Le journal de l'IRD
n° 51 September-October 2009
Translator: Nicholas Flay
Abstracts for the international issue
p. 7-8-9 Research
p. 11 Interview
© IRD/O. Dangles
Towards better hazard
management
Onchocerciasis
a cause of epilepsy
O
O
giants, a team of researchers recently
studied the frequency, the intensity and
the style of their past eruptions.
p. 16 Forum
Palestinian militancy
p. 5 Partners
RIPIECSA
A change in the repertory of action?
Facing up to climate challenges
alestinian political activism has
mainly used two repertories of
action: armed militancy and, above
all, mass mobilization which combined such actions as demonstrations, strikes and boycotts.
However, the current professionalization of militant activity comes
along with a new direction
towards public testimony and
pleading.
Two main directions appear, in a
country particularly dependent on
international aid.
The agendas of international organizations and donor bodies are much discussed, and
the contributions propose counter-appraisals or legal argumentation supported on
Human Rights.
The other line is the encouragement of technocracy, or the entry of “experts” into positions of power, as a means of obtaining greater international legitimacy in the face of
the discrediting of politicians and nationalist discourse.
A
p. 13 IRD world
p. 13 IRD world
The two facets of argan oil
Deciphering coffee’s
genetic code
M
Malaria:
mapping
the hazards
© IRD/B. Romagny
A
nchocerciasis is already
known for being a cause of
blindness. Evidence has now been
found of its involvement in the
onset of epilepsy. Such a link was
brought out in an epidemiological
study conducted by IRD research
scientists, on the basis of data
gathered in seven countries of
West, Central and East Africa.
oroccan argan oil, a star among the
local products of the countries of the
South, is the fruit of real process of imagebuilding. In a recent scientific publication,
researchers showed how Moroccan and international developers have worked to simplify
the representation of the product to conquer
the global market. The oil is presented commercially as a traditional product, made by
women and originating from a wild tree. This
picturesque image was built up over the past
two decades, in order to coincide with the values dear to western consumers. However, it
completely obscures certain aspects of the
relationships between the local society, traditional setting and the product itself. With the
aim of valorizing and exporting argan oil, its
promoters not only distorted its image. They also created a new product, adopted
industrial processes, mechanized the manufacturing methods and developed a cooperative chain of production essentially run by women.
t a time when successive periods of drought and bouts of torrential rain have been hitting West Africa, it is imperative to
take up the challenges presented by climate change. RIPIESCA
(Recherche Interdisciplinaire et Participative sur les Interactions entre
les Écosystèmes, le Climat et les Sociétés d'Afrique de l'ouest) programme, launched two years ago, is one of the responses to this situation. It finances interdisciplinary research projects on the interactions between societies, ecosystems and climate,
in this region of the world. The special characteristics of this programme are the avowed
intent to promote South-South cooperation and the leadership of projects entrusted to
African scientists. In fact the IRD or other partners from the North (CIRAD, CNRS, universities,
Météo France and so on) play only a supporting role. The themes of this programme – from
stock rearing to agricultural techniques by way of ecosystems or more fundamental
approaches regarding the climate, and so on – pose the question of adaptation to global
climate change. RIPIESCA thus comes as a complement to the AMMA programme, which is
more centred on the impacts. Beyond the information and findings produced, it involves
building up strong scientific expertise, in liaison with the decision-makers and the local communities. The objective is to find and propose lines of action and decision-making tools for
the future of the countries concerned. Preparation of the Copenhagen climate summit
shows that Africa does not yet possess sufficient capacity to have any substantial influence
on debates, even if a growing awareness is emerging among both scientists and politicians.
G
enetic sequencing of the coffee tree
(Coffea) opens up the way to the discovery of major genes for resistance to diseases or adaptation to environmental constraints, or relative to the quality of the
product. In the framework of an international initiative, IRD, CIRAD and Genoscope/CEA
worked jointly to contribute to this wideranging effort.
Coffea canephora, better known as Robusta
coffee, is the species chosen by the French
project. The latter benefits from substantial
financial support from the French Agence
Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) and will integrate the results of the partial sequencing
already started by a consortium also involving
the IRD. In the long run, the data generated
will be accessible for scientists of all countries.
Consult the articles in full on the IRD Internet site: http://www.ird.fr
© IRD/D. Lepierrès
© IRD/M. Dukhan
p. 2 : News
P
p. 1 News
n IRD team working in partnership
with the Organisation de Coordination pour la lutte contre les Endémies
en Afrique Centrale, the Institut National
de Cartographie and the University of
Yaoundé proposes an approach involving
ecological niches in order to identify
more clearly the environmental factors
that favour the proliferation of mosquitoes responsible for disease transmission.
p. 3 News
ne of Ecuador‘s main transport communication routes, the ‘Avenue of
Volcanoes’, passes through a region with
more than 50 volcanoes, on a surface area
half the size of France. This situation is a
serious threat for 3 million people living in
the inter-Andean valley, tightly constrained between the two Andean
cordilleras. With the aim of determining
the volcanic hazard associated with these
© UNESCO/Robert E. Sullivan
Sciences au Sud: Do the openings for nanotechnology target
only the needs of the rich countries or can they more broadly
interest the countries of the
South?
Juan-Yves Bottero: The specific
problems of developing countries
open up prospects for applications
of nanotechnology in four large
fields: valorization of raw materials,
improvement of agricultural techniques, disease control and evidently the development of water treatment installations adapted to these
countries. Taking just that particular
application, it represents a major
issue for many countries of the
South whose different regions are
not equipped with water treatment
and supply infrastructure. Three
types of technology can now be
taken advantage of: nanostructured
membranes for water filters, reactive nanoparticles for pollutant oxidizing (titanium, iron oxide and so
on) and filters for absorbing undesirable material.
These solutions are adapted for
building small treatment plants and
thus make it possible to provide
access to drinking water in regions
where it is not feasible to implant
large-scale installations as it is in our
country.
Bengladesh is a good example
because arsenic present in water
can reach concentrations 200 times
as strong as the one established by
the WHO standard and causes a
large number of illnesses. The classical technologies do not always
give good results and filters using
nanoparticles capable of oxidizing
arsenic 3 can achieve a lowering of
the concentration to below the WHO
thresholds. If for Bangladesh, the
arsenic originates from sediments
coming from the Himalaya, this
problem also concerns all regions
where there are old gold mines
which release this product. There
are therefore a great number of
openings.
© SOP Manu - Anne Gouni
(CEREGE)
are significant impacts on the economic
sphere and public health. A multitude of
questions arise which relate to many different disciplines. One of the major challenges for which the IRD applying its competences is to achieve an understanding
of the factors behind the success of invasive species. The research work undertaken should provide the tools for rapid identification of the invasive species and
contribute to the development of methods for their surveillance, control, or even
eradication, especially in the islands.
Science au Sud: What do you expect from a technology transfer-centred cooperation scheme with the
IRD?
Paulin Edou Edou: The recent signature of the cooperation agreement between our two institutions is going to
open up some bright prospects in a number of fields of
common interest. Through this agreement the IRD like the
OAPI aim together to create conditions favourable for supporting projects for valorization of the results of research in their respective sphere, with
a view to the creation of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. For that, the
exchange of experiences of maturation and guiding support for those proposing innovatory projects will be one of the high points, as well as the mechanism of support for setting up business incubators in universities and R&D centres in member-States of the OAPI.
We also expect from this agreement, an exchange of scientific and technical information and technological offers based on the patent portfolios which can be useful for
nationals from our respective countries by using the networks of each of the two parties. The forthcoming participation of IRD at the 6th edition of the ‘Salon Africain de
l’Invention et de l’Innovation technologique (SAIIT)’, to be held at Bamako (Mali), in
October 2009, will certainly constitute the beginning of this cooperation which I hope
will be fruitful for both parties.
© IRD/ S. Pion
Interview with Jean-Yves
Bottero, director of the ‘Centre
Européen de Recherche et
d’Enseignement des Géosciences de l’Environnement’
© IRD/JL.Le Pennec
© DR
I
nvasive exotic species represent the
second cause of erosion of biodiversity
on the world scale, according to the
International Union for Conservation of
Nature. Although the subject now
receives wide media coverage in the
industrialized countries of the North, the
South is also
confronted
with this phenomenon,
one of the
accelerators
of which is
globalization.
Apart from
the environmental significance, there
© OAPI
Excerpt from an interview with Paulin Edou Edou, director general of the
African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI).
When invasive species
encroach in the South
© S. Konate
p. 16 Interview
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