA RT N E RS
Universidad Nacional Agraria
La Molina, Lima, Peru
With its partners, the University conducts international research
programs and its Master’s and doctoral degrees in water resources have
a region-wide reputation. The University is fully engaged in cooperative
research and, with the Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología,
is one of the Peruvian partners in the HYBAM monitoring system. Data
from HYBAM are used by all students involved in its projects. New
resources have recently been allocated, with the creation of a water
analysis laboratory at La Molina University. This initiative results from
close collaboration with the IRD. In November 2007, to further develop
research partnerships between France and Peru, an agreement was
signed between the IRD and the Strategic Alliance, a group of three
universities in Lima.
With a flow rate of 209,000m3 per second, the Amazon is the
world’s most powerful river. For many years it and the vast basin
it feeds were under-documented in terms of rainfall patterns and
hydrology. Since 2003 the IRD and partners, mainly the region’s
universities and meteorology and hydrology institutes, have been
running the environmental monitoring system HYBAM ("Hydrology
and geodynamics of the Amazon Basin"). Until then, measurements
had been limited to rainfall in the Brazilian Amazon. HYBAM has
extended these measurements and now has fifteen stations, in
Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. With the new flow
data they have provided it is now possible to study fluctuations in
streamflow throughout the Amazon basin.
The research program is also examining the factors that influence
stream regime: rainfall and atmospheric circulation. Correlating
the hydrology with the winds of tropical South America shows that
streamflow is predominantly shaped by climate.
The IRD scientists, in close collaboration with partners (mainly
the Universidad Agraria La Molina in Lima, Peru), are now taking
a regional approach to study variations in the Amazon River’s flow
rates in relation to those of its tributaries. The work has revealed
a general decline in low water flow rates, but flood flow trends
that differ between the northwest and southwest of the basin.
This explains how low-water levels have dropped while major
Amazon flood episodes have continued, as observed in recent
years with the drought of 2005 and the devastating flood of 2006.
[ Contacts: jcelod@locean-ipsl.upmc.fr;
jean-loup.guyot@ird.fr; jrlod@locean-ipsl.upmc.fr ]
[ Publications: International Journal of Climatology/
Journal of Hydrology ]
These findings are the fruit of a strong partnership with scientists
and engineers in all the countries of the Amazon basin. They pave
the way for the construction of hydrological models that will help
predict streamflow trends and hence environmental vulnerability
and the safety of the region’s people.
Rio Napo/Ecuador.
Flooding/Brazil.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Food security in the South
By 2050 the world population will have reached nine billion. Food security in
many Southern countries is already affected by population growth combined
with increasing poverty, the globalisation of food markets, fluctuating energy
and farm commodity prices, competition between energy crops and food
crops, the purchase or renting by rich countries of land in poor countries,
and climate change.
To address these issues, IRD researchers are examining how to adapt
agricultural production systems to increase yields while protecting the
environment and minimising erosion. In partnership with Southern research
teams, they are conducting a number of innovative projects including pest
control studies and research into the adaptation of African grain crops to particular
soil conditions and to climate change. Other programmes focus on public policy
measures to improve the productivity and management of natural resources.
The IRD also conducts research into malnutrition, in Africa especially. The health
situation is beginning to change in some Southern countries as the epidemiological
transition kicks in. So the IRD is now also working on the diseases of civilisation −
obesity, diabetes and cardio-vascular disease.
Market/Burkina Faso.
140
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Annual report 2008 s
FOOD INSECURITY IN AFRICA
Marked recent trends in Africa are tensions over farm prices,
competition from energy crops and large-scale buy-ups
of farmland in the poorest countries. Coupled with
sustained population growth, they have made food
insecurity in Africa a topical issue again, while the
global food outlook also seems to be worsening. As
economic insecurity increases in town and country,
governments, international organizations and welfare
institutions are routinely accused of mismanaging
scarcity. But while food security increasingly depends on
economic circumstances, it is also a fundamentally social
and political phenomenon
PA RT N E RS
The University of Ouagadougou has been
involved in field research on food security led by the IRD since 1999,
and even longer in work on malnutrition. A survey methodology
suitable for use among pastoralists and farmers in the
Sahelian-Sudanian zone has been developed. It takes into account
the variability of agricultural potential, unequal access to resources
and stakeholder behaviour. The focal point is the concept of
food vulnerability as applied to a society or territory.
This collaboration between the IRD and the Geography Department
has borne fruit in several scientific articles and a book published by
L’Harmattan. It has also served as a field school for geography students,
raising their awareness of the risk and its management, and will soon
be the subject of a Master’s degree. The partnership continues in
Ouagadougou with research on food vulnerability in relation to
patterns of mobility and sociability.
We speak of food insecurity when individuals no longer have access
to enough wholesome, nutritious food to fulfil their metabolic needs
and lead an active life. Since 2001, teams from the IRD have been
examining how the risk of food insecurity is managed in Burkina
Faso, Mali and Senegal. Their research has shown that risk indicators
such as drought, remoteness and land degradation are not always
relevant in the long term: the most vulnerable communities are
not necessarily the ones living where environmental constraints
are most severe. Vulnerability to food insecurity can be reduced
when the crisis is anticipated and managed locally, for example
by stocking resources or by diversifying economic activity. Power
relations and social hierarchies also play a part by increasing
inequality, as does commodity speculation.
Back in 2005, when Niger was in the throes of a widespread and
highly publicized food crisis, researchers began analysing the
effects of government regulations, international aid and markets
on local situations. They are also studying the political aspects of
crisis management, assessing the role of international development
agencies, governments, marketing networks and civil society in
the fight against food insecurity. In 2006 and 2007, interviews
with these stakeholders were conducted in Bamako and Dakar to
analyse their strategies and interactions. Surveys conducted in
Ouagadougou in 2008 and 2009 were designed to show how food
survival is organised in connection with mobility and sociability.
Food crises, particularly the 2008 crisis, hold many lessons for
governments and Sahelian societies. The hunger riots of 2008
were not due to an overall scarcity since the markets were still
well supplied. Nor could it be called a famine or simply a "hungry
gap" problem. The crisis resulted from a combination of complex
phenomena. These included soaring world prices for staple
foods, which the usual solidarity systems could not cope with;
simultaneous market deregulation in different geographical areas;
and late or inadequate response by the governments concerned.
Town dwellers, who used to be the least affected by malnutrition,
are no longer spared.
For more than two decades food supply has been left to market
forces. Food self-sufficiency, family farming and the active
involvement of society and government that they imply should
be promoted anew. The researchers recommend addressing the
food crisis from a firmly geographical and political standpoint,
rethinking farm and food policy to bring government action into
the equation again.
[ Contact: pierre.janin@ird.fr ]
[ Publication: Hérodote (2008) ]
Meal/Senegal.
Granaries/Niger.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
SAHEL: CEREALS ADAPT TO CHANGING CLIMATE
The Southern countries’ agricultural output, and hence their
peoples’ food security, is strongly affected by climate change.
This is particularly true in the Sahel, which has suffered periods of
extreme drought since the 1970s. One major issue for the region’s
food security is to conserve the diversity of its traditional staple
crops, millet and sorghum. The IRD and its partners are studying
the impact of social and environmental changes on the varieties
of both these cereals. The work is revealing how tremendously
adaptable they are.
The population of the Sahel has doubled in twenty-five years. In
Niger, for example, the acreage under crops has doubled. But yields
are declining and there is a growing imbalance between supply and
demand. Sahelian agriculture is facing a major challenge: how to
meet the needs of a growing population despite climate change and
the increasing scarcity of new land to farm.
In this situation it is of vital importance to understand how millet
and sorghum, the Sahelian zone’s main cereal crops, respond to
climate change. Since 2003 IRD researchers have been studying the
evolution of diversity in millet and sorghum varieties. Their partners
in this work are from Cirad, the Institut National Agronomique du
Niger, the Agrhymet Regional Centre and ICRISAT*. Their analysis is
based on comparative study of samples of local varieties which IRD
researchers collected in 1976 and 2003 in 79 villages throughout
Niger’s cereal growing area.
Comparative analysis of the samples reveals the extraordinary
diversity of local millet and sorghum varieties. And it shows that this
diversity is not diminishing, despite changes in social and climatic
conditions. The scientists also note that local varieties have been
adapting to climate change; the millet has been flowering earlier
and producing smaller ears. They conclude that millet production is
possible even when rainy seasons are shorter.
*ICRISAT: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.
[ Contact: yves.vigouroux@ird.fr ]
[ Publication: Theorical and Applied Genetics
(2008) ]
In order to better manage agricultural biodiversity and meet the
challenges of Sahelian agriculture, IRD geneticists in collaboration
with Southern teams are also looking at the genetic bases of these
adaptations. They are taking into account a range of factors,
including changes in farming practices.
Farmers’ seed selection and management practices are among
the factors that must be understood and incorporated in any
sustainable resource management strategy. Hybridisation between
wild and cultivated forms and between cultivars must also be
taken into account. The species’ own genetic adaptations, partly
offsetting climate change, could help to ensure the future of
Sahelian agriculture.
PA RTNER S
The Agrhymet Regional Centre
is a specialist agency of the Permanent Inter-State Committee
for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS). The Centre’s member
countries are Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau,
Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal. The Agrhymet Regional Centre
was established in 1974 and is located in Niamey, Niger. It provides
training, information and research on food security, desertification
control and natural resource management.
Millet varieties/Niger.
Millet harvest/Senegal.
Annual report 2008 s
Public health and health policy
The IRD’s health research focuses mainly on mother and infant health and
on combating emerging diseases and the major diseases of poverty. A priority
aspect of all these issues is access to health care.
AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis mainly affect the poorest countries,
particularly Sub-Saharan African countries. These three diseases are
a significant brake on development, threatening to cancel out the progress
made last century in terms of life expectancy and economic activity. To
combat these plagues, better access to existing treatments is essential. It is
also vital to strengthen research in Southern countries so as to develop more
appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic tools and more effective preventive
measures.
New diseases still emerge primarily in the intertropical zone. This is due to
environmental disruption and changes in socio-cultural behaviour: closer proximity
between humans and animals, deforestation and other forms of intrusion into
biotopes. Lack of research on these issues makes matters worse. Research must
propose measures that are applicable in local conditions. And it must continue to address
such neglected tropical diseases as leishmaniasis, dengue and trypanosomiasis.
Maternal and infant morbidity and mortality are high in Southern countries. The IRD’s
work in this connection focuses on several areas: reproductive health; prevention of HIV
transmission from mother to foetus; genetic and perinatal epidemiology; and the specific
features of malaria in children. In these fields social science research is essential, to
provide an understanding of the cultural, religious and social factors that can hamper access
to health care.
Health/Burkina Faso.
109
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
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CHIKUNGUNYA EPIDEMIC IN LA RÉUNION: THE "TIGER MOSQUITO"
EXTENDS ITS RANGE
Chikungunya is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes.
It affects thousands of people in the Indian Ocean, India and
Central Africa. In 2006, an outbreak of unprecedented scale
struck La Réunion and other islands in the southwest of the
Indian Ocean. This prompted researchers from the IRD and their
partners to conduct a thorough study of the biology and habitats
of the mosquito responsible for the epidemic. Their work
highlights the insect’s outstanding adaptability, which makes it
a particularly dangerous vector.
The chikungunya epidemic that hit Réunion Island in 2006 affected
more than a third of the population. This disease had previously
been regarded as benign, but severe and sometimes fatal clinical
forms were now observed for the first time.
It had long been thought that the mosquito Aedes aegypti
was the primary vector of chikungunya. Now, researchers from
the IRD, in partnership with Cirad*, the Institut Pasteur, the
University of La Réunion and the DRASS** have shown why and
how the biology of another mosquito, Aedes albopictus makes it
a formidable vector for the chikungunya virus on Réunion Island.
Originally from Asia, the so-called "tiger mosquito" is spreading
its range dramatically and can now be found on every continent.
During the epidemic phase, a study was made of the vector’s larvae
and adults, to determine its geographical distribution, its ecological
niche and its abundance dynamics during the rainy season (the
austral summer) and the dry winter season. Observations were
made in mountain areas to assess the maximum altitude at which
the tiger mosquito was present.
*Cirad: French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development.
**Drass: Regional Department of Health and Social Affairs.
Madagascar
[ Contacts: didier.fontenille@ird.fr ]
[ Publication: Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases
(2008) ]
This research shows that Aedes albopictus colonises many homes
in urban and suburban areas. The females will lay their eggs at the
edge of any small water body created by humans (such as waste
tyres, oil drums, cans, broken bottles or flower pots) or found in the
wild (cut bamboo stems, hollows in rocks in the ravines, etc.).
Fieldwork and laboratory studies of the mosquito’s longevity,
fertility and food preferences show that it has a remarkable ability
to adapt to different environments and climates. This makes the
"tiger mosquito" a real danger to the inhabitants of La Réunion
and surrounding islands, and indeed to the entire world, Europe
included. The study of Aedes albopictus is therefore of crucial
importance for preventing further outbreaks by appropriate vector
control measures.
PA RTNER S
The DRASS (Regional Department
of Health and Social Affairs) of La Réunion
is a key partner for the IRD on the island. It is a department of
the French Ministry of Health and is in charge of vector control for
chikungunya, dengue and malaria on the island. Close collaboration
with a team of IRD researchers has enabled this public health body
to be involved in the latest conceptual developments in vector control.
Its officers now receive continuing education through seminars held
by IRD researchers or through direct participation in research projects.
This enables the DRASS to fulfil its mission more effectively and to
offer alternatives to conventional insecticide-based vector control.
In return, the DRASS provides the IRD with staff, equipment
and knowledgeable, pragmatic advice on the feasibility and
effectiveness of the innovative approaches to vector control
the researchers suggest.
Mosquito breeding ground/la Réunion.
Aedes albopictus.
Annual report 2008 s
CIGUATERA, A NEW HAZARD FOR THE INTERTROPICAL ZONE
Occurring throughout the tropics, ciguatera is a form of food
poisoning caused by eating certain species of fish contaminated with toxins from micro-algae that live on coral reefs.
100,000 cases of severe poisoning are recorded every
year. The symptoms are gastrointestinal and neurological:
diarrhoea, vomiting etc., itching extremities and a
reversal of the sensations of hot and cold. Research
by IRD scientists suggests that a new mode of
contamination has arisen which could disrupt the
lifestyles of tropical island populations.
PA RT N E RS
The Louis Malardé Institute (ILM)
in French Polynesia has officially been a partner of the IRD
since July 2007. It works to protect public health and hygiene and
the natural environment of French Polynesia. Since 1967, ILM research
into toxic microalgae has focused on ciguatera; it was the ILM
that discovered the microorganism responsible for the contamination.
In 2009, part of the laboratory should be joining the Polynesian Centre
for Island Biodiversity Research, currently the IRD centre,
in Arue.
The people of French Polynesia and New Caledonia are particularly
at risk of ciguatera. Humans contract this form of poisoning by
eating the flesh of contaminated carnivorous fish − species at the
top of the food chain. The fish become contaminated when coral
reefs deteriorate, which mostly occurs as a result of human activity.
When this happens, the reef habitat is colonised by Gambierdiscus,
a genus of dinoflagellate microalga that secretes a toxin. There is
no specific treatment for ciguatera other than certain plants used
in traditional medicine, whose effectiveness is currently being
assessed.
Between 2001 and 2005, an acute form of ciguatera was declared
among members of the Hunëtë tribe on the New Caledonian island
of Lifou. Thirty-five cases with more severe and rapid symptoms
than in the classic form of the illness were identified. Researchers
from the IRD and their partners embarked on a thorough study
in the area, where the coral reef had been destroyed to make it
easier to launch the fishing boats. Their research shows that the
cyanobacteria carpeting the dead coral in places are producing
toxins similar to ciguatoxins. They have contaminated herbivorous
fish and also some species of shellfish that the fishermen consume,
such as giant clams. Contamination of marine invertebrates had
never previously been observed. The researchers’ toxicology tests
suggest a new type of contamination due to these cyanobacteria
and not to the classic ciguatera toxins. The same correlation
between human impact, cyanobacteria blooms, toxicity in giant
clams and a ciguatera zone has since been observed on the island
of Raivavae, French Polynesia, in collaborative work with the
Institut Louis Malardé.
With cases of poisoning becoming increasingly frequent and severe,
the people of Lifou are turning away from fish and shellfish, hitherto
the staples of their diet, to eat more meat. Such a sudden change
in dietary habits favours the emergence of cardiovascular disease.
Global warming is likely to exacerbate the proliferation of toxic
cyanobacteria. As ocean temperatures rise, degradation of coral
ecosystems and fishing grounds will worsen. This could jeopardize
the way of life of the many tropical populations who live from the
sea, forcing them to adopt new dietary habits to the detriment of
their health.
[ Contact: dominique.laurent@ird.fr ]
[ Publication: Harmful Algae (2008) ]
Giant clam/New Caledonia.
Sampling fish/New Caledonia.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Development and globalisation
IRD research in this field covers three major themes: public policy to combat
poverty and inequality; international migration; and governance for sustainable
development.
The first Millennium Development Goal the international community adopted
was to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. The IRD is addressing this goal
from several angles: employment and the labour market, particularly in the
informal sector; access to and quality of education; access to health services;
and the impact of public and private aid.
International migration (South-South and South-North), particularly from SubSaharan Africa to the Mediterranean and Europe, is a major development issue
at a time when inequalities are increasing and more restrictive policies are limiting
migration opportunities. IRD research in this sphere concerns the determinants and
consequences of migration on societies and their environments, and changes in the
demographic composition of territories and societies, notably urbanisation. Another
research area is the building of diaspora organisations and networks, the potential
these hold for development, and the consequent reshaping of identities.
Governance for sustainable development is studied from the standpoint of global
policies and their impacts at the local level, particularly as regards biodiversity
conservation and environmental management. The IRD takes account of traditional
knowledge and the developing practice of treating nature as heritage, adding a new
dimension to the drive for better, appropriate, accepted, effective governance.
Mobility and transport/Niger.
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Annual report 2008 s
KENYA SACRED SITES LISTED BY UNESCO
The kaya forests are a major feature of Kenya’s coastal
strip. They were originally residential sites, the earliest
founded in the sixteenth century, but are now regarded
as sacred − and endangered. They play a central role
in the identity and imagination the Mijikenda, a group
linguistically related to the Bantu. IRD researchers
and the Kenyan scientific authorities have revealed the
historical and symbolic value of the kaya in the region
around Mombasa. Their goal is to protect them and
encourage local communities to get involved in managing
their heritage.
PA RT N E RS
The National Museums of Kenya runs
22 museums throughout the country. It is a government institution,
guardian of Kenya’s cultural and natural heritage and an academic
benchmark for research and training. It organises exhibitions and
hosts two research centres, the Research Institute of Swahili Studies of
Eastern Africa (RISSE) and the Institute of Primate Research (IPR). It
also maintains buildings, manages large collections of fauna, flora
and traditional crafts, conserves three listed heritage sites and coordinates
the management of international conventions on biodiversity
and endangered species, gene banks, etc. National Museums of Kenya
has research agreements with several Western museums and institutions
and has been conducting research with the IRD since 2000.
They are currently collaborating on three topics:
-The Mijikenda coastal strip (Corus project);
-The consequences of slavery in the coastal zone (a JEAI team);
-fish biodiversity in wetlands of the River Tana estuary.
According to oral tradition, the ancestors of the Mijikenda moved
down from the north, driven by the advance of a hostile pastoral
group. Starting in the 16th century they built some fifty defensive
fortifications called kaya on wooded hills. In the 19th century, life
having become more peaceful, the Mijikenda began to settle outside
the forests. The original kaya were placed in the care of the elders,
as sacred sites and burial places. Strict rules were introduced to
ensure the sanctity of the forests: no wood or vegetation can be
cut and certain places with a strong magic power are the exclusive
reserve of the elders. It is because they have been treated as
inviolable sanctuaries that the kaya are now so ecologically rich.
Many endemic birds and butterflies have been identified there.
Bound in with a living cultural tradition, the kaya are even today the
focus of magical-religious ceremonies such as rituals for rain and
for the well-being of the community. Unesco has now listed several
kaya as World Heritage Sites. The National Museums of Kenya,
which initiated that step, have been trying since 1992 to protect
this heritage in the face of population growth, deforestation,
farming and uncontrolled tourism.
It was research by the IRD and the National Museums of Kenya that
underpinned the Unesco listing of three of the five sacred sites in
Sacred ceremonies/Kenya.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Rabai, near Mombasa, in July 2008. The researchers had shown
that these kaya have a particularly strong symbolic and identity
value for the Mijikenda in Rabai, for historical reasons related to the
slave trade and colonization. This work was part of a comparative
study to identify contemporary issues connected with the use of
ceremonial sites in Uganda, Kenya and Madagascar. Research is
still ongoing under a Corus program and in conjunction with an
ecotourism project in Rabai. This project, funded by the French
Embassy in Kenya, is designed to involve local people in preserving
their heritage.
The work has shown that ethno-historical research into the
construction of identity can lead to practical measures to protect
and safeguard natural and cultural heritage.
[ Contact: marie-pierre.ballarin@ird.fr ]
[ Publication: International Seminar on Sacred sites,
heritage and identity in East Africa (2008) ]
CONFLICT AND PROSPECTS FOR PEACE IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE
Since the attempted coup of September 2002, Côte d’Ivoire
has been struggling to overcome a military and political crisis
that has split the country into areas controlled by government
forces in the south and rebel forces in the north. Identity-based
tensions between communities have worsened and many people
have been displaced. In the hope of creating the conditions for
a lasting peace, the European Commission has supported eight
reconciliation programs entrusted to international bodies. It
called on the IRD for scientific expertise to help formulate a
strategy to assist national reconciliation.
The aid programs in Côte d’Ivoire were aimed at restoring basic
services that had been damaged or destroyed, such as education
and health. Others were intended to rekindle the local economy
and stimulate activities to regenerate incomes, or to ease tensions
between population groups. This included setting up village peace
committees, supporting community radio stations, disseminating
messages of peace, educating people in human rights and bringing
displaced people home.
Operational analysis of the programs and subsequent field
observations among beneficiary groups revealed several stumbling
blocks. NGO operations had focused on the effects of conflict rather
than the issues involved. While some were able to remove obstacles
to the return of displaced people, others failed to reduce inter- or
intra-community tensions. The government, focusing on conflict
settlement by electoral means, did not create favourable conditions
for support for human rights.
A program of this kind would generate synergy among the (still
too scattered) local initiatives by associations and local
NGOs seeking lasting settlement of the remaining tensions
between communities.
The experts recommended that NGOs analyse as rigorously as
possible the thorny issues at the root of the conflict, whether
political, social, educational or related to land tenure. They also
recommended that they apply the concept of crisis cycles developed
by the European Commission. The "crisis cycle" concept brings out
the notion of "structural stability", characterised by sustainable
economic development, democracy and respect for human rights,
and the ability to manage change without resorting to conflict.
The outline of a new program to support the process of decentralised
governance in high-risk areas was drawn up. Under this program,
government would step in to restore social cohesion between
different communities. Equitable mechanisms for negotiation
between communities, landowners and users would be introduced to
ensure long-term security of tenure. Education and health services
would be improved. Access to clean water would be improved by total
privatization of the distribution system. Destroyed houses would be
rebuilt. The army and police would receive regular pay to re-establish
security for all and create the minimum conditions for the rule of law.
[ Contact: eric.lanoue@ird.bf ]
[ Publication: Report to the European Commission
(2008) ]
PA RTNER S
Under a series of international
agreements, the European Commission
has funded seven projects to ease tensions and promote reconciliation
and tolerance among communities in Côte d’Ivoire. Funding came
from ECHO and the framework programs were the Post-Crisis
Emergency Support programs, the Program to Support Decentralisation
and Territorial Planning and the European Initiative for Democracy
and Human Rights. The World Bank provided additional funding.
The main aim of these projects was to facilitate reconciliation
between groups and within divided communities by strengthening
local capacities for crisis management and prevention.
Refugees/Côte d’Ivoire.
Education/Côte d’Ivoire.
Annual report 2008 s
INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Vulcanologists/Vanuatu.
Training, sharing,
finding applications
Capacity-building
support for Southern
scientific communities
170
Applications
and
consulting
FELLOWSHIPS AWARDED TO
SCIENTISTS FROM SOUTHERN COUNTRIES
Knowledge
sharing
68
PATENTS
HELD
Annual report 2008 s
Capacity-building support for Southern
scientific communities
Building up Southern countries’ scientific capacities is vital
for developing research for development. The IRD is helping
to structure research in the South with ISO 9001 certified tools
covering all aspects of its Southern partners’ needs. Tools include
fellowships, support for emerging research teams, theme-based
structuring projects and joint professorial chairs. In addition,
the Ministry for Foreign and European affairs has commissioned
the IRD to manage four programmes funded by the Priority
Solidarity Fund. These are CORUS, AIRES-Sud, RIPIECSA and Sud
Expert Plantes. Between them, all these provisions are designed
to assist Southern teams from the moment they are formed until
they achieve international recognition, enabling them to conduct
research projects at ever higher levels of autonomy and selfreliance.
At the heart of these arrangements is the provision for emerging
IRD partner teams (JEAI, Jeunes Equipes Associées à l’IRD). This
system is designed to consolidate recently-formed research teams
and help them become lastingly established. By contributing to
their operating costs (up to €60,000 over three years), the IRD
gives them the means to establish themselves as leading teams in
their fields and to develop their networks.
Individual training is also essential for developing a team’s skills.
The IRD provides support for doctoral students, researchers,
engineers and technicians from Southern partner laboratories. In
2008 the Institute provided fellowships to support 170 individual
training or capacity building projects and 125 thesis projects. The
Institute also has other ways to assist young research scientists,
such as "doctoral encounters" where they can exchange ideas and
learn more about various aspects of the researcher’s job. In 2008 a
new award for excellence was introduced: the Laurence Vergne Prize
for development research, which rewards two outstanding doctoral
theses by members of IRD teams.
To better meet the needs of IRD and partner institutes’ research
teams, those programs more specifically intended for tenured staff
of all grades were evaluated in 2008 and have been simplified as
a result.
Achievements of an emerging glacial hydrology team
Natural and man-made climate change is generating major changes in hydrologic regimes connected tropical glacier melt.
In the Andes particularly, global warming is having a major impact on water resources, irrigation and hydroelectricity.
In Bolivia, a JEAI called GRANT (Glaciers and water resources in the tropical Andes) was set up to acquire expertise
on water resources deriving from high-altitude catchments. The team is approaching the subject from three angles:
quantifying glacier retreat; studying the impact of this shrinkage on water resources; and developing models for fifty-year
forecasts. Another strand of the research concerns other hazards connected with glacier retreat.
Entomology training/Benin.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
The team has set up a photogrammetry and remote sensing unit for water resources that has become a benchmark in its
field throughout South America. The JEAI has also developed a number of regional and international partnerships that
have proved determinant in terms of information sharing, increasing autonomy and fund raising. Team member Alvaro
Sorucco, writing his thesis on an IRD grant, won the Christiane Doré Prize which rewards not only research quality but
also the student’s perseverance and commitment to development.
Designed for more experienced researchers, the program of joint
professorial chairs is designed to encourage or assist partnerships
between one Northern and one Southern researcher working on a
common research project combined with a Master’s or doctoral
training course and/or application work. Two projects were selected
in 2008; one was a physical oceanography project in Benin, the
other a study of international migration in South Africa. They are
offshoots of two major programs the IRD has been involved in,
Multidisciplinary Analysis of the African Monsoon (AMMA) and
Transit Migration in Africa (ANR Mitrans).
Backing up all these mechanisms are the IRD’s theme-based
structuring projects. These are designed to intensify relations
between the IRD and its partners in the work of consolidating
Southern research institutions, developing their capacities and
enhancing national and international recognition of those working
in Southern research. For example, in 2008 the Institute supported
several summer schools, including one on land degradation
processes in South Africa, and contributed to seven regional
and international Master’s programs including one in Bolivia
on environmental science. 2008 also saw several cross-cutting
projects designed with the future in mind, such as a training
course in Benin on scientific report-writing for entomology research
projects.
[ Contact: dsf@ird.fr ]
Two doctoral students win
Laurence Vergne Prizes
Emerging team/Peru.
Migration: joint chair with the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
The purpose of the joint chair on international migration and urban governance is to address the question of migration
in South Africa at the local level, although it is now the responsibility of the central government. The joint chair project
was launched in March 2008 at a public conference on the state of progress in research on migration in South Africa,
where work on this issue is still at the embryonic stage.
The Laurence Vergne Prizes reward excellence in theses written by
members of IRD teams. They were awarded for the first time on
21 November 2008, in Montpellier. The first prize-winner, biologist
Mathilde Savy, wrote her thesis on dietary diversity and nutritional status
of women in the Sahel zone. Her supervisors were Yves Martin-Prével
and Francis Delpeuch of the "Nutrition, diet and society" research unit.
The second prize-winner was Venezuelan agricultural scientist José
Bustamante, working in the "Diversity and adaptation of cultivated
plants" unit. His thesis on cloning and characterisation of the
genes involved in the ripening of coffee berries was supervised
by Alexandre de Kochko and supported by an IRD grant.
The chair is the result of collaboration that began in 2005 and continued with the «Transit migration in Africa» project
(ANR Mitrans), which focused on how people perceive migration. The joint chair strengthens the capacities of the
Forced Migration Studies program at the University of the Witwatersrand. The University already works on this issue
with neighbouring States and with countries in French-speaking Africa, mainly through training, hosting students and
designing projects.
Annual report 2008 s
Applications and consulting
The IRD reorganised and consolidated its work on finding
applications for its research results and putting its skills and
knowledge to use for the benefit of the socio-economic world
and the countries of the South. The main strands in this sphere
are consulting, intellectual property management, transferring
technology and know-how, business formation and developing
industrial partnerships. Cooperative ventures with Southern
socio-economic actors also received a boost in 2008.
Expert group reviews
and consulting
Work began on two new expert group reviews in the course of the
year. Their subjects are
- Vector Control in France, commissioned by the Ministries
responsible for research, health, ecology and home affairs,
- Energy in the Development of New Caledonia, commissioned by
the New Caledonian government.
The IRD also signed nearly a dozen institutional consulting contracts
with commissioning bodies such as the La Réunion regional
environment authority, the Agence Française de Développement
and two private companies, Cr’Eole (French Guiana) and Caraïbes
Environnement.
Intellectual property
and technology transfer
Leishmaniasis survey/Senegal.
Much was done in 2008 to strengthen the protection of research
results through patents, trade marks, software patents etc., and
to transfer more of our innovative technologies, systematically
involving Southern economic actors and partners.
The Institute paid particular attention to detecting innovation
in its laboratories, with innovation delegates more routinely
present in the research teams. With this support, the number of
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
patents applications tripled, from four in 2007 to twelve in 2008.
This brought the total number of active priority patents to 68.
Consistent with its mission, wherever possible the IRD owns its
patents jointly with Southern partners; this is now the case with
over 10% of patents. Researchers in Indonesia developed a process
for bioconverting palm kernel meal, a by-product of the palm oil
industry, for use in aquaculture. The process is now patented.
The purpose of patent protection is to make technology transfer
a reality and an economic good, in partnership with Southern
stakeholders. Nineteen patent license contracts were signed and
income from such licenses is increasing constantly. Notable among
the license agreements signed in 2008 are the following:
- one with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) to
develop molecules to combat leishmaniasis;
- one with Biovaxim to develop an AIDS vaccine.
The IRD’s license revenues today come primarily from a licence held
by Nutriset, a company that produces and markets a nutritional
product to combat malnutrition in children.
Breakdown of patents by discipline
Livestock 7%
Depollution 9%
26% Therapeutics
Fertilisers and crop
protection 11%
Diet and
nutrition 11%
Genetics and plant
breeding 12%
12% Diagnostics
12% Instruments
Support for innovative company
formation and project maturation
The IRD continued its support for researchers forming innovative
companies such as Bluecham in Nouméa. This was set up by one
of the Institute’s senior researchers who in 2007 won the Research
Ministry’s 9th national competition for innovative technology
company formation. Bluecham markets an environmental decision
aid system that incorporates the latest developments in remote
sensing, Internet technology and applied mathematics. Some
ten new emerging projects were identified in Dakar, Nouméa
and Montpellier, with a view to the Institute supporting them
and assisting their progress. Among other things they concern
commercial development of natural substances, physical-chemical
analyses in marine environments, and oyster mushroom production
in Senegal.
To facilitate the socio-economic application of research results,
the IRD also provides upstream help for researchers maturing their
development work. Based on assessments by the IRD technology
transfer committee, the Institute financed more than 17 projects in
2008. One was the creation of a prototype farm to produce larvae
for fish farm feed; another, characterisation of molecules to treat
Chagas disease; yet another, the construction of a respiration meter
to monitor mushroom growth.
Industrial partnerships
The IRD endeavours to set up joint actions with socio-economic
actors working with the South, using instruments such as the
French government’s CIFRE agreements (industrial agreements
for training through research) or funding connected with French
competitiveness clusters. Contracts signed with manufacturers
amount to 1.4 million − some fifty public-private contracts involving
research collaboration with industrial firms or service providers.
Among the firms concerned are Bayer (Germany), Sumitomo (Japan)
(for mosquito control), Sanofi-Aventis, Goro-Nickel (for monitoring
environmental pollution), Seadev (characterisation of bacteria
useful for medical environments).
The IRD benefits much from the synergy generated by the nine
competitiveness clusters it is involved in. They are Mer-Bretagne
(Sea-Nergie) in Brittany; Q@liMEDiterranée (diet and quality of life
in the Mediterranean) in Languedoc-Roussillon; Pôle Risques (risk
management and vulnerable territories) in Provence-Alpes-Côted’Azur (PACA); MSS (sea, safety and sustainable development) also
in PACA; Orpheme (emerging and orphan diseases) in LanguedocRoussillon and PACA; Qualitropic (diet and nutrition in tropical
environments) in La Réunion; Aerospace Valley (aerospace and
onboard systems) in Midi-Pyrénées; Cancer, Bio, Santé (organics,
cancer and health) in Midi-Pyrénées; and finally CAPENERGIE in PACA.
In this system the Fonds Unique Interministériel calls for projects
and applications are submitted, as for example the ITIS project
with the Mer Bretagne competitiveness cluster. VAXILEISH, a
leishmaniasis project approved by the Orpheme cluster, was
granted €1 million towards its total of €1.7 million.
As part of the drive to increase practical technology transfer to the
South, a framework agreement was signed with the University of
Dakar for a project to create a business incubator. Exchanges were
also established to set up synergy with the United Nations Industrial
Development Organisation, the African Intellectual Property
Organisation and the Dakar Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
All in all these economic transfer and consultancy arrangements
enable the IRD to take up new challenges to bring research results
and economic applications together.
[ Contact: dev@ird.fr ]
Food supplement.
Bioconverting palm kernel meal/Indo
nesia.
Annual report 2008 s
Knowledge sharing
Since its founding in 1942, the Institute has gathered an evergrowing body of information on the countries of the South. It
has a duty to make that information available to its partners and
share it with the broader public concerned by issues to do with
development in tropical environments.
Disseminating scientific information
With an archive of nearly 70,000 publications (37,000 of which can
be accessed online via the Horizon Pleins Textes database), the
IRD is a valuable source of scientific information on the Southern
countries. These documents are widely consulted, with 4000 visits
and 5000 publications downloaded each month from the Institute’s
website. The IRD also helps its Southern scientific partners
disseminate their publications on the Internet. In 2008 it ran six
projects, in Senegal, Burkina Faso and Madagascar, to digitise
theses and scientific journals and post them online.
The SPHAERA map collection comprises 18,000 references,
including nearly 3000 maps available online, in fields ranging
from soil science and geology to demography and linguistics. The
Indigo photo library possesses 40,000 photographs about Southern
societies, all available online.
Films and videos are also available, making the IRD collections
together a tremendously rich media library on science for the South.
visitors, who consulted 24 million pages − 16% up on the previous
year. The site’s forthcoming new design should make it even more
popular and help to make the work of the Institute better known.
The IRD published some thirty books, atlases and CD-ROMs in 2008
and a number of TV films were broadcast, several of which won
awards. Also worth mentioning is the DVD Le Récif Corallien, jointly
produced with the Centre National de Documentation Pédagogique
as part of International Coral Reef Year. Notable among the books
published (several of them jointly published) were the following:
- Agricultures singulières,
- La Terre au cœur de la science,
- Aires protégées, espaces durables ?,
- Mentawai, l’île des hommes fleurs,
- La biodiversité au quotidian,
- L’atlas urbain: Ouagadougou.
Many IRD books are translated into the language of the country
where the research was done, so that the Institute’s results will
be more effectively accessible to its partners. In 2008 ten books
were co-edited in French and another language and published by
"delegate" publishers, mainly in Latin America (Mexico, Peru and
Columbia). One of these was on traditional pharmacopoeias.
Communicating: multimedia
and print
Discovering French Polynesia’s
herbarium.
In 2008 nearly 2000 articles about the IRD and its work were
published in the press. Most were based on the Institute’s
monthly scientific news sheets, which report on its scientists’
major findings. The newsletter Sciences au Sud, with a print run
of 15,000, reaches an even wider public via the internet: 149,582
pages were consulted online in 2008.
The website with its abundant content − online feature articles
on major development issues, Canal IRD with its videos, etc. − is
proving very popular. In 2008 it received more than four million
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Documentation centre/Niamey.
Raising public awareness and
mobilising the young
The general public is showing increasing interest in science but
considers it is not sufficiently informed about it. At the same time
young people are turning away from scientific careers. The IRD
is an active participant in the drive to bring science and society
closer together, in Southern countries as well as in France. Debates,
talks, science cafés and film screenings all offer opportunities for
the public to encounter science in the making. Another effective
way of raising awareness is the travelling exhibitions the Institute
produces and takes around France and partner countries. These
concern major issues in research for development such as water,
climate, natural hazards and population. In 2008 IRD exhibitions
were shown in some forty countries and as many locations in
Metropolitan France. The IRD also worked with the Palais de la
Découverte science museum in Paris to mount an exhibition on
ants and termites there. It was a great success, visited by nearly
350,000 people. Another Parisian partner was the Cité des Sciences
et de l’Industrie, where a conference on malaria was held.
To raise awareness among young people, the IRD set up 25 new
science clubs, with the focus on climate change, biodiversity and
health. An international AIDS seminar in Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina
Faso) in December brought together more than 350 young people
to meet and receive advice from fifteen scientists and doctors.
Most of the actions funded by the Priority Solidarity Fund on
"Promoting scientific culture", which the Foreign Affairs Ministry
has commissioned the IRD to conduct, take place in Africa. In 2008
the IRD ran more than 150 projects in ten African countries and
organised a number of training courses in scientific mediation.
Sharing resources in this way and disseminating scientific
information to Southern countries helps to reduce the scientific and
digital divide between North and South and raise young people’s
awareness of the usefulness of science as a factor for progress.
[ Contact: dic@ird.fr ]
Science festival/Paris.
FAUNAFRI software package (on African fish), prizewinner at Saint-Dié-des-Vosges.
Annual report 2008 s
INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Young woman, Mentawai Archipelago/Indonesia.
Working
in partnership
Partnerships
around the world
International
French overseas territories
Metropolitan France
Annual report 2008 s
s Agreement signed with INPE (National Space
Research Institute) in Brazil on 23 December, on
"science and technology cooperation in the field
of space-based applications".
s 7th international symposium on Andean geodynamics;
Nice, France.
s Conference on “Diaspora, nation and difference:
populations of African descent in Mexico and Central
America”, in Mexico.
s Study of the Humboldt Current, major upwelling
ecosystem off the coasts of Chile and Peru.
s Conference on scientific diasporas, in Argentina.
s Conference on metal pollution and its impact on
the environment, health and society, in Bolivia.
s CARAÏBE-HYCOS program involving nine countries:
management and protection of water resources on
Caribbean islands.
s International conference on the Amazonian environmental monitoring system for sustainable development, in French Guiana.
s Conference on biodiversity in Cayenne, French Guiana.
s Training seminar in the use of evaluation and management tools for coastal marine environments, in Cuba.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
6 sites
317 researchers, engineers and technicians
68 individual fellowships awarded
3 emerging Southern teams supported
s Headquarters agreement signed with the
Republic of Senegal and agreement with
Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar renewed.
s Draft agreement between the Hewlett Foundation,
AIRD, IRD and AFD signed on 22 January: €2.4
million for research into the impact of migration
and reproductive health on poverty reduction.
s Migration monitoring units established in
Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso.
s Workshop on Malian migration, in Mali.
s RIPIECSA program: West African research teams
submit 25 projects on adapting to climate
change.
s HIV: Triple recognition for the IRD’s HIV/AIDS
and Associated Diseases laboratory. Recognised
by WHO as a SupraNational Reference Laboratory.
Facilities mainly in Senegal and Cameroon.
s Conference on sharing innovative farming
methods, in Burkina Faso.
WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA
8 sites
185 researchers, engineers and technicians
51 individual fellowships awarded
11 emerging Southern teams supported
,!4).!-%2)#!s#!2)""%!.
s In Morocco, an intergovernmental agreement
and a framework agreement with the Hassan II
Academy of Science and Technology signed.
s Creation of a new international joint research
unit on mathematical and computer modelling
of complex systems, UMMISCO, based mainly in
Morocco and France.
s First international workshop on ecology and
management of phytoparasitic nematode
communities in southern Mediterranean
ecosystems, in Tunisia.
s Conference on fringe communities in cities
(migrants, refugees and exiles in Middle
Eastern cities, in Syria.
s Ninth African conference on applied mathematics
and informatics research, in Morocco.
s International congress on genetics, molecular
biology and biotechnology, in Morocco.
MEDITERRANEAN
3 sites
50 researchers, engineers and technicians
17 individual fellowships awarded
5 emerging Southern teams supported
Partnerships around the world
4 sites
72 researchers, engineers and technicians
16 individual fellowships awarded
2 emerging Southern teams supported
s Unesco adds the kaya sacred forests of Kenya
to the world heritage list.
s Ninth international congress on infectious
diseases, in Kenya.
s Agreement signed with the French Centre for
Ethiopian Studies, giving IRD staff in Ethiopia
a specific status.
s International entomology congress, in South
Africa.
s Joint chair on international migration and city
governance created with the University of the
Witwatersrand, South Africa.
s Creation of a centre of remote sensing excellence,
with the French central government, the
La Réunion regional authority and the University
of La Réunion.
s Study of Aedes albopictus, the “tiger mosquito”,
one of the main vectors of chikungunya, at the
Centre for scientific research and surveillance on
emerging diseases in the Indian Ocean (CRVOI).
s Sixth international congress on marine sciences
in the western Indian Ocean, in La Réunion.
!3)!s/#%!.)!s0!#)&)#
EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA AND INDIAN OCEAN
Key figures
and main events
6 sites
204 researchers, engineers and technicians
18 individual fellowships awarded
3 emerging Southern teams supported
s Cooperation agreements with the universities of Khon
Kaen and Kasetsart in Thailand and with the French
University Centre (PUF) in Vietnam.
s Conference on health in Vientiane: geographical and
epidemiological approaches, in Laos.
s Unesco lists the New Caledonian lagoons as a world
heritage site.
s New Caledonian molecular biology platform starts up.
s International conference on aromatic and medicinal
plants, in New Caledonia.
s Eleventh Pacific Science Inter-congress: “The
countries of the Pacific and their ocean environment
facing local and global change”, in French Polynesia.
s Conference on ciguatera and its biotoxins, in New
Caledonia.
Annual report 2008 s
International
The network the IRD has formed with Southern scientific
communities through its presence in more than fifty countries
makes it one of the leading development research actors in
Europe. The site policy is a novel approach by which the Institute
is building a stronger regional organisation for its scientific
activities and its network of 23 centres and offices abroad. An
IRD representative in each of the five tropical regions manages
operations there. The new system has resulted in a thorough
examination of the best ways to set in motion a real research
partnership dynamic to meet each region’s main development
challenges.
International partnerships
consolidated
Mediterranean
North Africa and the Middle East are a priority region for the IRD
and a strategic priority for Europe, particularly through the French
initiative towards a Union for the Mediterranean. The main research
themes on which our Mediterranean partnerships were working in
2008 were: Water and agrosystems; Plant biotechnology; Urban and
local governance; Health. In Morocco, two major framework research
agreements were signed. A new international joint unit based in
Marrakech was formed − UMMISCO, working on mathematical and
computer modelling of complex systems. UMMISCO has secondary
facilities in Senegal, Cameroon, Vietnam and France.
East and Southern Africa and Indian
Ocean
Rice fields/Madagascar.
Through its work in this region the IRD is putting into practice its
intention to establish a balanced presence in Africa. An agreement
was signed with the French Centre for Ethiopian Studies, conferring
an official status on IRD researchers in Ethiopia. A joint chair on
international migration and urban governance was created with
the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. The IRD held
an international scientific conference on water research as part
of the EU-South Africa summit in Bordeaux. The regional projects
implemented with support from the IRD centre in La Réunion
exemplify the scientific dynamic now under way in the Indian Ocean.
West and Central Africa
Cooperation in this region was strengthened, with the pooling of
resources and closer relations with universities. A headquarters
agreement with the Republic of Senegal and two agreements with
the University of Dakar were signed. The meeting between the
Universities of Dakar, Bamako and Ouagadougou, the Conférence
des Présidents d’Universités and the IRD in Dakar marked a key
step in inter-university cooperation and the introduction of new
international Master’s degree courses. A framework agreement
was signed with the University of Lagos in Nigeria – a practical
step towards working more with English-speaking countries, as the
Institute hopes to do.
Latin America
The IRD started to implement its policy of sharing its administrative
infrastructure with other bodies. A joint IRD-CNRS structure was
created in Chile. In Brazil, the IRD signed three major agreements,
one on fluviatile geodynamics in Amazonia with the CPRM1; one
on hydrological monitoring of rivers from space with the Brazilian
Cooperation Agency; and one on exchange of satellite data with the
INPE2. The latter agreement was signed by the director general of
the IRD in the presence of the presidents of both republics, as part
of the France-Brazil strategic partnership. The IRD’s continued work
in the region’s emerging countries – Brazil, Chile and Mexico – is
partly designed to foster South-South cooperation with their less
developed neighbours such as Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. With this
in view, the Institute is developing major theme clusters that are
important for the whole region, such as the platform on vectorborne diseases at INLASA3 in Bolivia. A partnership agreement was
also signed with Peru’s Institute of Geology, Mining and Metallurgy.
1
CPRM: Companhia de
Pesquisa de Recursos Minerais
2
INPE: Instituto Nacional de
Pesquisas Espaciais, Brazil
3
INLASA: Instituto Nacional
de Laboratorios de Salud
Fishing/Peru.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Asia
Research themes were restructured around specific scientific
platforms such as the one on infectious diseases at Mahidol
University in Thailand. Partnerships with universities were
strengthened, particularly in Thailand, by renewing cooperation
agreements with the Universities of Khon Kaen and Kasetsart and
with the French University Centre in Vietnam. Regionalisation,
applications and training are core concerns for the IRD’s work in
the region.
A lead role in coordinating
European projects for the South
The Institute’s participation in European programs fits into its
general strategy. It is designed to drive forward knowledge in areas
of science that are of global import, to help build the European
Research Area, to foster scientific cooperation between Europe and
Southern countries and to make optimum use of its expertise at the
service of development.
Towards building the European development research area, AIRD
and its chairman were mandated, along with representatives
from the IRD’s parent ministries, to manage the 8th priority of the
EU-Africa action plan decided at the Lisbon summit. This 8th priority
concerns science, space and the information and communication
technologies. The CNES4 and INRIA5 are also involved. This government
decision should be seen in the light of several years of IRD efforts
with national and European decision bodies.
4
4
Multilateral agreements forging ahead
The general aim of the IRD’s multilateral cooperation work
in 2008 was to mobilise development research to find
solutions to the challenges posed by the food crisis and
the recent financial crisis. The IRD signed a plan of action
with the International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD) to improve synergy between research and practical
rural poverty reduction work. Another agreement signed
this year was with the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), to develop innovative synergy in such scientific fields
as health and natural resource management.
CNES: Centre national d’études spatiales.
INRIA: Institut national de recherche en informatique et en automatique.
The IRD submits proposals mainly to the EU’s Framework Programme for research and technological development. It also
submits proposals in response to calls for proposals from the
European Development Fund, the Structural and Cohesion Funds
and the Fisheries DG.
The European Commission selected some 40 of the IRD’s projects:
18 under the 6th Framework Program and 22 under the 7th. One
of these, MADE (Mitigating ADverse Ecological impacts of open
ocean fisheries) aims to propose new methods and technologies to
limit fishing damage to pelagic ecosystems. Coordinated by the IRD
and involving 13 partners from eight countries, MADE is planning
fieldwork in the Azores, La Réunion, Brazil, Italy and Greece.
[ Contact: dri@ird.fr ]
Stronger strategic partnership with
national institutions in Africa.
The IRD confirmed its positioning at the highest level by defining
its strategic orientations, by generating and consolidating regional
dynamics and by drawing up priority programs. In Morocco, the French
and Moroccan higher education and research ministries signed an intergovernmental agreement on the IRD’s cooperation work. A framework
agreement was signed with the Hassan II Academy of Sciences and
Technology, which plays a leading role in Moroccan research. In Senegal,
a new headquarters agreement was the occasion for the IRD to refresh its
especially close relationship with the Senegalese authorities. At the same
time an exemplary partnership was developing with Cheikh Anta Diop
University in Dakar (UCAD). Two agreements with UCAD were signed,
concerning the creation of four new doctoral schools and an incubator
for innovative new businesses, on the IRD-UCAD campus
in Hann.
Dengue research/Thailand.
Village in the High Atlas/Morocco.
Annual report 2008 s
French overseas
territories
The five IRD centres in the French overseas territories are stable,
long-term bases for French research in the intertropical zone.
Each one is an important source of support for the IRD’s work in
its region. They are well placed for the IRD to conduct research
on themes of common interest with neighbouring countries, and
they give those countries access to European research networks
and resources.
New Caledonia
The IRD actively contributed to the creation of a common campus
with the University of New Caledonia, Ifremer, the CNRS, Cirad and
New Caledonia’s own research bodies. The New Caledonia molecular
biology platform and an incubator for innovative new businesses
both started operations in 2008. The national research and
technology centre on Nickel and the Environment also started work.
The State, the local authorities, the mining industry federation and
the science institutions are all involved in this venture. All these
partnerships fit the priorities laid down in the IRD’s site policy:
ecosystems/natural resources and natural hazards/climate change.
Three international conferences were held on issues connected with
remote sensing, ciguatera and aromatic plants.
French Polynesia
The IRD took part in a program to achieve a more sustainable,
more professional pearl farming system, financed by the European
Development Fund and managed by the French Polynesian pearl
farming department. The first scientific coordination seminar was
held after two missions on the lagoon ecosystems. Meanwhile eight
marine areas of the Moorea lagoon, for which there is a maritime
area management plan, were studied under the French project ANRGAIUS on the governance of marine protected areas for sustainable
management of biodiversity and coastal uses.
plan continues until 2010. Work on designing innovative cropping
systems with low environmental impact was under way at the
nematology laboratory under the European Regional Development
Fund’s Operational Programs.
French Guiana
Working from its Cayenne site the IRD began to set up a common
campus with several other institutions, for research into the
biodiversity, environment and dynamics of Amazonian territories.
The campus is part of the French Guiana university cluster. Through
this work the IRD strengthened its links with Antilles-Guyane
University (UAG) and the other research bodies, refocusing its
research on three themes of interest to all of them: biodiversity and
ethno-botany; environment and territorial dynamics; human and
social sciences. A statement of intent was signed with the UAG to
“continue and strengthen the collaboration begun in the fields of
training, research and scientific and technical cooperation around
the SEAS-Guyane platform and the French Guiana herbarium”.
La Réunion
The IRD worked more actively to generate a regional dynamic
around major international programs. The European RUN Sea
Science project (nearly €1 million over three years) was launched,
to strengthen scientific capacity and develop tools for the marine
sciences in La Réunion. Through this project Europe brings an
advanced research platform to the region.
The CRVOI, the French monitoring and research centre on emerging
diseases in the Indian Ocean, moved into a far more active phase,
launching its first call for proposals for a total of €1.2 million.
The IRD signed several collaboration agreements including one,
with the French government, the Regional Council and La Réunion
University, to create a centre of remote sensing excellence.
Martinique
Atoll/French Polynesia.
The regional cooperation program CARAIBE-HYCOS started practical
operations. Coordinated by the IRD and jointly funded by the
European Union and the Martinique Regional Council and General
Council, the program involves nine countries in the region. Its aim
is to bring together and empower the institutions responsible for
managing and conserving water resources on Caribbean islands.
Meanwhile in agro-environmental research, the government action
plan on chlordecone pollution in Martinique and Guadeloupe
started work, with two projects at the soil physics laboratory at
the Martinique agro-environmental research cluster. The action
Studying the marine environment/La
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Réunion.
Partner to some forty higher education establishments and
research bodies, the IRD consolidated these ties in 2008, partly
by restructuring its research system through joint research
units. It also strengthened its positioning in the regions through
its involvement in competitiveness clusters and the regional
structures introduced in 2006 under the research programming
and orientation law (LOPRI).
A tighter research structure
The shift to working through joint research units is intended to make
the IRD’s work more scientifically coherent and visible. In these joint
units the IRD works with some twenty universities, twenty research
bodies, grandes écoles and other major establishments.
The Institute now has 66 research units, including 2 international
joint units, 47 joint units (UMRs), 13 research units and 4 service
units. In just one year, the proportion of joint units rose from 51.4
to 71.2%. By 2010-2011 virtually all the units will have a stronger
partnership element, involving universities particularly.
Renewed partnership dynamic
As part of the IRD’s drive to establish a national research-fordevelopment offering it is increasingly opening up its facilities
to partners. In 2008 it signed strategic agreements with the
university of Orléans and Pierre and Marie Curie University to
build inter-establishment campuses based on the IRD sites at
Orléans and Bondy. The Institute’s close links with universities led
to its involvement in several shared campus projects: Université
Montpellier Sud France, Toulouse Campus, Grenoble Université de
l’Innovation, Aix-Marseille Université and Campus Condorcet (Ilede-France).
Involvement in regional structures
To better position itself in ongoing science in the regions, the
IRD increased its participation in anchor projects based around
competitiveness clusters and the structures introduced under
LOPRI and the State-Region project contracts.
Metropolitan
France
Among these structures are the RTRAs (theme-based advanced
research networks), PRESs (higher education and research
clusters) and CTRSs (theme-based research and healthcare
centres). IRD has been involved since the creation of these
scientific cooperation foundations and is now a member of four of
them:
- founder member of two RTRAs: satellite observation in Toulouse
and agriculture in Montpellier;
- associate member of an RTRA on economics, Ile-de-France
region;
- founder member of a CTRS on health, in the south of France.
As regards the State-Region project contracts for 2007-2013,
the IRD is taking part in seven inter-establishment projects for
technology platforms and property investment in the LanguedocRoussillon, Midi-Pyrénées, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and
Rhône-Alpes regions. These projects mainly concern health,
environmental monitoring, oceanography and tropical agriculture.
[ Contact: dpr@ird.fr ]
Laboratory/Montpellier.
Climate research/Bondy.
Pearl farming/French Polynesia.
Fish study/Brest.
Annual report 2008 s
INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Recife coast/Brazil.
Resources
for research
Shared equipment
available
to partners
Information
systems
Human
resources
Financial
resources
Annual report 2008 s
Shared equipment available to
Ever since its foundation, the IRD has maintained and managed
capital equipment and scientific infrastructure for research
focused on Southern countries’ development needs. With two
oceanographic vessels, the Alis in the Pacific and the Antea in
the tropical Atlantic, satellite receiving stations in French Guiana
and La Réunion and medical research laboratories such as the
mother and child malaria research platform in Benin, the IRD
and its equipment are at work on land and at sea throughout the
intertropical zone. Recently, the Institute has adopted the approach
of pooling resources so that equipment with the most advanced
technology can be provided, not only in Metropolitan France but also
in the French overseas territories and other countries. In 2008, the
Institute spent €1.3 million on financing scientific equipment and
€1.2 million to maintain the fleet and replace onboard equipment..
Oceanographic survey vessels scour
the Pacific and Atlantic
the biodiversity of algae, corals and venomous cone shell molluscs; the
seismology of Vanuatu; and the biogeochemistry of water masses in
relation to fishery resources.
ASTER, a particle accelerator like
no other in France
On the earth sciences front, the French accelerator mass spectrometer
ASTER reached cruising speed in 2008. The IRD contributed €400,000
out of a total cost of €3.8 million (excluding the building). It was
installed in late 2006 at CEREGE (Centre Européen de Recherche et
d’Enseignement des Géosciences de l’Environnement) at the Europôle
in Arbois, Aix-en-Provence. Its purpose is to measure isotopes other
than carbon 14. This opens up new prospects for studying geological
deformations, assessing seismic risk, determining degrees of
denudation, describing aquifer recharge mechanisms more precisely
and even dating hominid evolution stages. ASTER is now fully
operational, performing more than 2000 analyses a year.
The IRD’s two oceanographic vessels were in operation all year. The
Antea conducted several surveys in the northern tropical Atlantic, from
Mexico to Equatorial Guinea, studying sedimentary biogeochemistry off
the Amazon estuary and tsunami risk in the Caribbean. The Alis sailed
from New Caledonia to the Solomon Islands. Its research fields were
Aquaculture platforms and a fishery
resources monitoring system
In view of current predictions of fishery resource trends, researchers
think that aquaculture is one way to compensate for the expected drop
in world fish catches. Freshwater fish farming is a response to numerous
development challenges, both in Asia where it began and in the Amazon
basin where its future looks very promising. The IRD has been playing
a part in building and equipping fish farming platforms in Indonesia
and Peru. A hatchery was installed at the fish farm of the IIAP (Peruvian
Institute for Research in Amazonia) in Iquitos. Batteries of rearing tanks
were built at Peruana Cayetano Heredia University in Lima and at the
Depok station near Jakarta, which is run by the Indonesian Agency for
Aquaculture Research.
Databases are now essential to research. The IRD’s fishery research
teams have long been designing and using databases on tropical fishing
grounds, especially fisheries involving species with large populations
such as sardines and anchovies, and high-value species like the large
tunas. The IRD’s tuna monitoring system, which gathers data from the
tropical Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, is a major part of the work at
the fishery research centre in Sète, France. In 2008 it obtained ISO 9001
certification, making it an exception among fishery databases.
ch Polynesia.
Taking current meter readings/Fren
vence.
The Antea/Cuba.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
ASTER particle accelerator/Aix-en-Pro
partners
Biology facilities in Cayenne,
Nouméa and Montpellier set the
standard
Population and health monitoring
units in Senegal
In 2007 the IRD began the work of computerising its Cayenne and
Nouméa herbarium collections and making them available online for
the purposes of plant biology research. In 2008 this work continued and
both collections were attached to the same research structure, in order
to provide a regional database on the exceptional botanical biodiversity
of the South Pacific and Northeast Amazonia. In Metropolitan France,
the experimental tropical greenhouse at the Montpellier centre adopted
formal quality management and received official approval as a "Major
scientific facility".
The IRD’s population and health monitoring units at Niakhar and DielmoNdiop in Senegal are managed in partnership with the Senegalese
health ministry and the Pasteur Institute. In 2008 both monitoring
units − the older of which has been running since 1962 − joined the
joint research unit on emerging tropical and infectious diseases. The
change of status is intended to open the platform more quickly to a
larger number of users and make better use of the research potential of
the databases they have built up.
A molecular biology platform was set up in New Caledonia. This is a
joint facility with the New Caledonia Agronomy Institute, Ifremer, the
Pasteur Institute in New Caledonia and the University of New Caledonia.
It provides the archipelago’s scientists with a high-performance tool for
analysing the structure and functioning of animal, plant and microbe
genomes from land or marine species. Genotyping and sequencing
projects for the endemic flora and fauna and for the human and animal
diseases present on the islands are already under way.
Information
systems
Implementation of the information systems master plan continued
in 2008.
As part of decentralising the Institute’s administrative management
and dematerialising internal communications, the data processing
centre’s scope was extended to include the budget scorecards and
SORGHO-Finances. This means the research units can now handle
their credit transfers directly. Contract management (SIROCCO) was
computerised. WiFi terminals, videoconferencing and storage solutions
were set up. A platform was created for online collaborative work and
for sending bulky files. All these measures will facilitate staff travel and
work with partners.
With regard to scientific computing (SPIRALES), the IS department
provided help to twenty-two research and service units. It also organised
training in cataloguing, databases and the use of the "R" statistical
tool. Two shared host platforms, Nouméa and Montpellier, now host more
than fifty applications. The department transferred several projects to
other units and there were transfers of IS competencies to partners.
The data processing infrastructure continued to evolve, with the
deployment of an external operator’s links across some twenty sites
outside France. Management of much of the IRD’s electronic mail was
transferred to the servers at the Bondy site.
[ Contact: dsi@ird.fr ]
Herbarium/New Caledonia.
Fish farm/Indonesia.
Annual report 2008 s
Human resources
Key features of 2008 were the move to the new headquarters in
Marseille, the introduction of a new system of “joint chairs” for
hosting researchers at the IRD and the introduction of online
assessment for engineers and technicians.
IRD staff numbers
The IRD had 2172 staff including 858 researchers, 973 engineers
and technicians and 341 local staff. The average age of IRD staff
(excluding local employees) was 44 − 41 for women and 47 for
men. Women made up 40% of the total (proportionately less among
the researchers (26%) but a majority among the engineers and
technicians (56%)).
Moving to Marseille
Assistance was provided for staff affected by the relocation of the
head office from Paris to Marseille. A special staff support team
was formed, to help staff and their families decide whether or not to
make the move to Marseille, but also to ensure continuity of service
throughout the period of the move.
Particular attention was paid to the individual situations of staff
who chose not to move to Marseille. Some solution was found for
everyone, either through a move to another government institution
or through redeployment within the IRD. This involved a major
campaign for internal mobility and collaboration with other
research and higher education institutions.
One hundred and eighty staff decided to move to Marseille. The IRD
and all its partners in Marseille pulled out the stops to help them
solve the attendant problems of housing, schools or nurseries for
the children, and spouses’ job-hunting.
The head office mainly employs tenured IRD staff or on secondment.
Continuity of service was ensured by efficient management of the
departure dates and by the willing efforts of everyone concerned.
At work in the South and mobilising
the scientific community
In 2008, 38% of IRD staff were working outside Metropolitan
France: 50% in Africa or the Mediterranean, 25% in the French
overseas territories, 15% in South America and 10% in Asia and
the Pacific. Tthe Institute’s presence was most intensive in Senegal,
Burkina Faso, Brazil, Peru, French Guiana and New Caledonia.
Other staff work overseas on long missions lasting a little less
than three months on average. 182 long missions were performed
in 2008 − nearly half in Africa, 20% in Latin America and 20% in
Asia and the Pacific.
Part of the Institute’s function is to mobilise the Northern scientific
and academic community to address development issues. To
do this it hosts a growing number of guest researchers and
teacher-researchers from other bodies and universities. In 2008
it introduced a new system of joint chairs to foster research and
training for development, in Northern and Southern countries alike.
The Personnel department invested additional effort to help the
research units submit tenders and mount complex programs. At the
end of 2008 the IRD had 70 people working on research contracts,
compared to about 15 at the start of 2006. Resources were deployed
in both centres in Metropolitan France to give the units closecontact assistance.
Staff welfare
A "welfare and quality of life at work" team was set up within
the Personnel department to assist individual staff members
with incidents in their careers, social security problems or risk
situations. Its aim will be to protect the health and safety of IRD
staff (the coordinating doctor will play a key role) and to assist staff
with welfare-related issues such as social security coverage. It will
pursue an active policy of communicating and informing staff on
retirement issues.
Seventeen additional health and safety delegates joined the health
and safety network in the Institute’s centres and research units
in France and abroad. Training sessions were organised for their
benefit. The new head office premises were brought up to current
fire safety standards.
The arrangements for assessing risks before staff leave on missions
overseas were perfected and an inter-establishment study was
conducted to harmonise practice among French research bodies.
Staff promotion improved
In 2007 and 2008 the IRD took steps to make it easier for junior
researchers to move up a grade (from CR2 to CR1), so opening new
career prospects for them. The annual rate of upgrades doubled.
Possibilities for engineers and technicians to move up a grade or to
a higher category were also increased.
Online assessment
for engineers and technicians
New stage in training policy
New functions were added to the administrative portal: staff
had been able to apply for leave or consult and correct their
administrative files online since 2007. Now, engineers and
technicians can also create and manage their own assessment
files online. The same facility will be made available to researchers
in 2009.
In the context of the head office’s move to Marseille, the IRD
focused on helping individual staff pursue further training. A new
methodology was used in drawing up the training plan. Group
training on change management and professionalisation was
provided. All in all 5900 training days were dispensed to 1229
trainees.
[ Contact: ddp@ird.fr ]
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Staff numbers
Researchers
Engineers and technicians
Permanent local staff
TOTAL
IRD staff age distribution
TENURED STAFF
808
779
1587
NON-TENURED STAFF*
50
194
341
585
TOTAL
858
973
341
2172
WOMEN
227
544
106
877
TOTAL
858
973
341
2172
Men Age Women
65
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50
49
48
47
46
45
44
43
42
41
40
39
38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
*Short-term contracts, insourcing, youth volunteers, grantees and local staff.
Staff by gender
Researchers
Engineers and technicians
Permanent local staff
TOTAL
MEN
631
429
235
1295
%
74
44
69
60
%
26
56
31
40
On assignment outside Metropolitan France
Researchers
Engineers and technicians
2004*
34%
29%
2005*
35%
24%
2006**
37%
26%
2007**
35%
25%
2008**
34%
21%
*Until 2005, percentage based on budgeted posts **Since 2006, percentage based on IRD staff numbers at 31/12 (excl. local staff).
Long term missions
Africa
America
Asia - Ocaania
Europe
TOTAL
2003
33
38
8
2
81
2004
42
45
20
8
115
2005
60
60
32
3
155
2006
52
40
19
6
117
2007
61
36
23
5
125
2008
89
51
41
1
182
70
Source: Sorgho at 31/12/2008.
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Numbers
Staff by geographical region
Mediterranean [2%] 50
Europe and 5
North America [0,2%]
Researchers by discipline
36 East Africa and Indian Ocean [2%]
81 Asia and Pacific [4%]
81 French overseas regions [4%]
129 South America [6%]
Chemistry 1%
Engineering sciences 2%
Physics 2%
Human sciences 4%
Engineers and technicians by occupational category
Engineering sciences,
scientific instrumentation 4%
1% Mathematics
40%
Life sciences
41%
Management
and admin.
5% Human and social sciences
5% Chemistry, materials science
5% Property management, logistics,
Medecine 5%
prevention, restoration
123 French overseas
collectivities [6%]
1 339
Metropolitan France [61%]
328
West and Central Africa
[15%]
9% Data processing, statistics,
scientific computing
Social sciences
21%
24%
Universe sciences
22%
Life sciences
9% Information, documentation, culture,
communication, publishing, ICTE
Annual report 2008 s
Financial resources
The IRD’s achievements were fully in compliance with the
geographical and scientific priorities set out in its objectives
contract. Among the salient financial facts of the year were
a significant increase in the Institute’s own resources, an
exceptional government subsidy for the relocation of the
Institute’s head office, and a continuing high level of investment.
The budget
The initial budget was close to €219m in expenditure and over
€216m in income. The IRD has three sources of funds: government
grants (€194m in 2008, or 88.5%), research contract revenue
(€16.9m or about 8%) and miscellaneous income (€5.8m or about
3%). Staff salaries accounted for €153m of the total (70%).
The research and service units received 56% of the Institute’s
financial resources (€123m) – an increase of 4.7% over 2007.
Incentive credits for research and service units, and for pilot
operations in support of scientific work, were increased to €1.8m
in 2008.
Sharp increase in research
contract income
Income from research contracts amounted to €25.6m, €8.72m
more than in the budget forecast and €3.2m more than the
previous year. One reason for this was the IRD’s good performance in
response to calls for proposals from the National Research Agency.
Another was its prominent role as a research operator with public
and private partners: French government institutions (€5.90m),
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (€4.95m), European institutions
(€2.93m), other countries’ government institutions (€2.56m),
non-French private sector partners (€2.23m) etc.
The institute’s own resources were nearly double their 2006 figure
and are now more than 70% of the target set by the 2006-2009
objectives contract (16% of budget).
IRD resources [€millions]
O.54 Income from research applications [0,23%]
Exceptional government subsidy
for head office relocation
2.77
Other subsidies
and income
[1,19%]
With the IRD’s head office moving to Marseille, an exceptional
government subsidy of €2.6m was granted to compensate staff
transferred from the Ile de France region. The decentralised
authorities provided a subsidy of €4m towards fitting out the new
headquarters.
High level
of investment maintained
25.62
- €6.8m for property investments including €3.5m for
computer facilities and €1.8m for the CapMédiTrop operation
(reorganising agricultural science into three separate clusters
including construction of a building on the Lavalette campus
in Montpellier).
[ Contact: df@ird.fr ]
State subsidies
[87,60%]
Research contract income by origin [€millions]
O.21
International institutions
7.80
Ministries
and local
government
2.93
European institutions
3.06
French public
institutions
€25,62m
5.75
Agence nationale de
la recherche (ANR)
5.88
Other partners
(public and private
sectors)
Research contract income by origin [€millions]
MONTANT
Earth and Environment department
Living Resources department
Societies and Health department
Capacity-building Support
Applications and Consulting
Information and Communication
International Relations
Scientific Outreach
Decentralised services
Partners under IRD management*
TOTAL IN BUDGET
Paid out to partners off-budget
3.72
4.96
8.89
4.56
0.36
0.50
1.19
0.08
0.07
1.30
25.62
4.09
TOTAL
29.72
*Mainly under contracts with Europe, ANR, GIS etc.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
204.41
Research
agreements
[10,98%]
The IRD allocated €9m for investments, breaking down as
follows:
- €2.5m for scientific investments including €1.2m for
nautical resources (€1m for technical overhaul of the Alis and
€0.2m to re-equip both ocean-going vessels, the Alis and the
Antea) and €1.3m for scientific equipment, the most notable
being a €0.65m modular insectarium for studying vector
mosquitoes in Montpellier;
€233.34m
Expenditure of research & service units [€millions]
Expenditure on support functions [€millions]
PAYROLL
OPERATING COSTS
AND INVESTMENTS
TOTAL
Welfare
0.20
1.20
1.40
Information systems (excl. master plan)
2.91
4.45
7.36
1.09
1.09
2008 expenditure from government subsidies and own resources
PAYROLL
OPERATING COSTS
AND INVESTMENTS
TOTAL
Earth and environment
32.14
6.29
38.43
Information systems master plan
-
Living resources
33.63
6.68
40.31
Maintenance
-
0.65
0.65
Societies and health
35.97
9.32
45.29
Major building works
-
0.26
0.26
101.74
22.29
124.03
Construction
-
0.08
0.08
8.34
5.56
13.90
PAYROLL
OPERATING COSTS
AND INVESTMENTS
TOTAL
15.01
8.89
23.91
8.47
1.54
10.01
Sustainable management of Southern ecosystems
18.10
3.46
21.56
Continental and coastal waters
19.82
4.21
24.03
Food security in the South
17.46
3.27
20.73
Health in the South
19.58
7.10
26.68
Development and globalisation
18.30
2.71
21.02
101.74
22.29
124.03
Research department
TOTAL
Decentralised services
Research program
Natural hazards, climate
TOTAL
Central services
-
0.07
0.07
9.32
0.03
9.35
35.78
22.29
58.07
Financial operations
Other general expenses
TOTAL
3.02
IRD expenditure by type [€millions]
Programmed investment [1.34%]
66.33
Operating costs and
non-programmed
investment
[29.42%]
Expenditure on cross-cutting activities [€millions]
PAYROLL
OPERATING COSTS
AND INVESTMENTS
TOTAL
Capacity-building support
0.74
6.47
7.21
Consulting & applications
0.60
0.66
1.26
Information & communication
5.04
1.67
6.71
International relations
8.49
4.38
12.87
Scientific outreach
2.88
0.15
3.04
16.05
Scientific and ethical evaluation
0.50
0.34
0.83
Latin America
[7.12%]
Continuing education
0.15
1.06
1.22
21.46
Contributions to partnerships
0.13
4.03
4.16
French overseas territories
[9.52%]
Nautical resources FI
0.10
4.41
4.50
Nautical resources IP
-
1.17
1.17
34.04
Other major scientific capital equipment
-
0.41
0.41
Africa and Indian
Ocean [15.10%]
18.63
24.76
43.39
TOTAL
Expenditure by geographical region [€millions]
€225.48m
156.13
Payroll
[69.24%]
12.65
Asia [5.61%]
1.70 Other countries [0.75%]
€225.48m
139.58
Metropolitan
France
[61.90%]
Annual report 2008 s
INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Dispensary/Benin.
AIRD: mobilising research
for development
AIRD (Agence inter-établissements de la recherche pour le
développement, ‘the Agency’) was set up in 2006. A year of positive
achievements in 2007 already gave it a high public profile. In
2008 its member institutions gave the supervisory ministries a
reaffirmation of their readiness to work together, and the Agency
was called on both for scientific partnerships and for joint financing.
AIRD is managed by a steering committee. This is a collegial
body, half of whose members are Southern partners and half
representatives of multilateral organisations and French research
and higher education establishments. The steering committee
identifies and ranks in order of priority the guideline themes for
research projects to be managed by the Agency.
A choice of priority topics is made for each theme, based on
proposals from resource people. In collaboration with the scientific
communities concerned, the resource people assess the available
researcher potential and the funding that could be raised. Once
operational, projects are managed by the scientific coordinator
for the priority topic concerned, with the help of the permanent
executive secretariat.
Access to water/Mali.
The Agency has made a place for itself in the French and European
research landscape. For example, it was selected to manage the
implementation of the Africa-EU strategic partnership agreement
entitled “Science, information society and space”, which was
signed in Lisbon in 2007. AIRD is an integral part of the French
research system. Now, its activities are also known to potential
partners in other countries; a number of contacts were established
this year. In particular, the Agency received a visit from the director
of the international bureau of the German education and research
ministry. This was a fruitful exchange and could be the starting
point of a bilateral cooperation for development in the South.
A large part of the Agency’s work was in monitoring projects that
started in 2007 (“FSP RIPECSA”, “Bird ’flu project”, “The Souths
today” and “Biodiversity in Madagascar and the Indian Ocean”)
and launching new programs validated by the steering committee.
The steering committee also monitored partners’ fulfilment of their
commitments to allocate significant resources to Southern partners
and to comply with current rules for ensuring scientific quality
(competitive tender and selection by independent committee).
The guideline themes are (i) Governance and public policy;
(ii) Health, food security and nutrition; (iii) Agricultural and
aquacultural production; (iv) Impact of climate change and
societies’ adaptations; (v) Energy for the South: new and traditional
energy sources. The steering committee met twice in 2008 to assess
the relevance of about ten programs on these themes. They noted
a good balance among the priorities except for the energy theme,
which should be developed more in 2009.
Farm landscape/Morocco.
Identifying mosquitoes/Burkina Faso
.
Annual report 2008 s
Three calls for proposals were launched, to be funded either by the IRD
or jointly with other institutions:
Infectious diseases with epidemic potential for the Indian Ocean:
Conducted jointly with the CRVOI (Centre de Recherche et de Veille sur
les maladies émergentes dans l’Océan Indien), it is looking for research
proposals and teams for this topic. Projects must be implemented
through partnerships between teams in Metropolitan France or La
Réunion and teams from other member countries of the Indian Ocean
Commission (Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros Islands and Mauritius).
Infectious diseases and their environments:
AIRD’s role in this call for proposals issued by the ANR specifically
concerns funding for Southern teams so that they can be present and
visible on a par with their Northern counterparts.
DEMTREND, Demographic trends in Sub-Saharan Africa:
This call for projects involves the AIRD, the Agence française de
développement (AFD) and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. It
is the result of joint work the three partners began in 2007. It includes
the following research topics:
- Economic growth, poverty and demography;
- Maternal and reproductive health, fertility and poverty;
- Family security and demography: fertility as insurance;
- Population movements and localisation, health and demography
(migration and poverty; migration and health).
The entire envelope amounts to €2.5m. Financial support of around
€100,000 to €400,000 will be granted to projects meeting the
following conditions:
› maximum duration 3 years;
› multi-disciplinary teams from the European Union and African
countries, including at least one team from Sub-Saharan Africa and
one economist and involving participants from outside the scientific
community (NGOs or policy-makers).
In compliance with the instructions laid down by the CICID (Comité
interministériel de la coopération internationale et du développement)
in 2005*, the Agency promotes scientific excellence by mobilising
the competencies of its founder members and other structures (ANR,
private foundations, international institutional partners, NGOs). It is
an effective tool for furthering development through science, bringing
teams from North and South into partnership.
The Agency’s legitimacy and usefulness as a policy tool and operational
agency are now undeniable. However, AIRD still has no specific status.
On 29 May 2008, its founder members sent a document to the research
and overseas development ministries asking that the AIRD’s position
be clarified. The document retraces the genesis of the Agency, its
advantages and its successes, outlines its prospects and reaffirms its
members’ involvement.
Project funding can take various forms: contributions to operating
credits, staffing or raising funds and partnerships from foundations.
Resource management is shared or entrusted to one of the project
partners. All projects and the resources allocated to them are rigorously
monitored.
While its energy as a new venture has enabled the Agency to show its
potential, it can only express it fully once its positioning, status and
mode of financing are clarified. AIRD will then be able to fully implement
the missions its supervising ministries assigned to it in 2005.
Since it was created, the Agency has mobilised nearly €25m in multiyear commitments. This included more than €5.5m for 2008, for
development research programs for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the
Indian Ocean.
*According to the conclusions of the CICID meeting of 18 May 2005, “The IRD will
progressively adopt an agency role, and will collaborate primarily with the CNRS, INSERM
and the Universities”.
- Efficacy of maternal and reproductive health policies and programs;
[ Contact: aird@ird.fr ]
Taking water samples/Chile.
Squall line/Niger.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT
Floating trade/Cambodia.
Appendices
The IRD’s
decision bodies
Central
services
Research
units
IRD facilities around
the world
Annual report 2008 s
The IRD’s decision bodies
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
\Chairman
Jean-François Girard, councillor of state.
\Ministry representatives
s-INISTRYOF2ESEARCHAND(IGHER%DUCATION
N.
s-INISTRYOF%DUCATION
Christiane Keriel, adviser to the General Directorate of higher
education.
s-INISTRYOF&OREIGNAND%UROPEAN!FFAIRS
Hélène Duchêne, director of mobility and attractiveness, General
Directorate for globalisation, development and partnerships.
Serge Tomasi, director for global economy and development strategy,
General Directorate for globalisation, development and partnerships.
s-INISTRYOFTHE"UDGET0UBLIC!CCOUNTINGAND#IVIL3ERVICE
Stanislas Godefroy, head of research and higher education bureau,
Budget Department.
s-INISTRYOFTHE)NTERIORAND/VERSEASAND4ERRITORIAL
Collectivities
Jacques Lucbereilh, deputy director, overseas territories.
\External members
Alain Arconte, honorary president, Antilles-Guyane University.
Catherine Brechignac, president, CNRS.
Monique Capron, director, Inserm unit 547.
Patrice Debré, president, Cirad.
Farid Ouabdesselam, president, University of Grenoble 1 Joseph Fourier.
Rahma Bourqia, president, Hassan II University, Morocco.
Achille Massougbodji, professor, Cotonou Faculty of Science, Benin.
Pierre Jacquet, director of strategy, Agence française du
développement.
\Staff representatives
Didier Bogusz, representing STREM-SGEN-CFDT research staff,
biologist.
Mireille Cavaleyra, representing SNTRS-CGT IT staff, biologist.
Alain Froment, representing SNCS-FSU research staff, doctor of medicine.
Brigitte Grébaut, representing STREM-SGEN-CFDT IT staff,
documentalist.
Francine Martin, representing SNPREES-FO IT staff, secretary.
Christian Valentin, representing STREM-SGEN-CFDT research staff,
soil scientist.
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL
The scientific council is the Institute’s forum for discussion and
proposals on science policy.
\President
Éric Servat, research director at the IRD, director of HydroSciences
UMR, Montpellier. Hydrology.
\Vice-president
Elisabeth Lallier-Verges, research director at the CNRS, director of
OSUC. Geochemistry (sedimentology).
s#OLLEGE)))2$RESEARCHERS
Vincent Corbel, medical entomology.
Patrick Livenais, demography.
Bernard Moizo, socio-anthropology.
François Molle, water management, governance and policy.
Hugo Perfettini, geophysics.
Henri Robain, soil science, geophysics.
s#OLLEGE))))2$ENGINEERSANDTECHNICIANS
Laurent Drapeau, GIS, spatial analysis.
Jean-Louis Janeau, soil science, hydrology.
Marc Soria, eco-ethology.
\Appointed members
Emmanuelle Auriol, professor, University of Toulouse I - Economics.
Hélène Budzinski, research director, CNRS - Chemistry.
Dominique Darbon, professor, Policy Studies Institute, Bordeaux Political science.
Pierpaolo Faggi, professor, University of Padua - Geography of
development.
Sofie Goormachtig, professor, Gent University - Biotechnology.
Claire Infante-Rivard, professor, McGill University, Montreal Epidemiology.
Claire Julian-Reynier, research director, Inserm - Public health,
epidemiology, biostatistics, health economics.
Sinata Koulla-Shiro, professor, Faculty of Medicine, Yaoundé 1
University - Microbiology, infectious diseases.
Louis Legendre, professor, Pierre and Marie Curie University Oceanography.
Pierre Mazzega, research director, CNRS - Integrated modelling of
environment and society.
Catherine Perrot-Rechenmann, research director, CNRS - Plant biology.
Silvia Restrepo, professor, Los Andes University, Bogotá - Plant biology.
Luiz-Augusto Toledo Machado, professor, National Institute of Space
research, Brazil - Meteorology.
Annick Weiner, professor, Vice-president of Paris-Sud University Applied mathematics, molecular physics.
\Elected members
s#OLLEGE))2$RESEARCHDIRECTORS
Didier Fontenille, medical entomology.
Jean-Pierre Guyot, microbial ecophysiology: nutrition, food science.
Geneviève Michon, ethnobotany, geography.
Luc Ortlieb, palaeoclimatology.
Sylvain Ouillon, oceanography.
SECTORAL SCIENTIFIC COMMISSIONS (CSS)
AND RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS MANAGEMENT
COMMISSIONS (CGRA)
\Chairs
Bruno Hamelin, CSS1: Physics and chemistry of the global environment.
Lise Lejus-Jouanin, CSS2: Biology and medical science.
Raymond Lae, CSS3: Sciences of ecological systems.
Catherine Aubertin, CSS4: Human and social sciences.
François Gerlotto, CGRA 1: Engineering and consulting.
Hervé De Tricornot, CGRA 2: Administration and management.
CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL
CONDUCT AND ETHICS (CCDE)
\Chairman
Dominique Lecourt, professor, Denis Diderot University.
\Members
Rafael Loyola Diaz, sociologist, National Autonomous University, Mexico.
Isabelle Ndjole Assouho Tokpanou, honorary president, Forum for
African Women Educationalists, Cameroon.
Jean-Claude André, director, European Centre for Research and
Advanced Training in Scientific Computation.
Roger Guedj, organic chemistry laboratory, CNRS/University of Nice
Sophia Antipolis.
Vladimir de Semir, associate professor of science journalism, Pompeu
Fabra University, Barcelona.
Sandrine Chifflet, research engineer, CAMELIA unit.
Maurice Lourd, phytopathologist, former Director of the IRD centre in Bondy.
Bernard Taverne, anthropologist with IRD unit HIV/AIDS and associated
diseases.
Central services
at 1 July 2009
Jean-François Girard
Chairman
Michel Laurent
Director General
Jean-Yves Villard
Secretary General (interim)
Pierre Soler
Earth and Environment
department
Bernard Dreyfus
Living Resources
department
Jacques Charmes
Societies and Health
department
Günther Hahne
Capacity-building
Support
Stéphane Raud
Applications
and consulting
Marie-Noëlle Favier
Information
and communication
Hervé Michel
Finance
Anne-Marie Tièges
Personnel
Daniel Lefort
International relations
Christian Marion
Scientific programming
and regional actions
Benoît Lootvoet
Evaluation
and indicators
Gilles Poncet
Information systems
Christine Leccia
Legal affairs
Patricia Bursachi
Head office
administration
Luc Mesquida
Accounting office
Annual report 2008 s
DUFOUR Sylvie [IRD Unit 207]
UMR BOREA \Biology of aquatic organisms and ecosystems
dufour@mnhn.fr - sylvie.dufour@ird.fr
Research units
ABBADIE Luc
BOTTERO Jean-Yves [IRD Unit 161]
[IRD Unit 211]
UMR Bioemco \Biogechemistry and ecology of continental
environments
luc.abbadie@ens.fr - luc.abbadie@ird.fr
www.biologie.ens.fr/bioemco
AGIER Michel
[IRD Unit 194]
UMR CEAf \Centre for African studiess
stceaf@ehess.fr - michel.agier@ird.f
ceaf.ehess.fr
ARFI Robert
[IRD Unit 167]
UR CYROCO \Cyanobacteria of shallow tropical aquatic
environments. Roles and controls
robert.arfi@ird.fr
www.com.univ-mrs.fr/IRD/cyroco
AUFFRAY Jean-Christophe
[IRD Unit 203]
UMR ISE-M \Institute for the sciences of evolution, Montpellier
jean-christophe.auffray@univ-montp2.fr
jean-christophe.auffray@ird.fr
AUGER Pierre [IRD Unit 209]
UMI UMMISCO \Mathematical and computer modelling
pierre.auger@ird.fr
www.ird.fr/ur079
BARTHÉLÉMY Daniel [IRD Unit 123]
UMR AMAP \Botany and bioinformatics of plant architecture
daniel.barthelemy@cirad.fr - daniel.barthelemy@ird.fr
amap.cirad.fr
BERGER Jacques [RD Unit 204]
UMR NUTRIPASS \Prevention of malnutrition and associated
pathologies
jacques.berger@ird.fr
UMR CEREGE \European research and teaching centre for
environmental geoscience
direction@cerege.fr - jean-yves.bottero@ird.fr
BOURGUET Denis [IRD Unit 022]
UMR CBGP \Centre for population biology and management
dircbgp@supagro.inra.fr - denis.bourguet@ird.fr
www1.montpellier.inra.fr/CBGP
CAPPELLE Bernard
[IRD Unit 206]
UMR IMPMC \Institute of mineralogy and physics of
condensed environments
bernard.capelle@impmc.jussieu.fr - bernard.capelle@ird.fr
www.impmc.jussieu.fr
ECHEVERRIA Manuel [IRD Unit 121]
COTTON Fabrice [IRD Unit 157]
UMR LGIT \Tectonophysics and internal geophysics laboratory
direction-lgit@obs.ujf-grenoble.fr - fabrice.cotton@ird.fr
www-lgit.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr
CUNY Gérard [IRD Unit 177]
UMR TRYPANOSOMES \Host-vector-parasite interactions in
trypanosomatidae infections
gerard.cuny@ird.fr
www.sleeping-sickness.org
CURY Philippe [IRD Unit 212]
UMR EME \Exploited marine ecosystems
philippe.cury@ird.fr
www.crh-sete.org
CHARBIT Yves [IRD Unit 196]
UMR CEPED \Centre for population and development
yves.charbit@ceped.org - yves.charbit@ird.fr
www.ceped.org
UMR EPV \Emergence of viral pathologies
xavier.de-lamballerie@univmed.fr - xavier.de-lamballerie@ird.fr
DELAPORTE Éric [IRD Unit 145]
UMR VIH/SIDA \HIV/AIDS and associated diseases
eric.delaporte@ird.fr
www.ird.sn/activites/sida
CHENORKIAN Robert [IRD Unit 184]
UMR LAMPEA \Mediterranean prehistory laboratory, EuropeAfrica
robert.chenorkian@univ-provence.fr - robert.chenorkian@ird.fr
sites.univ-provence.fr/lampea
CHOTTE Jean-Luc [IRD Unit 210]
UMR Eco&Sols \Functional ecology and biogeochemistry of soils
jean-luc.chotte@ird.fr
CORMIER-SALEM Marie-Christine [IRD Unit 208]
UMR \Local heritage
marie-christine.cormier-salem@ird.fr
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
EL KADI Galila [IRD Unit 029]
UR URBI \Urban environment
galila.el_kadi@ird.fr
www.ur029.ird.fr
EYMARD Laurence [IRD Unit 182]
UMR LOCEAN \Oceanography and climate laboratory:
computer experiments and approaches
laurence.eymard@locean-ipsl.upmc.fr - laurence.eymard@ird.fr
FERRARIS Jocelyne
[IRD Unit 128]
UR CoRéUs \Biocomplexity of coral ecosystems in the
Indo-Pacific
jocelyne.ferraris@ird.fr
www.coreus.ird.fr
DE LAMBALLERIE Xavier [IRD Unit 190]
CHARVIS Philippe [IRD Unit 082]
UMR GÉOAZUR \Géosciences Azur
direction@geoazur.unice.fr - philippe.charvis@ird.fr
geoazur.oca.eu
UMR LGDP \Plant growth and genomics laboratory
dir.lgdp@univ-perp.fr - manuel.echeverria@ird.fr
lgdp.univ-perp.fr
DELORON Philippe [IRD Unit 010]
UR \Mother and infant health in tropical environments:
genetic and perinatal epidemiology
philippe.deloron@ird.fr
ird10.free.fr/IRD10fr
FICHEZ Renaud [IRD Unit 103]
UR CAMELIA \Characterisation and modelling of exchanges in
lagoons affected by terrigenous and anthropogenic impacts
renaud.fichez@univmed.fr - renaud.fichez@ird.fr
www.ird.nc/CAMELIA
FONTENILLE Didier [IRD Unit 016]
UR \Characterisation and G34ontrol of vector populations
didier.fontenille@ird.fr
www.mpl.ird.fr/ur016
FOURNET Alain
[IRD Unit 084]
US BIODIVAL \Knowledge of tropical plant resources and
their uses
alain.fournet@ird.fr
DU PENHOAT Yves [IRD Unit 065]
UMR LEGOS \Laboratory for geophysics and oceanography
research from space
directeur@legos.obs-mip.fr - yves.du-penhoat@ird.fr
www.legos.obs-mip.fr
GARIN Patrice
[IRD Unit 183]
UMR G-EAU \Water management, uses and stakeholders
patrice.garin@cemagref.fr - patrice.garin@ird.fr
www.g-eau.net
GOURIOU Yves
[IRD Unit 191]
US IMAGO \Instrumentation, analytical tools and observation in
geophysics and oceanography
yves.gouriou@ird.fr
www.brest.ird.fr/us191
GUICHAOUA André [IRD Unit 201]
UMR \Development and societies
devsoc@univ-paris1.fr - andre.guichaoua@ird.fr
recherche-iedes.univ-paris1.fr/
HAMON Serge [IRD Unit 188]
UMR DIA-PC \Diversity and adaptation in cultivated plants
serge.hamon@ird.fr
HERRERA Javier [IRD Unit 047]
UR DIAL \Development, institutions and long-term analysis
herrera@dial.prd.fr - javier.herrera@ird.fr
www.dial.prd.fr
HUYNH Frédéric [IRD Unit 140]
US ESPACE \Expertise and spatialisation of environmental
knowledge
frederic.huynh@ird.fr
www.espace.ird.fr
LALOU Richard [RD Unit 151]
UMR LPED \Population-environment-development laboratory
richard.lalou@univ-provence.fr - richard.lalou@ird.fr
www.lped.org/
LANGE Marie-France
[IRD Unit 105]
UR \Knowledge and development
marie-france.lange@ird.fr
www.ur105.ird.fr
LE GUYADER Hervé [IRD Unit 148]
UMR SAE \Systematics, adaptation, evolution
herve.le_guyader@upmc.fr - herve.le-guyader@ird.fr
LEBEL Thierry [IRD Unit 012]
UMR LTHE \Laboratory for the study of transfers in hydrology
and environment
direction-lthe@hmg.inpg.fr - thierry.lebel@ird.fr
www.lthe.hmg.inpg.fr
LEBRUN Michel [IRD Unit 040]
UMR LSTM \Tropical and Mediterranean symbiosis laboratory
lebrun@univ-montp2.fr - michel.lebrun@ird.fr
www.mpl.ird.fr/lstm
JOSSE Erwan [IRD Unit 004]
US ACAPPELLA \Hydro-acoustics applied to fishery and
aquatic ecology and ethology
erwan.josse@ird.fr
www.brest.ird.fr/us004
KERR Yann [IRD Unit 113]
UMR CESBIO \Centre for the study of the biosphere from space
direction@cesbio.cnes.fr - yann.kerr@ird.fr
www.cesbio.ups-tlse.fr
LHOMME Jean-Paul
[IRD Unit 060]
UR CLIFA \Climate and agro-ecosystem functioning
jean-paul.lhomme@ird.fr
www.ird.fr/ur060
MARTIN François [IRD Unit 154]
UMR LMTG \Laboratory for the study of transfer mechanisms
in geology
martin@lmtg.obs-mip.fr - francois.martin@ird.fr
www.lmtg.obs-mip.fr
LALLEMANT Marc [IRD Unit 174]
UMI IRD-PHPT \Clinical epidemiology, mother and child
health and HIV in Southeast Asia
marc.lallemant@ird.fr
www.phpt.org
MEMERY Laurent [IRD Unit 195]
UMR LEMAR \Marine environmental science laboratory
laurent.memery@univ-brest.fr - laurent.memery@ird.fr
www.univ-brest.fr/IUEM/UMR6539
SCHIANO Pierre
[IRD Unit 163]
UMR LMV \Magmas and volcanoes laboratory
p.schiano@opgc.univ-bpclermont.fr - pierre.schiano@ird.fr
www.obs.univ-bpclermont.fr/lmv
SERVAT Éric [IRD Unit 050]
MOATTI Jean-Paul [IRD Unit 912]
UMR SE4S \Economics, social science, health systems,
societies
jean-paul.moatti@inserm.fr
NEPVEU Françoise [IRD Unit 152]
UMR PHARMACOCH \Pharmaceutical chemistry of natural
substances and redox pharmacophores
nepveu@cict.fr - francoise.nepveu@ird.fr
NICOLE Michel
UMR HSM \HydroSciences Montpellier
eric.servat@ird.fr
www.hydrosciences.fr
SILVAIN Jean-François [IRD Unit 072]
UR BEI \Biodiversity and evolution of plant-pest-antagonist
complexes
jean-francois.silvain@ird.fr
www.legs.cnrs-gif.fr
[IRD Unit 186]
UMR RPB \Plant resistance to pests and diseases
michel.nicole@ird.fr
www.mpl.ird.fr/umr-rpb
STREIFF-FENART Jocelyne [IRD Unit 205]
UMR URMIS \Migration and society
streiff@unice.fr - jocelyne.streiff-fenart@ird.fr
www.unice.fr/urmis/
QUEIXALÓS Francesc [IRD Unit 135]
UMR CELIA \Centre for the study of indigenous American
languages
qxls@vjf.cnrs.fr - qxls@ird.fr
www.vjf.cnrs.fr/celia
LEGENDRE Marc [IRD Unit 175]
UR CAVIAR \Characterisation and utilisation of fish diversity
for integrated aquaculture
marc.legendre@ird.fr
LAE Raymond [IRD Unit 070]
UR RAP \Adaptive responses of fish populations and
communities to environmental pressure
raymond.lae@ird.fr
www.ird.sn/activites/rap
MICHON Geneviève [IRD Unit 199]
UR \Socio-environmental dynamics and resource
governance
genevieve.michon@ird.fr
www.mpl.ird.fr/ur199
QUENSIÈRE Jacques
TATONI Thierry
[IRD Unit 193]
UMR IMEP \Mediterranean institute of ecology and
palaeoecology
thierry.tatoni@univ-cezanne.fr - thierry.tatoni@ird.fr
www.imep-cnrs.com
[IRD Unit 063]
UMR C3ED \Centre for economics and ethics for
development and the environment
jacques.quensiere@c3ed.uvsq.fr - jacques.quensiere@ird.fr
www.c3ed.uvsq.fr
RAOULT Didier [IRD Unit 198]
UMR URMITE \Emerging tropical and infectious diseases
research unit
didier.raoult@gmail.com - didier.raoult@ird.fr
THOLOZAN Jean-Luc [IRD Unit 180]
UMR MICROBIOTECH \Microbiology and biotechnology in hot
environments
jean-luc.tholozan@ird.fr
TROUSSELLIER Marc [IRD Unit 202]
UMR ECOLAG \Lagoon ecosystems
marc.troussellier@univ-montp2.fr - marc.troussellier@ird.fr
www.ecolag.univ-montp2.fr
RENAUD François [IRD Unit 165]
UMR GEMI \Genetics and evolution of infectious diseases
francois.renaud@ird.fr
gemi.mpl.ird.fr/
ROY Claude [IRD Unit 197]
UMR LPO \Ocean physics laboratory
claude.roy@ird.fr
www.ifremer.fr/lpo
VOLTZ Marc [IRD Unit 144]
UMR LISAH \Laboratory for the study of soil-agrosystemhydrosystem interactions
voltz@supagro.inra.fr - marc.voltz@ird.fr
www.umr-lisah.fr
Annual report 2008 s
IRD establishments around the world
METROPOLITAN FRANCE
Head office
IRD - Le Sextant - 44, bd de Dunkerque
CS 90009 - 13572 Marseille Cedex 2
Tel: +33 (0)4 91 99 92 00
www.ird.fr
IRD Centre Northern France
Director: Georges de Noni
32, avenue Henri Varagnat - 93143 Bondy cedex
Tel: +33 (0)1 48 02 55 00
bondy@ird.fr - www.ird.fr/bondy
IRD Centre Southern France
Director: Yves Duval
911, avenue Agropolis - BP 64501
34394 Montpellier cedex 5
Tel: +33 (0)4 67 41 61 00
montpellier@ird.fr - www.mpl.ird.fr
OVERSEAS REGIONS
AND DEPARTMENTS
French Guiana
Representative: Jean-Marie Fotsing
IRD - 0,275 km Route de Montabo - BP 165 97323 Cayenne cedex
Tel: +33 (0)5 94 29 92 60
guyane@ird.fr - www.cayenne.ird.fr
Martinique
Representative: Marc Morell
IRD - 3, rue de la Rose des vents - BP 8006
97259 Fort-de-France cedex
Tel: +33 (0)5 96 39 77 39
martinique@ird.fr - www.mq.ird.fr
French Polynesia
Representative: Christian Moretti
IRD - Chemin de l’Arahiri - PK 3,5 Arue - BP 529
98713 Papeete - Tahiti-French Polynesia
Tel: (689) 47 42 00
polynesie@ird.fr
New Caledonia
Representative: Fabrice Colin
IRD - 101, promenade Roger Laroque
Anse Vata - BP A5 - 98848 Nouméa cedex
Tel: (687) 26 10 00
nouvelle-caledonie@ird.fr - www.ird.nc
La Réunion
Representative: Alain Borgel
Postal address: IRD - BP 172
97492 Sainte-Clotilde cedex
Physical address: IRD - Parc technologique
universitaire - 2, rue Joseph Wetzell 97492 Sainte-Clotilde cedex
Tel: +33 (0)2 62 48 33 52
la-reunion@ird.fr
AFRICA
South Africa
Representative: Jean-Marie Fritsch
Postal address: IRD auprès de l’IFAS P.O. Box 542, Newtown 2113,
Johannesburg - South Africa
Physical address: 66, Margaret Mcingana
Street (Market Theatre Precinct) - Newtown
2113, Johannesburg - South Africa
Tel: (27 11) 836 05 61/64
afrique-du-sud@ird.fr
Benin
Representative: Bruno Bordage
Postal address: IRD-SCAC - Ambassade de
France au Bénin - s/c Service de la valise
diplomatique - 92438 Chatillon cedex - France
Physical address: Résidence « Les Cocotiers »
08 BP 841 - Cotonou - Benin
Tel: (229) 21 30 03 54
benin@ird.fr - www.ird.fr/benin
Burkina Faso
Representative: Jean-Pierre Guengant
IRD - 688, avenue Pr. Joseph Ki-Zerbo,
Secteur 4, 01 BP 182 - Ouagadougou 01
Burkina Faso
Tel: (226) 50 30 67 37 / 39
burkina-faso@ird.fr - www.ird.bf
Cameroon
Representative: Xavier Garde
IRD - Rue Jacques Essono Balla, Quartier Elig
Essono - BP 1857 - Yaoundé - Cameroon
Tel: (237) 22 20 15 08 / (237) 22 21 70 52
cameroun@ird.fr
sInstitut de recherche pour le développement
Egypt
Representative: Abdelghani Chehbouni
Postal address: IRD - P.O. Box 26 - 12211 Giza Egypt
Physical address: 46, rue 7 - 11431 Maadi Cairo - Egypt
Tel: (202) 23 59 71 53
egypte@ird.fr - www.eg.ird.fr
Tunisia
Representative: Patrick Thonneau
IRD - BP 434 - 5, impasse Chehrazade
El Menzah 4 - 1004 Tunis - Tunisia
Tel: (216 71) 75 00 09 / 01 83
tunisie@ird.fr - www.tn.ird.fr
Kenya
Representative: Jean Albergel
IRD - C/o ICRAF - United Nations Avenue,
Gigiri - P.O. Box 30677 - 00100 Nairobi - Kenya
Tel: (254 20) 722 47 58 - Fax : (254 20) 722 40 01
kenya@ird.fr - www.ird.fr/kenya
Madagascar
Representative: Sophie Goedefroit
IRD près VB 22 B - Ambatoroka - Route
d’Ambohipo - BP 434 - 101 Antananarivo
Madagascar
Tel: (261 20) 22 330 98
madagascar@ird.fr - www.ird.fr/madagascar
Mali
Representative: Gilles Fédière
IRD - Numéro 2000, rue 234 - Quartier
Hippodrome - BP 2528 - Bamako - Mali
Tel: (223) 20 21 05 01 / (223) 20 21 05 12
mali@ird.fr - www.mali.ird.fr
Morocco
Representative: Henri Guillaume
IRD - 15, rue Abou Derr - BP 8967
10000 Rabat-Agdal - Morocco
Tel: (212) 537 67 27 33
maroc@ird.fr - www.ird.fr/maroc
Niger
Representative: Gilles Bezançon
IRD - 276, avenue de Maradi - BP 11416 Niamey - Niger
Tel: (227) 20 75 26 10 / 31 15 / 38 27
niger@ird.fr - www.ird.ne
Senegal
Representative: Jean-Marc Hougard
IRD - Immeuble Mercure - Avenue Georges
Pompidou - X Wagane Diouf - BP 1386 CP 18524 - Dakar - Senegal
Tel: (221) 33 849 83 30
senegal@ird.fr - www.ird.sn
Hann Centre: Route des Pères Maristes Dakar - Tel: (221) 33 849 35 35
Bel-Air Centre: Route des Hydrocarbures Dakar - Tel: (221) 33 849 35 35
Mbour Centre: Route de Nianing - Mbour Tel: (221) 33 957 10 44
INDIAN OCEAN
LATIN AMERICA
Bolivia
Representative: Marie-Danielle Demelas
Postal address: IRD - CP 9214 - 00095 La Paz Bolivia
Physical address: Av. Hernando Siles nº 5290 Esq. Calle 7, Obrajes - La Paz - Bolivia
Tel: (591 2) 278 29 69 / 42
bolivie@ird.fr - www.bo.ird.fr
Brazil
Representative: Jean-Loup Guyot
Postal address: IRD - CP 7091 - Lago Sul
71635 - 971 Brasilia – DF - Brazil
Physical address: SHIS - QL 16 - Conj.4 - Casa
8 - Lago Sul - 71640-245 - Brasilia - DF - Brazil
Tel: (55 61) 32 48 53 23
bresil@ird.fr - www.brasil.ird.fr
Chile
Representative: Jean-François Marini
Postal address: IRD - Casilla 53 390 - Correo
Central Santiago 1 - Chile
Physical address: Roman Diaz 264,
Providencia - Santiago - Chile
Tel: (56 2) 236 34 64
chili@ird.fr - www.chile.ird.fr
Ecuador
Representative: Bernard Francou
IRD - Whymper 442 y Coruña - Apartado 17
12 857 - Quito - Ecuador
Tel: (593 2) 250 39 44
equateur@ird.fr - www.ec.ird.fr
Mexico
Representative: Pascal Labazée
IRD - Calle Cicerón n° 609 - Col. Los Morales,
Polanco - C.P. 11530 México, D.F. - Mexico
Tel: (52 55) 52 80 76 88
mexique@ird.fr - www.mx.ird.fr
Peru
Representative: Gérard Hérail
Postal address: IRD - Casilla 18 - 1209
Lima 18 - Peru
Physical address: Calle Teruel n° 357
Miraflores - Lima 18 - Peru
Tel: (51 1) 441 32 23
perou@ird.fr - www.peru.ird.fr
ASIA
Indonesia
Representative: Michel Larue
IRD - Wisma Anugraha - Jalan Taman Kemang
32 B - Jakarta 12730 - Indonesia
Tel: (62 21) 71 79 21 14
indonesie@ird.fr - www.id.ird.fr
Laos
Representative: Éric Bénéfice
IRD - Ban Sisangvone - BP 5992
Vientiane - Republic of Laos
Tel: (856 21) 45 27 07
laos@ird.fr - www.irdlaos.org
Thailand
Representative: Régine Lefait-Robin
IRD - French Embassy - 29, Thanon Sathorn
Tai - Bangkok 10120 - Thailand
Tel: (66 2) 627 21 90
thailande@ird.fr - www.th.ird.fr
Vietnam
Representative: Jacques Boulègue
IRD - Van Phuc Diplomatic Compound Appt. 202, Bldg. 2G - 298 Kim Ma
Ba Dinh - Hanoï - Vietnam
Tel: (84 4) 37 34 66 56
vietnam@ird.fr - www.vietnam.ird.fr
EUROPEAN UNION
Representative: Patrice Cayré
IRD - CLORA - 8, avenue des Arts
B1210 Bruxelles - Belgium
Tel: (32 2) 506 88 48
bruxelles@ird.fr
Photo credits Annual report 2008
s Cover
s Page 16
s Page 28
s Page 43
© IRD - Marc Bournof
© IRD - Pierre Laboute
© Bruce Cauvin
© Okoko Ashikoye
© Okoko Ashikoye
© IRD - Jean-Paul Gonzalez
© IRD - Vincent Simonneaux
s Page 17
s Page 29
s Page 44
© IRD - Jésus Nuñez
© IRD - Jésus Nuñez
© Jean-Claude Frisque
© Norwegian Refugee Council
© IRD - Pierre Laboute
© IFREMER - Jérôme Bourjea
s Page 30
s Page 45
© IRD - Michel Lardy
© IRD - Marc Bouvy
© IRD - Louis Marec
© IRD - Claire Lazareth
© IRD - Alain Rival
s Contents
© IRD - Joël Orempuller
© Thomas Staudacher
© IRD - Michel Lardy
© Anna Clopet
© CNES/SPOTIMAGE 2006
© IRD - Cristelle Duos
© IRD - Bernard Moizo
s Page 18
© IRD - Olivier Barrière
s Page 05
s Page 19
© IRD - Philippe Chanard
© IRD - D.R
© IRD - Marc Leblanc
s Page 06
© IRD - Manuel Carrard
© IRD - Elisabeth Deliry Antheaume
s Page 07
© IRD - Elisabeth Deliry Antheaume
© IRD - Bernard Mougenot
© IRD - Florence Boyer
© IRD - Pierre Laboute
s Page 08
s Page 20
© IRD - Francis Sondag
© IRD - Jean-Loup Guyot
s Page 21
© IRD - Marie-Nöelle Favier
s Page 22
© IRD - Florence Boyer
© IRD - Michel Dukhan
© Thomas Staudacher
s Page 23
s Page 11
s Page 32
© IRD - Marianne Baune
s Page 46
s Page 33
© CNES/SPOTIMAGE 2006
© UPCN - Rosario Rojas
© IRD - Luc Markiw
s Page 48
s Page 34
© Univmed -Christel Pinazo
© CEREGE - Georges Aumaitre
© IRD - Joël Orempuller
© IRD - Jean-Jacques Lemasson
s Page 49
s Page 35
© Nutriset
© IRD - Saurin Hem
© IRD - Mina Vilayleck
© IRD - Marc Legendre
s Page 54
s Page 36
© IRD - Cristelle Duos
© IRD - Corinne Ollier
© IRD - Marie-Nöelle Favier
s Page 55
© IRD - Jean-Pierre Montoroi
© IRD - Marie-Nöelle Favier
© IRD - Jean-Jacques Lemasson
s Page 12
s Page 24
© IRD - Sébastien Hardy
© IRD - Alexandra Rossi
s Page 13
s Page 25
© IRD - Arnaud Bertrand
© IRD - Luc Ortlieb
© IRD - Didier Fontenille
© IRD - Michel Dukhan
© Anna Clopet
© IRD -Thierry Lebel
© IRD - Sylvain Bonvalot
s Page 14
s Page 26
s Page 40
s Page 57
© IRD - Alain Laraque
© IRD - Patricia Turcq
© IRD - Dominique Laurent
© IRD - Thomas Changeux
© Tom Patterson/Natural Earth III
© IRD - Bernard Moizo
s Page 27
s Page 42
s Page 15
s Page 59
© IRD - Julien Brachet
© IRD - Philippe Chanard
© IRD - Olivier Dangles
© IRD - Jacques Charmes
© IRD - Arnaud Bertrand
s Page 37
© Éric Avenel
s Page 38
© IRD - Olivier Barrière
© IRD - Pablo Dominguez
© IRD - Geoffrey Gimonneaux
s Page 56
Document produced by the Information and Communication department of the IRD
dic@ird.fr
© IRD July 2009
Coordinator: Marie-Noëlle Favier
Copy editing: Catherine Trinh, Guylaine Bouvy
Picture editor: Indigo Base - Daina Rechner
Maps: Catherine Valton
Graphic design and layout: Éclats Graphiques
Printing: imprimerie Jouve, Mayenne
Distribution: unité diffusion, Bondy ; Philippe Chanard, Marseille
English translation: Harriet Coleman.
The following people contributed:
Martine Ahrweiller, Ouidir Benabderrahmane, Gilles Bernard, Mohammed Bettahar,
Nathalie Billot, Isabelle Bonal, Alain Borgel, Anne-Sophie Brouillet, Franck Carenzi,
Dominique Cavet, Thomas Changeux, Jacques Charmes, Fabrice Colin,
Samuel Cordier, Ariel Crozon, Pierre Deschamps, Bernard Dreyfus, Marie-Noëlle Favier,
Régis Féron, Anthony Francheteau, Daniel Lefort, Doriane Lemeltier, Fanny Lessous,
Benoît Lootvoet, Rémy Louat, Christian Marion, Estelle Mathieu, Hervé Michel,
Marc Morell, Christian Moretti, Thomas Mourier, Gilles Poncet, Anne Pruvot,
Stéphane Raud, Marie-Christine Rebourcet, Malika Remaoun, Alessandro Rizzo,
Marie-Lise Sabrié, Claire Salomon, Pierre Soler, Hervé Tissot Dupont,
Ghislaine Thirion, Olivier Vaillant.
For the scientific examples:
Marie-Pierre Ballarin, Arnaud Bertrand, Pascale Chabanet, Jhan Carlo Espinosa Villar,
Guillaume Favreau, Didier Fontenille, Pierre Genthon, Jean-Loup Guyot, Pierre Janin,
Éric Lanoue, Dominique Laurent, Jésus Nuñez, Josyane Ronchail, Florence Sylvestre,
Patricia Turcq, Yves Vigouroux.
IRD
Le Sextant
44, boulevard de Dunkerque
CS 90009
F-13572 Marseille Cedex 02
Tel: +33 (0)4 91 99 92 00
Fax +33 (0)4 91 99 92 22
www.ird.fr