18
Annual report 2011
Annual report 2011
Excellence
in research
• 20 Research focused on the South
• 23 Preserving the environment and resources
• 30 Improving public health in the South
• 34 Understanding social evolution in the South
19
20
Annual report 2011
Research focused on the South
Through close partnerships between North and South, the IRD works to
improve living conditions for vulnerable populations and to encourage
training and autonomy among scientific communities in the South.
By developing regional cross-disciplinary projects in the three priority domains
- health, society and the environment and resources, the IRD is committed to
conquering the major issues in development for its Southern partners.
Collaborations for the South
The IRD plays an integral part in the evolution of the French research
landscape. It is linked to three alliances: AVIESAN, the French National
Alliance for Life Sciences and Health; ANCRE, the French National
Alliance for Energy Research Coordination; and AllEnvi, the National
Alliance for Environmental Research. It has also strengthened
collaboration with higher education teaching establishments and
other research organisations. New agreements have thus been signed,
notably with the French Natural History Museum, the Paul Sabatier
Toulouse 3 and Nice Sophia Antipolis universities, and the PRESUniversité Montpellier Sud.
Great Ice meteorological station / Bolivia
As part of the Investissements d'Avenir programme, more than half of IRD
research units are involved in the selected projects for excellence. IRD teams are
partners with the 15 “Laboratoires d'excellence” (Labex), of which 8 are in the
domains of the environment and astrophysics, 4 in human and social sciences,
2 in biology and health and 1 in the field of energy. For example, the Institute
is particularly involved with the Coral Labex, which examines coral reefs faced
with global change, the CEBA Labex, covering Amazonian biodiversity in Guiana,
and the AGRO Labex, which looks at questions of agronomy and sustainable
development. The Institute is also partner to three “Équipements d'excellence”
(Equipex). It proposed a consortium working to promote themes relating
to the South and is one of the founding members of the “Institut hospitalouniversitaire” (IHU) POLMIT for infectious diseases, led by the scientific
cooperation foundation Méditerranée infections in Marseille. IRD units are also
linked to the creation of around twenty proposals in response to the call for
projects for the second wave of Investissements d’avenir programmes.
The Institute aims to make its Southern partners benefit from the positive
effects of these structures, and will assist them in understanding these new
features on the French research landscape.
New partnership instruments
In order to place Southern countries at the heart of partnerships, new tools have
been developed: The mixed international laboratories (LMI) and the regional
pilot programmes (PPR). These systems strengthen Southern teams' efficiency
in the fields of research, training and innovation.
LMIs were launched in 2008 and are operational structures located within the
premises of our Southern partners. They enable training and research projects
to be jointly implemented around shared platforms. They spread out regionally
and internationally and work with scientists from the South, offering researchers
and lecturer-researchers from the North the opportunity to develop lasting
relationships with their peers. Fourteen LMIs have been created and funded,
including three in the Mediterranean, two in West Africa, one in southern Africa, six
in Latin America and two in Asia. For example, the RICE LMI develops collaborative
research projects in Vietnam with the aim of improving rice production. The
GreatIce LMI is dedicated to studying the impact of climate changes on glaciers
in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.
Launched in 2010, PPRs are multidisciplinary research programmes on a
regional scale. They correspond, both thematically and geographically, to
priorities jointly defined by the IRD and its Southern partners and rely on a
coordinated set of scientific objectives and research activities relating to one
or more regions. With shared coordination and direction between North and
South, each PPR mobilises a large group of research teams. Three programmes
have been approved in 2012. One such PPR is Biodiversité, changements globaux
et santé dans les forêts tropicales humides d'Afrique centrale (FTH), which aims
to understand and predict environmental responses to climate and anthropic
Annual report 2011
changes in the Central African forest regions.
The Sociétés rurales, environnement et climat
en Afrique de l'Ouest (SREC) PPR combats
the vulnerability of rural populations faced
with climate change in West Africa. Lastly,
the Dynamiques des surfaces et interfaces
continentales et gestion des territoires ruraux
dans le Bassin méditerranéen (SICMED) PPR
enables the study and modelling of rural and
semi-rural human-altered ecosystems.
Seven PPRs are currently in the final stages of
their scientific projects. These programmes
relate to themes as varied as the study of
public policy in Sub-Saharan Africa and the
analysis of resources and environmental and
socio-economic dynamics in the Amazon.
Increasing numbers of copublications
excellence. 12 articles appeared in Emerging Infectious Diseases, 9 in Clinical
Infectious Diseases, 8 in Remote Sensing of Environment, 6 in the Journal of
Hydrology, 5 in PNAS, 4 in Nature, 4 more in The Lancet and 3 in Science. Each
researcher contributes to 2 publications on average, and among the 791 staff
who have published, nearly 11% have written more than five articles.
In the field of social sciences, IRD researchers have published 232 articles,
60 books and 220 book chapters, according to the Horizon database. A new
indicator relating to these themes has been included in the objectives
contract. It relates to a selection of journals extracted from AERES listings and
is complemented by a limited number of important publications on research
for development. In 2010, 181 articles met the criteria for this selection, three
quarters of our total production.
Co-publications with Southern countries have increased regularly in the last two
years, and now make up 45% of the total. This increase is particularly prominent
in West Africa and Latin America. The principal countries concerned are Senegal,
Brazil, Benin, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Peru. When the 2015 objectives
contract is launched, this figure should have reached 55%.
Publications enable the sharing of research
results with the scientific community as a
whole. They also demonstrate our research
teams' dynamism.
300
Rice picking / Vietnam
The number of articles published by IRD researchers has increased by around 7%,
up to 1,375 references in the Web of Science. This corresponds to an increase of
51% compared with 2006. If we take into account the full scope of the mixed
research units that the IRD is involved with, this scientific output can be counted
at 3,500 articles.
The visibility of publications is always important: 61% are published in journals
with an increased impact in their field, and more than 13% in journals of
21
250
Publications with an IRD author
between 2006 and 2011
200
1,600
150
1,400
600
1,200
100
1,000
50
800
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Co-publications
by major southern region
2011
0
2009
2010
2011
East and Southern Africa, Indian Ocean
West and Central Africa
Mediterranean region
Latin America and Caribbean region
Asia, Pacific
22
Annual report 2011
Expeditions to better understand the Southern
landscape
The locations explored by IRD researchers are as varied as their research topics.
From tropical forests to Sahelian deserts, Andean glaciers to Mediterranean
coasts, they study humans and their environment. The fight against infectious
diseases and the emergence of new illnesses, migratory movements, evolving
societies, climate changes and the preservation of resources and biodiversity are
all central preoccupations for our researchers.
Each year they carry out exploration missions and expeditions in order to better
understand the ecosystems of the South. The EXBODI campaign has permitted
new samples to be taken from the area around New Caledonia, in order to
better understand the diversity of fauna in the underwater mountain ranges
in this region and the study of little-known organisms linked to sunken wood.
The HYDROPRONY campaign, launched at the end of 2011, working on an
original hydrothermal site in New Caledonia’s southern lagoon, will enable
a better understanding of the conditions that favoured the emergence of
the first life forms. This type of extreme environment is also of particular
interest in the field of biotechnology, as it is potentially rich in bacteria
that are capable of synthesising new molecules. Still in New Caledonia, the
CALIOPE oceanographic mission has enabled the development of monitoring
tools for the lagoon ecosystems, using satellite imaging to monitor the water
colour, which varies according to concentrations of marine microorganisms.
TUAM’2011 is another initiative, part of the “biodiversité et substances
marines de Polynésie française” mission supported by the Grand Observatoire
du Pacifique sud, creating an inventory of marine fauna, with a focus on
sponges. These animals are present in all marine environments, at all latitudes,
and they have an excellent capacity to adapt. Their biological properties and
natural composition can also be used in human healthcare, aquaculture and
environmental applications.
As part of the NECTALIS oceanographic campaign, jointly led by the IRD and
the Pacific Community, experts are measuring the temperature and salinity
of the water, currents, light, and levels of phytoplankton and zooplankton and
their composition, in order to try and discover the initial links in the marine
food chain.
HYDROPRONY / New Caledonia
Contacts:
dgdscience@ird.fr
dic@ird.fr
TUAM’2011 / French Polynesia
The experimental PIRATA programme, established in 1997 by France, Brazil and
the USA in the Tropical Atlantic Ocean, enables measurement of meteorological
and oceanographic parameters from buoys that transmit their data by satellite
every day. New meteo-oceanic buoys have been installed in the central and
eastern Tropical Atlantic basin as part of the PIRATA 2011 campaign.
IRD researchers have also participated in several scientific missions in the
scattered islands, with the CNRS and the French Southern and Antarctic lands,
and the Marquesas Islands, with the Agence des aires marines protégées. The
Institute has also organised the ABANDA 2011 expedition, in partnership with
the Fondation Liambissi, to study the orange cave-dwelling crocodiles of Gabon.
This group of crocodiles offers a unique research opportunity due to their
geographic isolation and their highly specific living conditions.
The Abanda 2011 expedition
Having set off in 2010 to explore the karst caves of Abanda in Gabon, in search of
traces of ancient human activity, researchers from the “Patrimoines locaux” unit and
their partners from the Fondation Liambissi, in collaboration with the universities of
Rouen and Florida, discovered a population of orange dwarf crocodiles. These highly
specific specimens had never been recorded in this kind of cave habitat. The second
phase of the expedition took place in August 2011, in order to extend knowledge of
the cave network, record new crocodile specimens and collect new biological samples.
The initial results confirm the genetic divergence of these crocodiles in relation to
those found outside of the caves. However, many questions remain unanswered,
particularly concerning the duration and nature of their isolation, to be explored by
future missions.
Annual report 2011
Preserving
the environment
and resources
Global environmental changes and their impact on resources and our surroundings occupy
a central place among both political and scientific priorities. More than anywhere else,
communities of the South are dependent on natural environments for their very subsistence.
Extreme climatic events, soil deterioration and diminishing water supplies thus have dramatic
consequences in regions that are also experiencing rapid population expansion.
For the IRD and our partners, we are equally preoccupied with enhancing our understanding
of the processes that cause climate variations and improving our capacity to predict them,
anticipating natural risks and preserving planetary resources and biodiversity. We observe,
measure and simulate in order to decipher how natural and human-altered ecosystems'
operate; we report and model to allow better management, but also to share knowledge
within communities in the North and the South. These are the foundations of our scientific
operations.
Through multidisciplinary collaborations, establishing
major observatories and using innovative techniques such
as satellite monitoring, our research enables us to find
sustainable solutions for Southern countries.
1,065
481
391
articles
researchers
engineers and
technicians
23
24
Annual report 2011
Towards ecosystemic fishing management
Partner
Lynne Shannon.
University of Cape Town,
Marine Research Institute.
“By assembling experts
at the highest level, we
hope to obtain useful and
pertinent data to improve
fishing management for
those species known as
“fodder”. This project has
given us a remarkable
opportunity to produce a
robust and concrete model
that can now be used
at a local level, applied
to fisheries in Benguela
South so that sardines and
anchovies can be caught
without affecting the
needs of predators. These
results will enable us to
implement an ecosystemic
approach to fishing in
South Africa.”
Trophic interactions between species - the relationship between predators
and prey, and for competition over food - have a decisive role to play in the
function and dynamics of marine ecosystems. Better characterisation of these
interactions will enable a better understanding of the modes of organisation
and the dynamics of marine communities, and also a prediction of the impact
on overfishing. Researchers from the EME(1) unit are working together to find
a better system for fishing management and preserving biodiversity.
Fish at the bottom of food chains, such as anchovies, mackerels, sardines or
herring, are used principally for the production of feeds and oils for aquaculture
or animal rearing. They currently represent 37% of catches worldwide and
demand is constantly increasing. And yet these species, which usually feed on
plankton, play a crucial role within ecosystems, by guaranteeing a food source
for larger predatory fish, mammals and sea birds.
IRD researchers and their partners have analysed the impact the overfishing of
these species is having on the balance of marine ecosystems across the world.
From the Australian coastline to the North Sea, from South Africa to California
via the shores of Peru, five major regions were explored. Although variable
between regions, the results indicate the importance of these kinds of fish in
preserving biodiversity. The overfishing of anchovies has a strong impact on the
equilibrium of ecosystems in Peru as a whole, whereas for sardines, the impact is
felt more in the trophic areas of South Africa, and it is sand eel fishing that has
had the strongest effect in the North Sea.
Publication: Science
A better understanding of the feeding relationships within ecosystems can
enable the fixing of quotas that are suited to individual species and regions.
Minimally reducing catches by maintaining them at 80% of maximum yield
would significantly reduce the impact on the ecosystem. In addition, the critical
threshold of one third of fish stocks can also be used as a reference point not to
be exceeded. By providing concrete results and predictive models, these studies
are offering new possibilities for establishing fishery control policies that can
maintain exploitation of fishing resources in an economically, environmentally
and socially sustainable manner.
Another study has compared the changing levels of fish stocks and the rates
of reproduction of 14 sea birds, such as gannets, seagulls, puffins and penguins.
These birds feed mainly on sardines, anchovies, herring, and compete directly
with fishermen. Based on marine observations, scientists have established for
the first time an empirical predator-prey model, and have shown that fish stocks
diminished by over one third of their maximum biomass cause a brutal decrease
in hatchling numbers. The balance of the entire ecosystem is under threat,
wherever the location around the globe.
These different activities are thus exposing the importance of sustainable
exploitation of aquatic resources, particularly for the preservation of the species
Contacts:
Philippe Cury and Yunne-Jai Shin
UMR EME
(IRD/Ifremer/université Montpellier 2)
philippe.cury@ird.fr
yunne-jai.shin@ird.fr
in question. However, a lowering of fishing quotas could lead to diminishing
yields. And yet these small coastal fish, the principal foodstuff for numerous
other species, are also of a major nutritional benefit to man, whether consumed
directly or indirectly. The difficulty is thus to balance the preservation of
biodiversity with sufficient yields to ensure food security worldwide.
Fish and catch / Peru
(1) Exploited marine ecosystems (Ecosystèmes marins exploités).
Fishing / Senegal
Annual report 2011
25
Retracing the evolution of the tropical rainforests
The tropical rainforests are the richest and most complex terrestrial
ecosystems on the planet. They are reservoirs of biodiversity, and also
climate regulators, and currently cover about 7% of the Earth's surface. They
are threatened by human activity in all areas, and their management and
exploitation are currently major issues in the field of sustainable development.
The DIADE(1) unit has for the first time retraced the evolutionary history of
one of the plant families that is highly characteristic of these environments:
the palm family. By using new data on the origin and evolution of these
ecosystems through history, the results may allow us to better understand
their future development.
Palms are omnipresent in tropical rainforests and play an important ecological
role, due to the number of different species as much as their overall number.
They are also of particular interest to scientists, due to their high sensitivity to
climate changes such as the level of water available or temperature variations.
Their highly-recognisable profile is also beneficial in fossil identification. IRD
researchers and their partners(2) have thus used them as models in order to
study the evolution of tropical rainforests.
Partner
themselves. During the Cretaceous period, the equatorial climate was too hot
and too dry to accommodate these forests. Results suggest that the first tropical
rainforests appeared on the northern supercontinent known as “Laurasia”, which
included Eurasia and North America.
Containing 50% of the known plant and animal species on the planet, tropical
rainforests are one of the main original reservoirs of biodiversity. The multitude
of resources they contain also provides sustenance to hundreds of millions
of people. It seems crucial to preserve them. Our improved knowledge of the
emergence and ecology of palms is now creating new hypotheses to help us to
understand the history of these ecosystems during geological history, and their
future evolution. This research can be used in tandem with the implementation
of careful management that balances exploitation and preservation of the
tropical rainforests.
Using molecular dating methods - based on DNA sequences - the origin of
current palm genera has been estimated at over 100 million years ago, in the
middle of the Cretaceous period. These results have dismissed the previouslyaccepted hypothesis that placed the origins of tropical rainforest at the start
of the Tertiary period, 35-40 million years later. Armed with this knowledge of
the dates of the first palms, scientists have been able to estimate the dates
that different species appeared using the principle of the molecular clock, which
states that the DNA mutation rate can be correlated with time. They have thus
shown that the major palm species appeared gradually over time, certainly
for three quarters of their evolutionary history. These results join those from a
preceding study that dealt with another family of tropical plants, Annonaceae(3),
but contradict more readily-accepted hypotheses which state that the diversity
is due to recent and rapid speciation.
Taking into account the Earth’s climate 100 million years ago and the positions
of the ancient continents, researchers have also been able to determine the
geographic area of origin of these palms, and thus of the tropical rainforests
Agroforestry / Brazil
(1) Diversité, adaptation et développement des plantes.
(2) Research is being carried out in partnership with the New York Botanical Garden in the US and the Royal Botanical Garden Kew in the UK.
(3) The Annonaceae family contains around 2,000 species in around 100 genera: tropical and sub-tropical trees, shrubs and climbers.
Bonaventure Sonké.
Professor, École normale
supérieure, University of
Yaoudé I, Cameroon.
“One of the aims of the
research being carried out
with the IRD is to advance
our understanding of the
location and origin of
zones rich in biodiversity
and endemism within
the forests of Atlantic
Central Africa. To this
end, we are studying
tropical Orchidaceae and
Rubiaceae. We are
taking care to involve,
train and raise awareness
among local populations
of the conservation and
management of their
environment.”
Palm leaves / Costa Rica
Contact:
Thomas Couvreur
UMR DIADE (IRD/université Montpellier 2)
thomas.couvreur@ird.fr
Publications: BMC Biology, Journal of Biogeography
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Annual report 2011
Improving predictions to limit the consequences of El Niño
Partner
Julio Quijano.
Masters student,
Cayetano Heredia
University, Lima.
“The UMR LEGOS and
the Peruvian institute
of geophysics (IGP) are
working in similar fields
of research and their
collaboration is highly
pertinent for my own
studies. I work specifically
on the atmospheric
dynamics of dust clouds in
the central region of Peru.
My aim is to continue
with my work using the
digital models these two
institutions have produced,
particularly to better
understand the climate in
the region, the interactions
between the ocean and
the atmosphere on the
Peruvian coast and the
impact of global change.”
Contact:
Christophe Maes
UMR LEGOS (CNES/CNRS/IRD/université
Paul Sabatier-Toulouse 3)
christophe.maes@ird.fr
Publication: Scientific Online letters on the Atmosphere
The Pacific Ocean is home to one of the planet’s most energetic climatic
phenomena: ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation), better known as El Niño
for warm events or La Niña for cool events. It influences global climate
as a whole. The major consequences of ENSO are very often catastrophic
- diluvian rainfall, exceptional drought, perturbations to global cyclonic
activity - and affect some of the world's poorest countries. Beyond advancing
scientific knowledge, understanding and predicting this phenomenon is a
major economic and social issue.
El Niño is seen as a perturbation to the “normal” state of atmospheric and
oceanic circulation in the Tropical Pacific. Indeed, under normal conditions,
anticyclonic cells in subtropical regions generate eastern winds at the level
of the ocean, known as trade winds. These winds push masses of air heated
by the sun westwards, creating a vast stretch of water heated to above 28°C,
known as the “warm pool”. Atmospheric temperatures rise on contact with this
warm water. As such, the reheated humid air rises and forms heavy clouds that
condense into precipitation. To the east, cold water rises from the depths to
counteract the deficit in surface water caused by the trade winds. This is known
as equatorial upwelling. One of the signs of El Niño is a lessening of the trade
winds. The masses of warm water are thus displaced to the east, the upwelling
mechanism slows down and the rainy zone moves to the coasts of Peru, Ecuador
and the American west, whereas the western Pacific suffers from heavy drought.
The phenomenon of La Niña is, in contrast, characterised by a strengthening of
the trade winds, pushing masses of warm air to the west and causing heavy rain
in Australia and Indonesia. Monitoring the movements of these masses of warm
air seems to be a good way to predict the onset of these events.
Researchers from LEGOS(1) and their partners(2) have prioritised two parameters
that enable the observation and prediction of climatic anomalies: the colour of
the water and salinity of ocean layers. Indeed, water that rises from the depths
to the east of the warm pool is rich in mineral salts and nutrition and favours the
proliferation of a variety of sea algae. When observed by satellite(3), it appears
greener than the warm water. Such data thus enables regular and precise
monitoring of displacement in this zone, which can stretch for several thousand
kilometres around the Equator. The second parameter demonstrated by
scientists is the measurement of salinity in the water. Indeed, this is an indicator
of the presence of an oceanic layer known as the “salt barrier layer”, situated at
several tens of metres in depth. It is characteristic of the western Tropical Pacific
and influences exchanges between the ocean and the atmosphere. Researchers
have used a digital model to demonstrate the major importance of this layer in
triggering El Niño and global climatic variability. The SMOS(4) satellite operation
was launched in 2009 by the European Space Agency and is particularly focused
on observing salinity in oceans. In a few years this new data will be able to be
used to enhance monitoring and prediction of the ENSO phenomenon.
Such activities have thus improved our understanding and modelling of the
mechanisms that control El Niño and La Niña. Thanks to high-frequency
surveillance tools, monitoring the colour and salinity of water in the various
models will allow for greater precision in climate predictions and the ability to
limit the consequences of these phenomena.
Surface temperature / Pacific Ocean
(1) Laboratoire d’études en géophysique et océanographie spatiales.
(2) This project has been carried out in partnership with researchers from the Météo France national meteorological research centre and the CNRS.
(3) Analysis was performed based on data from the American SeaWiFS and MODIS/Aqua projects.
(4) Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity.
Water sampling / Peru
Annual report 2011
27
The Upper Niger: an uncertain future
It is highly important to guarantee water resources in the semi-arid regions of
countries like Mali, Niger and, to a lesser extent, Nigeria, for several reasons:
socio-economics, as Sub-Saharan Africa experiences large demographic
increases; and for political stability and development, in a context of climate
change with unknown repercussions. These resources are principally situated
upstream, in the upper Niger basin. Demographic changes, a variety of
installation projects and global change will lead to major alterations to the
river and its tributaries in the coming decades. At a broader level, all surface
water and humid zones will be increasingly in demand. As a result, it is vital to
understand the hydrological cycles and their development over time. These
are the objectives of numerous studies carried out by IRD researchers and
their partners as part of two major research programmes - NIGER-LOIRE(1)
and RESSAC(2).
The Niger is the third longest river in Africa. It runs from the Guinea Highlands to
the Sahara, and then makes a large loop as it crosses the Sahelian and semi-desert
regions, flowing south before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of
Guinea. Management of water resources for the catchment area is handled by
an inter-governmental organisation: the Niger Basin Authority, based in Niamey.
Partner
rearing animals or fishing. This is why thousands of motorised pumps are now
used for irrigation in Mali during the dry season and more than 500 small hydraulic
installations have been created since 1970 in the Bani sub-catchment basin, the
main affluent of the Niger. This is in addition to the growing infrastructures that
accompany the increasing anthropisation of catchment areas. Excessive extraction
of sand and gravel for urban expansion has removed several centimetres from
the riverbed each year in an area of around 150 km around Bamako. According
to scientists, the modification of hydrological systems by human activity could
eventually have a far more significant impact than the potential effects of climate
change.
Faced with such major upsets that threaten the balance of the Upper Niger, it
is vital to improve our knowledge of the river's current and future hydrological
functions, and of water use. This should enable a better exploitation of the river
and the establishment of sustainable development projects in these areas. These
studies will also provide fresh data to enable the prediction of environmental
consequences of human activity and global change.
Analysis of the hydrological data for the Upper Niger and its tributaries shows a
strong interannual variability in flows, with alternating dry and humid periods. For
example, the town of Bamako was partially flooded in 1967 and the water flow in
Niamey ground to a halt in 1985. In this context, a return of extreme conditions
is entirely plausible. The consequences for people, infrastructures and property are
potentially dramatic, as current population levels are much higher and are much
closer to water courses.
Given this situation, one might assume that climate change was the sole cause
of all these calamities. But the climate projection models for rainfall in tropical
regions are inconclusive. For the Niger River basin, it is difficult even to agree
on the general movement of such developments - whether there is increase or
decrease in rainfall - as less than 66% of models are in agreement.
Scientists have highlighted the impact of human activities exerting an increasing
amount of pressure on the basin. Indeed, if the number of major barrages is still
small, the number of small installations has increased, to facilitate irrigation,
Henri-Claude Enoumba.
Head of research and
planning department,
Niger Basin Authority.
“The lack of primary data
and local knowledge mean
that it remains difficult to
appreciate all the water
uses and their impacts
arising from major national
and regional development
and exploitation projects
associated with the Niger
River. The research that we
are undertaking with the IRD
relates directly to territorial
installations, agricultural
development, preservation of
ecosystems and the river’s
heritage. The“NigerLoire: Governance and
Culture” project and the
RESSAC programme have
placed an emphasis on the
urgent necessity to learn
more about the river, its
tributaries, banks and alluvial
plains, to better implement
Integrated Water Resource
Management for the basin.”
Sand mining / Mali
Traditional fishing / Mali
(1) “Niger-Loire: governance and culture”, operated by UNESCO between 2007 and 2011.
(2) “Vulnérabilité des ressources en eau superficielle au Sahel aux évolutions anthropiques et climatiques” coordinated by HydroSciences Montpellier.
Contacts:
Luc Ferry - UMR G-EAU (IRD/AgroParistech/Cemagref/Cirad/IAMM/Montpellier SupAgro)
luc.ferry@ird.fr
Jean-Emmanuel Paturel - UMR HSM (IRD/CNRS/Inra/Montpellier SupAgro/université Montpellier 2)
jean-emmanuel.paturel@ird.fr
Publication: Le fleuve Niger, de la forêt tropicale guinéenne au désert saharien - les grands traits des régimes hydrologiques, Publication IRD et Unesco, 2012.
28
Annual report 2011
Optimising mineral exploration in Africa
Partner
Assine TSHIBUBUDZE.
Witwatersrand University
Geological Department,
South Africa.
“The WAXI project
offered an opportunity
to better understand
African geology and to
create an African and
international research
network. This project has
exceeded my expectations,
in that I was able to
interact with researchers,
mining company bosses,
and geological surveys
from around the world.
I am now a lecturer at
Witwatersrand University
in Johannesburg, and it's
my turn to pass on the
knowledge that I obtained
through the WAXI project.”
Contacts:
Mark JESSELL and Lenka BARATOUX UMR
GET (IRD/CNRS/université Paul Sabatier Toulouse/CNES)
mark.jessell@ird.fr
lenka.baratoux@gmail.com
Publications: Nature Geoscience, Precambrian Research
The mining industry is the economic foundation for half of the African nations,
particularly those with stable democratic governance such as Botswana,
Ghana, Zambia and South Africa. An improvement in the exploration of
mineral resources is thus a priority for these African nations, requiring a better
understanding of metal-bearing areas and the ways in which these deposits
are formed. These are the aims behind the research being carried out by the
GET(1) laboratory as part of the WAXI-IXOA(2) programme.
In West Africa, mineral exploration is currently intensifying and is accompanied
by an increasing demand from countries to discover new deposits. The mineral
resources in this region (including iron, phosphate, uranium and gold) have long
been of interest to multinational operators from the northern hemisphere,
and also to companies from emerging nations, at the forefront of which are
firms from China, Brazil and South Africa. In this context, African states must
strengthen their knowledge and their skills in order to better exploit their own
resources.
WAXI-IXOA is an international network that groups together the principal public
and private actors in the field of geology applied to mineral exploration in West
Africa. Work carried out in this domain focuses on the tectonic changes in the
region two billion years ago(3). The variations in the gravitational field recorded
between 1960 and 1980 by IRD researchers are of the utmost importance in
understanding the subterranean environment. More recently, the World Bank
and the European Union have supported programmes for the airborne gathering
of geophysical data. This has enabled the creation of a database at a regional
level. In this way, analysis of geological data from the field, and in the domains
of petrophysics, geomorphology, geochemistry and geochronology, will enable
researchers to observe the subterranean “architecture” in West Africa.
The IRD is also conducting a research programme for the two- and threedimensional modelling of geophysical data on several scales. This ‘geophysical
structure’ will thus enable a better definition of the formations that control
mineralisation. At a local level, the same geophysical data is also of immense
value for geological cartography, particularly in West Africa, where minerals are
found in tropical zones, characterised by almost-impenetrable vegetation, and/
or the sub-Sahelian region, where land weathering can reach depths of up to
100 metres.
(1) Géosciences Environnement Toulouse.
(2) West African Exploration Initiative: www.waxi2.org.
(3) These projects have been specifically carried out in partnership with the University of Ouagadougou, the University of
Ghana, Cheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal and Witwatersrand University in South Africa.
Aeromagnetic map / Ivory Coast - Ghana
In collaboration with the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Senegal and the
University of Ouagadougou, scientists are also carrying out dynamic analysis,
which includes the pathways and chronology of minerals, fluids and heat. This is
how the ‘anatomy’ of subterranean West Africa can be deciphered, through the
application of thermodynamic calculations based on mineralogy and chemistry
of rocks, in order to calculate the temperature and pressure conditions at the
point of their creation and deformation.
These works are the result of a genuine partnership between the State, the
private sector and civil society, and enable improved exploration methods
and the enhancement of data and activities from local geological services. The
project also includes a major training programme for African geologists.
Copper mine / Zambia
Annual report 2011
29
Climate and agriculture in West Africa
Food safety is an important concern in Sub-Saharan Africa, where almost
one third of the population suffers from malnutrition. The future of this
region thus depends on the agricultural sector's ability to guarantee
sufficient production for a population that is increasing rapidly, despite the
threat of climate change that could have negative repercussions on crop
productivity. A multidisciplinary study, including climatologists, agronomists
and economists, has for the first time quantified the revenue that could be
obtained by farmers if they adjusted their agricultural strategy to climate
predictions.
Rural populations in West Africa are particularly vulnerable to the uncertainties
of climate as agricultural activity strongly depends on monsoon rainfall that
can vary greatly from one year to the next. Indeed, since the 1970s, the major
famines have been partially caused by the effects of climate irregularities that
have led to deficits in agricultural production. As a result, Sahelian farmers have
developed a wide range of practices to attenuate the risk of bad harvests linked
to drought, but their adjustments leave little room for risk-taking and restrict
average yields and revenue, even with favourable precipitation. This strategy has
led to restricted development of activities and maintains their level of poverty. In
this context, a better anticipation of climate fluctuations would enable farmers
to adapt their strategies - the cereals they cultivate, optimal sowing dates, use
or non-use of fertilisers - and thus to increase their yields.
Since 1998, the predictions for the following rainy season(1) have been published
in spring in each West African nation by national meteorological organisations.
But this information rarely reaches farmers. A study based on 18 years of
climate predictions, from 1990 to 2007, has enabled researchers from the
LOCEAN(2) laboratory and their partners(3) to model millet productivity and
farmers' revenues with climate predictions taken into account, in the Niamey
region of Niger. Several scenarios have been created according to the precision
of these forecasts. As such, even under the current system, which does not
provide much information, revenue could be increased by up to 7% if producers
take predictions into account to adjust their farming strategy, even during
unfavourable years. In addition, a more efficient system could improve revenue
by up to 11%, and accurate predictions for the start and end dates of the rainy
season would increase gains by 31%.
Partner
These results thus confirm the important benefits to be gained from improving
both climate and meteorological prediction systems on the one hand, and the
dissemination of information (via the media, the Internet and radio etc.) to
Sahelian producers on the other. Elsewhere, a combination of this information with
farming insurance that would guarantee indemnity in seasons with insufficient
rainfall, would enable farmers to adopt a more opportunistic strategy, taking
greater risks for greater return. In this way,
climate and meteorological projections could
not only provide warnings and minimise the
consequences of climate irregularities on crops,
but also offer populations the opportunity to
capitalise on more favourable climatic periods
and to develop their activities.
Millet market / Niger
Millet field / Niger
(1) Presao (Prévisions saisonnières des pluies en Afrique de l’Ouest) is an annual forum that produces each May a forecast of the expected rainfall between July and September.
(2) Laboratoire d'océanographie et du climat.
(3) This project is carried out in partnership with Cirad, Cired and the Centre régional Agrhymet.
Dr Agali ALHASSANE.
Centre régional Agrhymet,
Niamey.
“This study has been carried
out using the SARRA-H
model to simulate millet
yields using different rainy
season forecast scenarios.
The confirmation of this
model in practice was the
initial objective of the
Agrhymet regional project,
implementing a system
for data collection from
farm plots. Promoting the
advantages of seasonal
rainfall forecasts and the start
and end dates of the season
reinforces the Agrhymet's
strategic investment in
producing these forecasts
and making them available to
producers in Sudano-Sahelian
regions of West Africa.”
Contacts:
Benjamin Sultan
UMR LOCEAN (IRD/CNRS/Muséum
national d’histoire naturelle/université
Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6)
benjamin.sultan@ird.fr
Philippe roudier - Cired
roudier@centre-cired.fr
Publication: International Journal of Climatology
30
Annual report 2011
Improving public health
in the South
Population health is a major issue, and at the centre of the Millennium Development Goals.
The fight against infectious diseases, the improvement of maternal and infant health and
nutrition are all equally important subjects for the IRD and its partners.
Aids and malaria are still the two major concerns for the Southern nations. The emergence of
new illnesses, whether viral or bacterial, and the persistence of lesser-known illnesses, such
as leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease, are also of equally pressing concern.
In addition, whilst undernutrition is still affecting several countries, others are experiencing
increases in obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular illnesses and certain cancers that previously
were only to be found in industrialised nations.
In this context, researchers are carrying out multidisciplinary studies to improve our
understanding of the processes associated with infection, the means of diagnosis and
patient treatment and care. Several shared research platforms have thus been created, such
as the Centre national d'expertise sur les vecteurs in Montpellier, and the LAMIVECT mixed
international laboratory in Burkina Faso and the LLIP mixed international
laboratory in Benin, both dedicated to the study of vector-borne diseases.
Anthropological and socio-economic aspects are also studied to enable the
creation of healthcare policies that are more efficient and
adapted to local contexts.
engineers and
119
99
researchers
technicians
507
articles
Annual report 2011
31
Nutritional transition in North Africa
The increase in chronic illnesses linked to changes in lifestyle and
eating habits is an increasingly pressing concern in the countries of the
Mediterranean basin. Researchers from the NUTRIPASS(1) unit are studying
this nutritional transition in the Maghreb in order to optimise information
and prevention campaigns and improve population health.
While undernutrition remains a vital concern in numerous Southern countries,
a certain number of these face problems of chronic illnesses caused by new
dietary habits and changes in lifestyle, as found in industrialised nations.
As part of growing urbanisation, foods increasingly rich in energy, sugar
and fats (especially soft drinks), in tandem with an increasingly sedentary
lifestyle, are increasingly found to be factors that lead to obesity, weight
problems, and the appearance of chronic illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes,
cardiovascular illnesses and some cancers.
Adolescents in these countries are particularly vulnerable due to their
lifestyle and the physiological and psychological changes they experience.
As a result, IRD researchers and their partners(2) have been investigating
the eating habits of adolescents between 15 and 19 years old in Tunisia.
Detailed analysis of their consumption has revealed a disparity of situations,
ranging from a traditional profile to a more modern diet. If a modern profile
is characterised by an excess of fat and sugar, it is also more varied and does
reduce certain nutritional deficiencies. For example, it seems to reduce the
risks of hypertension in young girls (associated with a greater consumption
of dairy products). So the new eating habits do not always have negative
consequences.
Partner
In addition to food consumption itself, inactivity is also a major risk
factor for obesity. Other activities from the Obe-Maghreb(3) programme
have demonstrated the harmful effects of television and video games on
the corpulence of adolescent Tunisians. For greater efficiency, nutritional
education should thus recommend a change in behaviour, and regular
physical activity in particular.
The general context of malnutrition by excess does not exclude
nutritional deficiencies, especially concerning micronutrients. The ObeMaghreb programme has shown that one female out of four in Morocco,
and one out of five in Tunisia, are overweight and iron deficient at the same
time. The so-called double burden of malnutrition should also be included in
overall preventative measures.
Obesity and diseases of civilisation are not uniquely found in developed
countries. They are increasing in a spectacular fashion in North Africa,
particularly in cities, and are a major public health concern. These studies
of risk factors for chronic illnesses in populations, and the analysis of the
responses and conditions that would allow for their reduction, have presented
new data to enable the implementation of appropriate preventative policies.
(1) Prévention des malnutritions et pathologies associées.
(2) Study carried out in collaboration with the Institut national de nutrition et de technologie alimentaire (INNTA) and the Institut national de santé publique (INSP) in
Tunisia, as part of the implementation of data for the European TAHINA “Transition and Health Impact in North Africa” programme.
(3) “Comprendre la transition nutritionnelle au Maghreb pour contribuer à la prévention de l'obésité et des maladies non transmissibles associées” carried out in partnership
with the INNTA (Tunisia), Ibn Tofaïl University (Morocco) and Nottingham University.
Professor Jalila el Ati.
Institut national de
nutrition et de technologie
alimentaire, Tunis.
“Managing the problems
caused by advancing
nutritional transition in
Tunisia has become a
national priority. The new
concern for the nation is
to control the evolution
of this transition and its
human and economic
impact. Our partnership
with the IRD’s NUTRIPASS
research unit has given
the opportunity for INNTA
researchers to develop
their skills to better
understand the healthcare,
nutrition and dietary
situation. It also offers the
opportunity to enrich our
scientific understanding
through training
(researcher exchanges)
and monitor the results of
this research.”
Contacts:
Francis Delpeuch, Agnès Gartner and Pierre Traissac
UMR NUTRIPASS
(IRD/universités Montpellier 1 et Montpellier 2)
francis.delpeuch@ird.fr
agnes.gartner@ird.fr
pierre.traissac@ird.fr
Food market / Tunisia
Tunis city centre
Publications: Nutrition Journal, Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism.
32
Annual report 2011
Identifying the causes of fever in West Africa
Fever is the main reason for consultation in Africa. In addition to Plasmodium
falciparum, the cause of malaria, numerous other pathogens can cause fever
symptoms. Several research programmes exist to study these afflictions, their
origin and their evolution, to improve preventative and combative measures.
Partner
Papa Ndaw.
Head Nurse at the Toucar
dispensary in Senegal.
“By participating in the
IDEPATH project, we hope
to understand the current
situation regarding febrile
pathologies other than
malaria in the Niakhar
area of Senegal, and
their impact in terms of
morbidity and mortality.
We have not yet received
the results from all of the
data we have collected,
but we hope that they will
enable better treatment of
these pathologies.”
Contacts:
Éric Leroy
UMR MiVEGEC (IRD/universités Montpellier 1
et Montpellier 2 /CNRS)
eric.leroy@ird.fr
Cheikh Sokhna et Oleg Mediannikov UMR
URMITE (IRD/ Inserm/ CNRS /université de la
Méditerrannée-Aix-Marseille 2)
cheikh.sokhna@ird.fr
Oleg.Mediannikov@ird.fr
Publications: Journal of Virology, Clinical Microbiology
and Infection, PLoS Pathog, Journal of Infectious Diseases,
PLoS Negl Trop Dis, J Infect Dis, Euro Surveill.
The IDEPATH(1) project, led by researchers from the URMITE(2) unit, is using
molecular biology techniques aiming to diagnose and identify all bacteria
causing fever in five areas of Senegal, in order to improve patient treatment.
Laboratories have thus been set up in order to study the samples collected
daily in health centres. The initial results from the programme have highlighted
the presence of infections including some rickettsioses, tick-borne recurring
borreliosis, Whipple's disease and Q fever. More than a quarter of cases of nonmalarial fever examined can be attributed to these little-known bacteria and
to their potentially fatal consequences in the absence of appropriate antibiotic
treatment. IRD researchers and their partners have suggested establishing
systematic treatment using antibiotics where fever is not due to malaria. This
would enable prior treatment for numerous febrile diseases. The research has also
demonstrated the necessity of measuring the frequency of these complaints, to
develop new diagnostic tools enabling their rapid detection on a large scale and
to define the strategies for combining therapeutic treatment with malaria.
Fever is often frequently linked to other symptoms such as rheumatic,
respiratory, digestive, neurological or haematic impairment. These complex
clinical conditions are often caused by viruses. The MIVEGEC(3) unit is studying
these illnesses in the tropical forests of Africa in order to better understand and
predict the risks of new strains emerging. An analysis platform has been created
in Gabon(4) which allows patient diagnosis according to their symptoms. Fever
linked to rheumatic disorders might be caused by Dengue or Chikungunya. These
two illnesses are spread by the same vector, the tiger mosquito, and the number
of co-infected patients is increasing. Immunological analysis has demonstrated
the importance of an innate response in controlling Chikungunya infection.
Where fever is linked to haemorrhages, the Ebola, Marburg or Crimean-Congo
virus may be at cause. Researchers have identified and characterised the 2 most
recent Ebola epidemics in the DRC(5) and demonstrated that a “superantigenic”
(1) The “identification of emerging pathogens” project is carried out in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur de Dakar and
the ministère de la Santé et de la Prévention in Senegal.
(2) Research unit working on emerging infectious and tropical diseases.
(3) Maladies infectieuses et vecteurs - écologie, génétique, évolution et contrôle.
(4) This research has been carried out in collaboration with the Centre international de recherches médicales in Franceville,
the Institut Pasteur and the ministère des Affaires étrangères et européennes.
(5) Democratic Republic of Congo.
effect may be the origin of the destruction of the immune cells linked to patient
mortality. They have also discovered the Crimean-Congo virus in the DRC,
more than 50 years after the last recorded case. Lastly, they have detected bats
infected by the Marburg virus in Gabon, with the threat of future epidemics
not far behind. Fever can also be accompanied by neurological symptoms that
might, for example, be caused by poliomyelitis. A powerful epidemic affected
Pointe Noire in Congo-Brazzaville in 2010 and could have been caused by a viral
strain that is not covered by the vaccine.
Environmental changes, displaced populations and the colonisation of new
territories favour the emergence of infectious diseases whose effects on
population health can be devastating. Developing countries pay a heavy price for
these infections that, if they were better known and diagnosed, could be treated
more effectively. The different studies conducted by the IRD work towards this
aim and will be of much use to governments when implementing appropriate
healthcare policies.
Emerging illnesses / Gabon
Epidemiological survey / Gabon
Annual report 2011
33
Combating HIV/Aids in Thailand
Since the start of the HIV epidemic in Asia, Thailand has been one of the
most seriously affected countries. Out of 67 million inhabitants, almost
600,000 are infected with the virus. Despite remarkable progress made
and the creation of prevention campaigns, a small number of children are
still at risk of infection from their mothers at birth. As part of the PHPT(1),
researchers from the “Épidémiologie clinique, santé mère-enfant et VIH en
Asie du Sud-Est” unit are studying the perinatal transmission of the virus in
order to improve treatments, in a context of limited resources.
The PHPT clinical research group in Thailand includes a network of more than
50 public hospitals and a coordination centre for logistics, administration,
data processing and training, with a laboratory dedicated to virology and
pharmacology and a pharmacy for clinical trials. Several clinical trials have been
conducted in order to optimise combined drug treatments while reducing the
risk of developing resistance to antiretrovirals that might compromise their
effectiveness.
A basic treatment with Zidovudine during the first trimester of pregnancy
and one dose of Nevirapine during labour can help to prevent infection from
HIV-1 in 98% of children. This combination is frequently used in developing
countries. Nevertheless, HIV can mutate to adapt to certain female patients,
and develop a resistance to Nevirapine. In order to optimise these methods,
researchers have administered antiretrovirals during the weeks following
treatment with Nevirapine and demonstrated that such combinations can
prevent mutations. The group is also working on triple therapies for infected
persons. Where they are totally effective, virus production is halted. In cases of
resistance, they react less well and the virus becomes resistant to an increasing
amount of molecules over time. Resistance thus needs to be detected rapidly.
Two monitoring methods have been compared in over 700 patients. The first
highly sensitive but more expensive method involves detecting all instances of
viral resurgence in patients. The second method, more commonly available in
developing countries, verifies that immunodeficiency is not present. The two
are seen to be equally efficient. Another study has revealed that some drug
combinations used in the first line of treatment can maintain a greater choice
of alternative therapies should they fail.
Partner
Wasna Sirirungsi.
Dean of the Faculty of
Associated Medical Science,
Chiang Mai University.
HIV/ Thailand
Papillomavirus / Thailand
Several pharmacokinetic(2) studies have been carried out, particularly among
pregnant women and children, as the recommended doses of some drugs in
the West can be excessive for Asian patients, for reasons that remain unclear
(lower average weight, genetics). The aim is to better understand the way the
drugs work and their outcome in the organism to adjust quantities, the means
of administration and the duration of treatment.
“Our collaboration with IRD
174/PHPT has enabled a
considerable reduction in the
number of cases of paediatric
Aids in Thailand. During
the past 10 years, our work
has focused on HIV. We are
now using the experience
gained with HIV for other
infectious diseases caused by
the hepatitis B virus or the
human papillomavirus, which
are major health problems in
South East Asia”
Researchers are also interested in the relationship between perinatal transmission
of HIV and the Cytomegalovirus (CMV). In-utero infection of children by CMV
seems to favour the transmission of HIV from mother to child.
The fight against the HIV/Aids pandemic is seen as a major issue on the
international stage. It forms part of political agendas for all major organisations
and it is the 6th Millennium Development Goal as set out by the United Nations.
The research activity carried out by the IRD and its partners in Thailand has
already enabled the WHO and the Thai Public Health ministry to implement
national prevention and control policies. These advances will be added to the
new national directives for optimising treatment and combating the disease.
(1) The “Programme for HIV Prevention and Treatment” or PHPT brings together researchers from the IRD, Chiang Mai University in Thailand and the School of Public Health at Harvard University in the US.
(2) Studying the outcome of the drug in the organism.
Contact:
Gonzague Jourdain
UMI IRD-PHPT (Chiang Mai
university/Harvard University/IRD)
gonzague.jourdain@ird.fr
Publications: Clinical Infectious Diseases, Plos One, Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, Ther Drug Monit.
34
Annual report 2011
Understanding social
evolution in the South
Contemporary societies in Southern countries are constantly developing. However, increases
in economic exchanges and globalisation have led to the appearance of major inequalities,
between North and South, but also between Southern countries. The social science research
carried out by the IRD and our partners focuses on three major themes: development of
governance; vulnerabilities, inequalities and growth; and social and spatial boundaries
and dynamics. Experts including anthropologists, economists, geographers, demographers,
historians, linguists and sociologists are all attempting to decipher the human and social
factors at the heart of development.
This research, developed on a local and a transnational scale, encourages dialogue with social
actors. It enables an understanding of the foundations on which Southern societies are built,
particularly through studies, among many others, of migration, miscegenation, heritage
preservation, religious movements and social inequalities. It questions the current and future
social transformations that Southern societies are experiencing in all their diversity.
178
researchers
48
engineers and
technicians
512
books and
articles
Annual report 2011
35
Memories of slavery, miscegenation and multiculturalism
From Mexico to France, passing through the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan
Africa, research that carried out as part of the Afrodesc(1) and Eurescl(2)
programmes between 2008 and 2011 has brought together researchers
form North and South, with the shared objective of analysing the
foundations of the identities and communities that resulted from slavery
and the subsequent waves of immigration. The results were presented
at the L'autre métissage, nation, ethnicité, inégalités (Amérique, Caraïbes,
France) conference.
For three centuries, the triangular commerce between Europe, Africa and the
Americas deported millions of Africans across the Atlantic. These traumatic
events were the foundation of colonial and post-colonial societies in the
North and the South. IRD researchers and their partners(3) have studied how
these population movements resulting from slavery and its abolition, in
addition to colonial rivalries and American capitalism in the 19th century,
have created the nations of today. What is the status of black populations
today, and what are the policies for their recognition in Mexico, Central
America and the Caribbean, and even mainland France?
Discussions of race and racialisation and their links with enslavement;
enquiry into multicultural policies in relation to the unequal
relationship between the North and South and national development;
analysis of the cultural practices associated with peoples of African
descent, and their significance and transformation… Such were the
major themes of the Afrodesc programme, which also aimed to
establish teaching materials on the subject of slavery, and carry out a
comparative analysis between the theory and method of racism. The
link to the Eurescl projects arose from questions of citizenship and
multiculturalism.
In Latin America, this multidisciplinary approach has notably revealed
multiple diasporas existing in tandem with the original black diaspora
resulting from the slave trade. Such is the case for the “Afro-Caribbean”
population that resulted from the wave of economic migration to the
West Indies in the late 19th century, or the “Garifunas”, the descendents
Partner
Nahayeilli Juarez Huet.
Anthropologist, CIESAS
Peninsular, Mérida.
Mural / Cuba
of Native American and African populations. In Mexico, the African presence
was of great importance from the very start of colonial times, considered
by some as the “third race” of the national identity, alongside European
and Amerindian origins. They are, in reality, a multitude of “roots” at the
origin of the Mexican peoples. They are highlighted in L’autre métissage, a
photographic exhibition that forms part of these research programmes.
The pooling of studies carried out in Latin America and France has also fed
into discussions by scientists on questions of miscegenation, multiculturalism
and citizenship. So in Latin America, organisations of peoples of African
descent have sought for civic recognition, but such assertions are often
subject to criticism and the rejection of miscegenation as the foundation
of national identity. In France, they have contributed to debates on the
republican model of equal citizenship. In both cases, these questions have
been widely ideologised and are becoming a political issue.
During the last four years, many seminars have been organised on both sides
of the Atlantic. The results have been the subject of numerous articles and
group publications, an exhibition and two videos. The Afrodesc and Eurescl
programmes have thus helped to open new channels for scientific and civic
discussion on the collective memory of slavery, miscegenation, racism and
multiculturalism, which can only increase in number in years to come.
“The Afrodesc and Eurescl
programmes have been
notable in opening up
a field of research that
was previously unheard
of in Mexico, concerning
populations of African
descent, and in
particular the circulation
of their cultural
expression, which is
growing in importance
both nationally and
internationally. Diverse
academic activities have
allowed such advances:
multi-site conferences
and seminars, publication
of working documents
and articles, the travelling
festival of research videos.
The consolidation of the
cooperation between
CIESAS and the IRD has
facilitated such exchanges
and alliances between
researchers, and also
training for students from
the countries concerned.”
Cultural diversity / Mexico
(1) ANR-AIRD Programme Afrodesc-Afrodescendants et esclavage: domination, identification et héritages dans les Amériques (xve-xxie siècle).
(2) European FP7 Eurescl-Slave Trade, Slavery, Abolitions and their Legacies in European Histories and Identities.
(3) Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7; Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis; CIRESC (GDRI du CNRS); Centre d’études mexicaines et centre-américaines (CEMCA); Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Centro de Investigación y Educación
Superior en Antropología Social (CIESAS), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; Universidad de Cartagena.
Contacts:
Elisabeth Cunin and Odile Hoffmann
UMR URMIS (IRD/université Paris diderot-Paris 7/
Université Nice-Sophia Antipolis)
elisabeth.cunin@ird.fr • odile.hoffmann@ird.fr
Publications: Les traites et les esclavages. Perspectives historiques et contemporaines, Paris, Karthala, 2010.
Política e identidad. Afrodescendientes en México y América Central, Mexique, INAH-UNAM-CEMCA-IRD, 2010
Exposition de photographies et catalogue L’autre métissage.
36
Annual report 2011
The economic and democratic transition in Tunisia
Partner
Mohammed Haddar.
Chairman of the
Association of Tunisian
Economists.
“The Association of
Tunisian Economists
aims to animate
scientific and economic
research by developing
our cooperation with
international partners. We
have organised seminars
and conferences. For many
years, IRD researchers
have participated in some
of these events and the
doctoral colleges. The Arab
Spring is a historic point
of transformation that
requires new instruments
for analysis and
understanding. For this
reason we are going to
develop the Observatoire
des transformations du
monde arabe (OTMA) in
collaboration with the
IRD.”
2011 will be remembered as the year of the “Arab revolutions”. It began a
new era of economic and democratic transition with an uncertain outcome,
that would fundamentally question ideas of development and social and
political transformation, implicating not only the internal institutional
and socio-economic forces, but also the nature of trans-Mediterranean
partnerships. In order to assist Tunisia with these decisive transformations,
the IRD, the Association of Tunisian Economists and the Collège international
des sciences du territoire have gathered together experts from around the
world in Hammamet.
The events in Tunisia marked the beginning of an unprecedented revolution in
many countries in North Africa. The explosion of anger, which initially erupted
among the Tunisian youth and spread across all social classes, was fed by
profound inequalities and regional disparities in development and a shared
sense of injustice. All rejected the corruption and deprivation of liberties caused
by the regime, which crumbled after 24 years in power.
Profound changes now need to be initiated by Tunisia. But how to emerge from
a corrupt economy to create an economy based on knowledge and innovation.
What are the political, economic and social dimensions that enable the transition
from a dictatorial regime to a democracy?
In the light of similar experiences in Argentina, Chile, Spain, Greece, Portugal,
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland, international experts have gathered
together to respond to the issues arising from these transformations and to
offer Tunisia possible avenues towards a successful transition.
The historical analysis of past events shows that there are not "one” but “several”
forms of democracy and that each country has its own specific trajectory. The
complexity of these processes can sometimes lead to unexpected reversals or
even surprises such as the emergence of political Islamism.
Arab Spring / Tunisia
avenues to renew trans-Mediterranean partnerships, particularly by reviving
two forgotten dimensions: the sense of Arab identity and the importance of
the Islamic context. The evolutions in Tunisia and other North African countries
determine the future of the region and of Europe.
Despite these issues, the current transformations have taken most researchers
in the social sciences by surprise. These changes are thus opening up new fields
of investigation for the IRD and Southern partners, who must work together to
build concepts and develop multidisciplinary analytical instruments capable of
responding to current developments. Regional and territorial aspects have been
classified as essential, but infra-national analytical tools are very limited in the
Arab world.
A new approach, integrating historical, anthropological and socio-political
dimensions, will enable a better understanding of these phenomena.
The transitions are slow processes which are constantly evolving. Long-term
stability can require a certain number of compromises that integrate elements
of the old administration, such as in Poland or Spain. Elsewhere, the perspective
of European integration was decisive for the Eastern European countries
following the fall of the Berlin Wall. This gives the possibility of offering
Contact:
Jean-Yves Moisseron
UMR développement et sociétés
(IRD/université Panthéon-Sorbonne-Paris 1)
jean-yves.moisseron@ird.fr
Traditional life / Tunis
Publication: La transition économique et démocratique en Tunisie. Leçons des expériences passées. L’Harmattan, 2012.
Annual report 2011
37
Declining fertility,
an economic lever for Sub-Saharan Africa
Since the start of the 1990s, several West African nations have seen their
GDP increase per inhabitant, the first signs of economic growth after several
decades of decline. But with fertility rates among the highest in the world
and 30-50% of the population still living in poverty, this progression is not
enough to meet these nations' needs.
With mothers giving birth to 5 children on average, the population of SubSaharan Africa was 860 million in 2010. By 2050, the figure could reach between
1.5 and 2 billion inhabitants, if fertility drops to 2 or 3 births per woman.
According to a vast study carried out in 12 West African countries, issues relating
to population control are very important: capability in terms of healthcare
and education, better food security, the deployment of effective sustainable
development policies to preserve the environment, conflict prediction, and a
guarantee of security for inhabitants and their property.
However, strategies implemented in the past
20 years have not succeeded in controlling the
major population growth in West Africa. This can be
attributed to limited political, financial and human
resources, and also by the fact that these have mostly
attempted to deal with the more urgent challenges
of mother-infant healthcare or the prevention and
treatment of HIV/Aids. As such, access to family
planning services is limited, despite a strong demand.
Indeed, only 10 to 20% of women in relationships
have access to contraception, whereas 30 to 60%
demand it.
Partner
active workforce - thus releasing the resources necessary to improve the levels
of population healthcare and education and invest in productive sectors.
By contrast, continuing with current trends will render universal access to
healthcare, education for all and control of food security more difficult.
A wider use of contraception would require current spending allocated to
family planning services to be multiplied between 3 and 5 times. Nevertheless,
this could be counterbalanced by substantial savings that would be made in
government spending on at-risk pregnancies and the costs associated with the
twofold increase in pregnancies over the next twenty years if current trends
continue unchecked.
Controlling fertility, reducing population growth and
dependency ratios will not in themselves be sufficient
actions to initiate developmental processes. But these
conditions are part of a wider range of measures that
are required for the nations of West Africa to progress
with demographic transition and become emerging
nations themselves.
The increasing use of contraception thus corresponds
to women’s needs, but is also an important lever
which West African nations could use to meet the
socio-economic challenges they will face in the
coming decades. It is this progressive stabilisation
of the annual birth rate that has enabled emerging
nations to reduce their dependency ratio - the
number of people not working in relation to the
Dr Issaka Maga Hamidou.
Abdou Moumouni University,
Niamey.
“This study is a first in
Niger. It presents convincing
arguments on the negative
effects of extreme population
growth in several areas, and
how it can make the public
authorities’ task increasingly
difficult, particularly in the
fields of food, healthcare
and education. Indeed,
these requirements will
increase more rapidly
than financial resources
and the government’s
investment capability. This
project suggests potential
solutions, notably, though not
exclusively, by slowing down
population growth through
decreased fertility rates.”
Contact:
Jean-Pierre Guengant
UMR “Développement et sociétés”
(IRD/université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne)
guengant@hotmail.fr
Market / Senegal
Family planning clinic / Senegal
Publication: à Savoir n° 9 | Comment bénéficier du dividende
démographique ? La démographie au centre des trajectoires de
développement / How to capitalize on the Demographic Dividend?
Demographics at the heart of development pathways - AFD/IRD 2011.