Agriculture, environment, nature and societies
Extending agriculture generates pressure on the environment and sometimes conflicts of interest. This situation is particularly marked in tropical and Mediterranean environments, which are subject to strong constraints and sensitive to climate change. In order to develop sustainable ways of managing rural areas and ecosystems, it is vital to study their resources and their evolution, and also the interactions between their various components, in terms of their biological and social dimensions. The aim is to develop a new way of managing territories that centres on agricultural production and on restoring the ecological services rendered by ecosystems.
What impact—negative and positive—does agriculture have on the environment?
- Characterizing and quantifying the environmental impact of and services rendered by agriculture and animal production (soil fertility, biodiversity, carbon sequestration and water quality) on various scales, notably that of the landscape.
- Studying the public mechanisms implemented by organizations or institutions to promote those services, particularly if they combine biophysical functioning models and decision-making models.
How do society and the individuals it comprises interact with nature?
- Understanding the interactions between agro-ecological dynamics, player behaviour, and public and collective decisions.
- Analysing the governance mechanisms introduced in the name of sustainable development.
- Comparing situations according to their degree of human intervention.
Which areas should be protected and which cultivated?
- Analysing the interfaces between areas with an agricultural vocation, ecosystems and areas to be protected by virtue of their environmental importance.
- Supporting the introduction of new protected area schemes.
Update date: 24/11/2009