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■ In mainland France

■ In the French tropical overseas dependencies

■ In Southern countries

■ The European Union

■ International agricultural research centers

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the IRD and its partners

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The IRD and its partners

The culmination of the IRD’s reorganisation process, with the opening of the researchand service units on 1 January 2001, offered new opportunities to build and strengthenpartnerships with universities, grandes écoles and the main public and private researchinstitutes in mainland France, the French overseas dependencies and countries in the South.

In mainland France

97 research unitsNinety were opened on 1 January 2001 (78 researchunits and 12 service units); 11 new units (9 research unitsand 2 service units) received scientific approval in 2001and opened on 1 January 2002. Some of the new unitswill merge with those opened in 2001, so the total number of IRD units is 97, breaking down as 82 researchunits and 14 service units.

Joint research unitsIn 2001, 12 joint research units were opened and 7 jointresearch unit projects were initiated.Once all the French higher education institutions’ four-year contracts have been approved, in 2003, there willbe around 30 joint research units at the IRD – more thana third of the Institute’s research units.

Federative research institutesThe IRD has been involved in the process of establishingfederative research institutes (IFR) in the life sciencessince the programme was launched at the beginning of2000. There are four other research bodies involved(CEA, CNRS, Inra and Inserm) as well as the conferenceof university chancellors and the ministries of research

and health. The IRD is currently participating in five federative research institutes, directly involving morethan 10 IRD units. The recent extension of the federativeresearch institute scheme to the environment shouldsoon mean increased participation by the IRD.

Hosting researchers In 2001, the IRD hosted 37 researchers and lecturer-researchers on secondment (28) or expatriated (9), work-ing in the following fields: 11 in earth and environment,5 in living resources and 21 in social sciences and health.

The IRD and higher educationThe IRD is forging closer ties with higher education insti-tutions. The relationship takes various forms. In general,it means strengthening partnerships with universitiesahead of the four-year contracts and personalising contacts between institutions with the aim of mobilisingtheir research potential for development.For many years, the involvement of researchers in teach-ing at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, wasfairly limited both within and outside the IRD. It is nowwell established and recognised, mainly as a result ofmany researchers’ involvement in doctoral-level teachingand the units’ participation in doctoral schools.However, the most recent and visible form of the IRD’snew openness towards its partners is the formation ofjoint research units.

2001 also saw the development of a policy of establish-ing research agreements. The aim of is to formalise part-nerships that exist in the field, when opening a jointresearch unit seems premature or impossible because ofinsufficient size or inconsistency with the IRD’s actionand mandate. Around 20 agreements have now beensigned linking IRD units and partner units in jointresearch programmes.

Cooperation agreementsThe IRD’s partnerships with French institutions can beseen in recent general scientific and technical coopera-tion agreements, taking to 48 the total number of agree-ments signed by the IRD since 1998.These agreements are a way of institutionalising theIRD’s commitment to joint research with its partners,support for Southern teams and training for foreign students, while it examines proposals to create new units.

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(These are forms of research partnership with a particular legal status in France)

GIS Aire développement (overseas research investment agency)GIS Amérique latine (stimulating and developing Latin American

research)GIS Aquaculture (tropical and Mediterranean aquaculture)GIS BRG (Bureau des ressources génétiques) (genetic resources)GIS Ceped (French centre for population and development)GIS Dial (development of investigations into long-term adjustment)GIS Génoplante (analysis of plant genomes)GIS Substances naturelles (natural substances. Based in

New Caledonia)GIS Silvolab (tropical rainforest ecosystems: management and

physical and biological bases of their functioning, as applied to French Guiana)

GIS Sciences de l’eau Hydrobiology, water quality and treatmentand quantitative hydrology

GIP OST (Observatoire des sciences et des techniques) Science andtechnology monitoring unit

GIP Ecofor (forest ecosystems)GIP Medias-France (regional research into environmental changes

in the Mediterranean basin and subtropical Africa)GIE Genavir (management of oceanographic survey vessels)

Partnerships of scientific (GIS) or public (GIP) interest

The IRD was also very actively involved in other forms of associationbetween researchers and lecturer-researchers from different institu-tions. These are mainly partnerships of scientific interest (GIS), publicinterest (GIP) or economic interest (GIE). The IRD also participates inmany national scientific programmes.

Partnerships of scientific interest (GIS), partnerships of publicinterest (GIP) and national programmes

PNEDC Climate dynamicsPROOF Biochemical processes in the ocean, ocean fluxesZonéco Inventory of marine and mineral resources in

the New Caledonia exclusive economic zonePNEC Coastal studiesPNRH HydrologyPNRN Natural hazardsPNSE Soils and erosionPNTS Space-based remote sensingZepolyf Economic zone of French PolynesiaLITEAU Littoral zone

National programmes

GDR Ecologie des sols tropicaux(tropical soil ecology)

GDR Métallogénie(ore genesis)

GDR Marges (tectonic plate margins)

GDR Interférométrie(interferometry)

GDR Ecofit(tropical forest ecology)

Research partnerships (GDR, Groupement de recherche)

Aix-en-Provence- CeregeBordeaux- UMR Regards – CNRS/IRD- Université de Montesquieu - Centre d’économie

du développement- Université de Bordeaux-I – Département de géologie

et océanographieCastanet- Legos- Laboratoire mécanismes de transfert en géologieGrenoble- Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de

l’environnement- Université Grenoble-I – Laboratoire d’études des

transferts en hydrologie- IRIGHT - LGIT- Agence nationale de valorisation de la rechercheLannion- Centre de météorologieLe Havre- Station de météorologieLe Rheu- Inra

Lyon- Université Claude-Bernard- Université Lyon-IMarseille- Centre d’analyse et de mathématique sociale- Faculté de médecine – Centre de formation médecine

tropicale- GREQAM - IMEP/CNRS- SHADYC/EHESS CNRS- Centre océanologique- BAIM – Laboratoire de microbiologie- Université de Méditerranée- Laboratoire population et environnementMontpellier- Agropolis- Institut agronomie méditerranéenne- Laboratoire génomes et populations – Université

Montpellier-II- Université du Languedoc- Université Montpellier-I- École nationale du génie rural- Centre d’écologie fonctionnelle évolutive- Laboratoire commun IRD/IMVT-Cirad- Inra-Ensam-Sciences du sol- Laboratoire symbioses tropicales/méditerranéennes

(LSTM)

- Laboratoire matières organiques des sols tropicaux(Most)

- Cirad-LPRC- Cemagref- CBGP – Inra- Maison des sciences de l’eau –Université Montpellier-IINancy- CNRS/CRPG-NancyNice- UMR Géosciences azur – Faculté des sciencesOrléans- Université d’OrléansPau- Université de PauPerpignan- Université de PerpignanSète- Centre de recherche halieutiqueSaint-Christol- Laboratoire de pathologie comparéeStrasbourg- Institut de physique du globe- Centre de géographie appliquée- Centre de géochimie de la surfaceThonon-les-Bains- Inra - Station d’hydrobiologie lacustreToulouse- Centre d’étude spatiale de la biosphère- Groupement de recherche géodésique spatial- Inra- Université Paul-Sabatier – Laboratoire de minéralogie- Medias France/CnesVillefranche-sur-Mer- CNRS/Géodynamique sous-marin

Paris- Agence française de l’ingénierie touristique- Centre de recherches de l’Amérique latine- Cicred- Cirad- Contrôle financier- École française d’Extrême-Orient- Laboratoire de sciences sociales- École normale supérieure- EHESS – CEIAS- Faculté de pharmacie- Institut français d’urbanisme- ISTNA – Cnam- Ministère de la Coopération- Laboratoire de pharmacochimie- Inserm U.149- GIS/Dial- GIS/Ceped- EHESS – CEA- Ministère de la Recherche- Museum national d’Histoire naturelle- Université Paris-VI- UMR 7041 – Maison d’archéologie- Université Paris-X – Sociologie- Université Paris-XII- CNRS/LACITO UPR3121- Université Paris-VI – Institut santé-développement- Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie – LGTE - URA 1761

St-Quentin

Versailles

1 3 6 10 14 19

Strasbourg

Orléans

Le Rheu

Le Havre

Brest

Toulouse

Castanet

Perpignan

Montpellier

Nice

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Grenoble

Clermont-Ferrand

Lyon

Thonon-les-Bains

Bordeaux

Pau

Lannion

Marseille

Paris Bondy

Saint-Christol

Gif-sur-Yvette

Meudon

Orsay

Sète

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26

Grignon

Le Bourget du Lac

Nanterre

Créteil

IRD establishmentsOther establishments

Staff

Breakdown of budgeted staff at 31 December 2001

Paris and inner suburbs

Staff locations in mainland France

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In the French tropical overseasdependenciesThe IRD’s activities in tropical France, coordinated by theoverseas dependencies unit (DOM), fosters scientificadvances in these regions. In 2001, the establishment ofresearch units and service units furthered pre-existingresearch and provided the opportunity to identify newresearch themes and develop new partnerships.

French GuianaThe IRD’s French Guiana centre is its main facility on the American continent. Because of its geographicalposition, it is one of the driving forces in scientific collaboration in the region. Focusing on the whole of theAmazon basin, it initiates or takes part in research in theexact sciences, social sciences and technological scienceswith neighbouring countries, mainly Brazil, Venezuelaand Surinam. Together with Antilles-Guyane University,the French Guiana centre was the driving force behindthe development of a fully-fledged university researchhub in French Guiana.Five URs, two of which are joint research units, and threeUSs, between them cover continental, coastal andmarine environments, sustainable water resource management, agricultural and microbial biodiversity,aquatic ecology and fishery, identities and representa-tions, and major endemic diseases.

In 2001 a number programmes were completed:• A study of industrial production of rosewood (Anibarosaeodora) concluded that it offered high value-added.A preliminary assessment of sampling sites and an analy-sis of the structuring and genetic diversity helped todefine how the tree can be cultivated, with a view todeveloping rosewood plantations.• The results of work on the quality of water in thestreams and rivers of French Guiana, the aim of whichwas to supply quality indicators (physico-chemicalparameters of the water, study of groups of aquaticorganisms that could be useful indicators of environ-mental degradation) were delivered in November 2001.Regional cooperation is reflected in the Ecolab pro-gramme, designed to provide a deeper understanding ofthe main characteristics of coastal ecosystems of FrenchGuiana and neighbouring countries. This work producedmethods for spatialising data and knowledge that will bevaluable for sustainable management of Amazoniancoastal areas.This programme also proved decisive for establishingresearch hubs in French Guiana, particularly in space-basedremote sensing, and for combining research with opera-tional applications and dialogue with decision makers.

La RéunionWith the establishment of new research and service unitson La Réunion, we took the opportunity to reorganise

the centre and adjust our research areas there.UR099 Cyano, for example, in partnership with LaRéunion University and Arvam (Agence pour la rechercheet la valorisation marines) now has a new field of inquiry:the lagoons of La Réunion, Madagascar and La Mayotte.The work focuses on the biotic capacity of these corallagoons and on estimating toxic risk from cyanobacteria.In sea fishery, UR061 Active, in partnership with themarine ecology laboratory at La Réunion University,Toulouse University and Ifremer-Réunion, is conducting astudy of gregariousness in shoals of small pelagic fish inthe coastal waters of La Réunion.In collaboration with the humanities faculty La RéunionUniversity and with funding form the La RéunionRegional Council as part of its regional developmentplan, UR029 (urban environments) began work on conceptualising the island’s urban environment.UR109 Thetis, in partnership with La Réunion University,Ifremer-Réunion, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commissionand the Seychelles Fisheries Authority, took over theIRD’s existing research into interactions between tunaand their environment in the Mozambique Channel, theSomalia Basin and the maritime provinces of La Réunionand the Seychelles. In this work, satellite-based environ-mental monitoring has been adopted as an operationalmethod for fishery monitoring.

The IRD and its partners

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Martinique and the CaribbeanThe IRD continues to establish its presence in Martiniqueand the Caribbean zone, continuing research on thethemes that were launched in 1999.As part of a programme on multilingualism and educa-tion systems, UR105 (on knowledge and development)took part in designing a project on scientific policy andprogramming for 2002-2006, in collaboration withGEREC, a research group studying Creole- and French-speaking areas. UR105 is also coordinating a researchteam on the teaching of regional languages, literatureand culture. The team receives support from theRegional Council and the state secretariat for the over-seas dependencies, to assess the introduction of theCAPES certificate for secondary-school teaching ofCreole, in the light of other European experiments.A social sciences research network for the Caribbeanwas launched, Ressac (recherches en sciences socialessur l’archipel des Caraïbes). The initial core group ismade up of IRD social science researchers and lecturer-researchers at Antilles-Guyane University. The networkshould grow after the first conference planned for 2003,on the subject of racial mixing in the Caribbean.The IRD’s nematology research in the Caribbean is nowhandled by the joint research unit on parasite resistancein plants.Soil science research is now handled by the tropical soils biology and organisation laboratory, which in 2001continued the study of agro-pedo-climatological factorsthat determine carbon storage in Martinique, and a con-sultancy job to redraw the boundaries for Martinique’ssugar cane appellation of origin. This work is in responseto a request from the Institut national des appellationsd’origine contrôlées.Regular participation in the Martinique agriculturalresearch hub (PRAM) continued. The IRD’s nematology andsoils science laboratories will soon be joining the PRAM.

New CaledoniaThe Institute’s main establishment in the overseasdependencies, and in the South Pacific, is the Nouméacentre, whose many disciplines include oceanography,marine ecology, geology, geophysics, pharmacology,agronomy, botany, entomology and archaeology.The highlight of 2001 was the setting up of thirteenresearch units and five service units, which work in part-nership with local institutions such as the University ofNew Caledonia, the Caledonian agronomy institute,Ifremer, the Pasteur Institute, the local CNRS centre,regional organisations from the Secretariat of the PacificCommunity, the University of the South Pacific and theUniversity Agency for Francophony. Six other units areconducting research in New Caledonia under specificprojects or missions.In 2001 advances were made in a number of fields:

UR037 (supergenic biogeodynamics and tropicalgeomorphology) developed applications related toprospecting and exploiting substances of economicinterest in general, and metals in particular. These appli-cations will be extremely useful in developing a technicalknowledge base for use in mineral prospecting (pollutionmonitoring, non-polluting ore processing methods andrehabilitation of disused mine sites).

The multidisciplinary joint research unit GéosciencesAzur (seismology, geodesics, terrestrial and marine tec-tonics), which is studying geodynamics in the SouthwestPacific, focused its work on active tectonics and seismichazards in Vanuatu, Futuna and New Caledonia.

Progress was made in research into palaeoclimatesand climate change, now handled by UR065 under theECOP programme (climate studies in the tropical Pacific)and by UR055 (Paléotropique). Study of the interactionbetween Enso (El Niño southern oscillation) and theregional environment in the Southwest Pacific byanalysing live corals continued to provide

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France’s overseas dominions and territories (the DOM-TOMs), Europe’s most remote

regions, actually have the world’s third largest exclusive economic zone: 9 million km2,

50% of the EU total. In view of their vast spread, their geopolitical context, socio-eco-

nomic trends and needs as regards sustainable development and regional planning,

developing integrated approaches and space-based Earth observation techniques for

environmental management could have a major impact for the DOM-TOMs.

Space-based observation and telecommunications systems now offer the DOM-TOMs

tremendous prospects for development and outreach, and give them an active role in

building the European research space. Located as they are on the farthest fringes of

the Union, they can act as Europe’s “active frontier” through regional cooperation

with nearby countries.

The IRD, in view of its missions, its multidisciplinary competencies and its historical

presence in these regions, holds a special position within the European and interna-

tional research system as regards remote sensing applications.

In 2001, through its service unit Espace (US140) and in consultation with its supervis-

ing ministries, DOM-TOM local authorities and Europe, the IRD set up research infra-

structures and programmes for spatialising environmental knowledge, mainly using

space-based remote sensing. The work has had significant practical results for research

and development.

In New Caledonia, LATICAL, set up in 1988, strengthened its international impact by

joining the University of New Caledonia in work on environmental information sys-

tems. The SEAS station in La Réunion, established in 1992, made a major contribution

to spatial oceanography research and played a decisive part in optimising the pelagic

fisheries sector in the Indian Ocean. In Guiana, between 1996 and 2001 the regional

remote sensing laboratory (created in 1994 under the 10th Region-State contract)

was the driving force in Franco-Brazilian research for sustainable management of

coastal ecosystems influenced by the Amazon river.

The IRD facilities in the DOM-TOMs are equipped with L-band receiving stations that

are very well suited to developing environmental monitoring applications for the inter-

tropical zone in cooperation and synergy with other bodies. In particular, they receive

and disseminate satellite data that can be used in applications specially designed for

these regions’ thematic needs – managing fishery resources, managing the Amazon’s

turbid plumes and monitoring environmental quality.

Contact: Frédéric Huynh - US140 Espace huynh@ird.fr - www.espace.ird.fr

Spatialising environmental knowledgeA strategic issue for development

in the French overseas dependencies

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new information about past climates which isof great value for understanding current climate change.

As part of the Ecotrop programme on Pacific coastalecosystems under the influence of terrigenous andhuman inputs, UR103 Camélia continued its study of thefunctioning of lagoons at Nouméa and Suva (Fiji). Theyran four major oceanographic surveys aboard the IRD’soceanographic vessel Alis. From the data gathered, theteam modelled particle transport in the big lagoon atNouméa and gained a better understanding of its geo-chemical functioning. In Fiji, after an interruption in workdue to the coup d’état in 2000, the Bula 1 survey, run incooperation with the University of the South Pacific andwith much valuable support from the French Embassy inFiji, renewed its work on characterising the lagoon envi-ronment.

Service unit US001 Embiopac (terrestrial biodiversityand environment in the tropical Pacific) was conductingfive applied research programmes: characterising serpentine environments and regenerating vegetationon their soils; sclerophyllous forest; the invasion of New Caledonia by the little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata; natural terrestrial substances and tradi-tional knowledge; and the genetics of the coffee bush.

UR043 and the University of New Caledonia areresearching the pharmaco-chemistry of natural sub-stances. They have a joint laboratory studying bioactivecompounds in marine invertebrates, work they are

conducting partnership with Pierre Fabre Laboratories.The research is aimed at identifying anti-malaria com-pounds, antibiotics, antiviral compounds or substancesthat can be used in treating cancer and diseases of thenervous system. A prospecting and collecting campaignwas conducted in New Caledonia’s north lagoon in2001. With financial help from the State Secretariat forthe overseas dependencies and the Province Sud author-ity, the laboratory is also studying the efficacy of tradi-tional remedies used for treating ciguatera poisoning.

UR093 Adentrho continued its research on ancienthuman settlement in volcanic island environments in thewestern and central Pacific. Its two main research themesare defining the earliest dates for the discovery and sub-sequent settlement of volcanic islands in the southwestand central Pacific, and demonstrating the importance ofnatural conditions for such cultural expansion.

The Caledonian image processing laboratory Latical,in partnership with US140 Espace and the University ofNew Caledonia, is developing environmental informa-tion systems for sustainable management of waterresources.The Nouméa centre also plays a part in training and hosting students for in-service training or research-basedtraining in research. The students, who have the statusof interns, research grantees, thesis students or post-doctoral students, work as integral members of theteams.

French Polynesia

In 2001 the IRD centre in Tahiti focused on finding appli-cations for the Institute’s scientific achievements and cre-ating the internal conditions to expand its consultancyactivities.In medical entomology, the pest control programme, inpartnership with the Louis Mallardé Institute, developeda new technique for controlling populations of Culidoïdesbelkini.In medical science proper, a collaboration agreementwas signed in October 2001 between the IRD, Insermand the Gustave Roussy Institute, for epidemiologicalstudy of thyroid cancer risk factors in French Polynesia.The Tahiti centre hosts the scientists on mission and twoInstitute staff members will conduct surveys to find con-trols for the study.UR103 Camélia is studying the lagoon environment inPolynesia from the standpoint of transport and transfor-mation of inputs and the impact of pearl farming onenvironmental quality.The ethno-archaeology programme on the MarquisasIslands showed that it would be very well worthwhile to optimise one of the archaeological sites on the islandof Hiva Oa. This operation is now to be included in thecontract between French Polynesia and the centralFrench State.This contract will also include other missions: an expertise

The IRD and its partners

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report on economic applications for natural substances ofbiological interest, the creation and management of adatabase on vascular plants, publication of a second vol-ume on the flora of Polynesia, and a study of biodiversityin the French Southern Territories.

In the countries of the SouthIn 2001, the strong network of scientific partners the IRDhas built up in Southern countries was further strength-ened by the activities of regional networks in each of themajor zones where the Institute works: Latin America, theMediterranean, Asia, and Africa/Madagascar.In 2001 the number of staff working abroad remainedfairly stable, although there were 10 fewer researchers in Africa. The present distribution of staff should remainfairly stable, with a slight relative increase in the SouthernMediterranean countries and the French overseasdependencies.

Latin AmericaCooperation with Brazil, which is still the IRD’s main partner in Latin America, continued very active, with morethan twenty projects – mostly in collaboration with theCNPq, Brazil’s national science and technology develop-ment council – and additional regional programmes withFrench Guiana. Twelve research units are in place and theIRD was more active in work on sustainable developmentin the Amazon, health (five programmes), cities (three programmes launched), natural environment, and clima-tology.In Mexico, second only to Brazil as a partner to theInstitute in Latin America, new projects were launched inthe following fields: biotechnology applied to oil drilling,water (integrated study programme on Lake Chapalaand management of irrigation programmes), social science (a study of small entrepreneurs coping with theNorth American Free Trade Agreement) and health

(Chagas disease research). Contacts were made with a view to developing a fisheries research hub.The IRD is also working in five Andean countries, as follows.Cooperation with Bolivia was intensified and broadenedin health, geology and agro-climatology (start of two newprogrammes). On the training side, an agreement wasconcluded with San Andres University (UMSA).In Chile in 2001, six researchers and technicians wereallocated to starting up two new programmes. One ofthese, in partnership with Peru, focuses on gregariousbehaviour in pelagic fish; the other is an earth sciencesprogramme to quantify deformations in tectonically activezones. An agreement was signed with La SerenaUniversity, under which it will be taking part in theresearch programme on change in rural areas and theprocess of regional integration. And a special protocol wassigned with Conicyt, Chile’s national council for innova-tion, science and technology, for joint thesis supervision byChilean and French universities.The IRD office in Colombia closed in August 2001 withthe completion of programmes on cassava, which hadbeen conducted in partnership with the InternationalCentre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali. Collaborationwith CIAT continues, but mainly in the form of missionsand the general partnership agreement with Del ValleUniversity, which was renewed in 2001.In 2001 the IRD’s activities in Ecuador – based on collaboration with PUCE, the Catholic University – wereextended to a new field: archaeology, with a programmeon relations between socio-cultural development andtropical ecosystems in pre-Colombian Ecuador. In agricul-tural and microbial biodiversity, the programme on controlof the potato pest Tecia solanivora (common nameGuatemalan moth) became a priority, as the pest has beenspreading at an alarming rate. A new study began on “thedomestication process and the dynamics of genetic andmolecular diversity in complexes

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of tropical plant species in Latin America”.And an R&D youth club was launched with the LaCondamine Franco-Ecuadorian high school to investi-gate the subject of biological pest control.There were valuable developments in the tropical glaciers programme and the geophysics programmes(especially a study of natural disasters caused by volcanicactivity), and an IRD geologist took part in the firstFrench-Ecuadorian mission to the Antarctic.In Peru as elsewhere, with the new URs in place a number of agreements were signed, opening up newfields of research. Macro-economic studies of povertyand non-farm rural employment began. An agreementwas signed with IMARPE, the Peruvian Institute for theSea, launching cooperation on fisheries issues with threeof the IRD’s research units.

Sub-Saharan AfricaThe IRD’s scientific structure in Senegal was reorganisedin 2001, and we took this opportunity to modernise ourresearch and partnership practices. The Institute works atits own centres in Dakar-Hann and M’Bour, at a sharedfacility at Bel-Air, and on local partners’ premises.The criteria on which the work is based are:• requests put forward by institutional partners;• identifying suitable scientific partners in North andSouth,• taking the regional dimension into account, with

increased cooperation with Mauritania, The Gambia,Guinea-Bissau and prospects for work with Cape Verde,especially as regards fisheries research.A final highlight was the creation, in partnership withCheikh Anta Diop University, the Senegalese Institute foragricultural research and the national meteorologicaloffice, of a geomatics research and teaching laboratory, theLERG, which processes satellite information by computer,produces maps and geographical information systems, andprocesses satellite images and aerial photographs.There are thirty-eight IRD research units in Senegal: 8 major long-term units, 19 lesser long-term ones and 11 specific projects. Subjects covered are aquaticsystems, health and agricultural science.In Burkina Faso, the IRD is taking part in research pro-grammes around three themes: physical environmentand environmental degradation; health and nutrition;and social sciences, mainly focusing on education policy.In March 2001, a new cooperation agreement wassigned at a discussion meeting with the CNRST, Burkina’snational scientific and technical research centre. Thatmeeting was also the occasion for opening the new doc-umentation centre at the IRD facility; the documentationcentre is jointly financed by CIRAD, the IRD and theFrench development cooperation ministry.The year’s highlight in Niger was the inauguration of theresearch centre for social dynamics and development,LASDEL.

Niger also has a joint IRD base with Benin where programmes are being conducted on hydrology, hydro-geology, agricultural science and crop genetics.The IRD has been working in Côte d’Ivoire since 1946.Research in 2001 was in social science, agricultural science and health. In Abidjan IRD researchers wereworking at the oceanography research centre (CRO), thePetit-Bassam social science research centre and theAdiopodoumé hydrology unit. In Man they wereworking at the coffee genetics station, and in Bouaké atthe Pierre Richet Centre.The Institute’s work in Guinea dates back only to 1986.Research subjects there are water and sustainable watermanagement in the Konkouré estuary; agricultural andmicrobial biodiversity; rehabilitation of mangrove soilsfor rice farming; and modelling Guinea’s sea fishery systems.In Mali, the IRD office moved to more central and func-tional premises. The institute worked on the conse-quences of urbanisation, fertility of fallow land and theproliferation of rodent pests, also helping a young localteam to establish itself in the latter field.The IRD’s centre in the Central African Republic washanded back to the government; the Institute now hasonly its geophysics research station, which is on long-term lease.In Cameroon, health research on major endemic diseases and interactions between society and health

The IRD and its partners

43

was intensified, in liaison with the Pasteur Institute, theOrganization for the Control of Endemic Diseases inCentral Africa (OCEAC), and the military hospital atYaoundé. A joint consultancy mission with Cameroonianscientists, on the subject of malaria, was concluded.The IRD’s presence in South Africa is both recent (since1995) and growing fast in terms of programmes, part-nerships and staff numbers. There are five researchthemes: aquatic ecology and fishery; continental, coastaland marine environments; urban dynamics; terrestrialecosystems and resources; and development policies andglobalisation.In Antananarivo, the 9th consultation meeting between theMadagascar scientific research ministry and the IRD inMarch 2001 ended with the signing of a new frameworkagreement which pinpoints three main fields for research:health, utilisation of the environment, and the economy.

The MediterraneanIn 2001 the IRD expanded its activities in Morocco, sign-ing agreements with the Semlalia science faculty at theUniversity of Marrakech and the Hassan II Institute foragricultural and veterinary science. Both these agreementsare for research into water-related problems, the projectsbeing to analyse and model erosion in farmland catch-ments, and to study the hydro-ecological functioning andresources of semi-arid regions.Agreements with the Centre for demographic researchand the Jacques Berque Centre enabled the Institute toexpand its programme on “Knowledge for the future: thesocial and occupational integration of Moroccan youth”.Six researchers and international civilian volunteers wereallocated to the partner institutes. Mathematical model-ling of complex natural and social systems was anothersubject of collaboration with the Semlalia science faculty.In Tunisia, 2001 began with the official launch of the programme on desertification in the Tunisian Jeffara.

And at a seminar on integrated water management in theMerguellil catchment, the second phase of the MERGUSIEprogramme on that subject was planned and pro-grammed. There were two other seminars: one on smalldams in the Mediterranean basin, marking the end of theHydromed programme, and one on Euro-Mediterraneanpartnership six years on from the Barcelona conference.Several agreements were signed: an extension to theMERGUSIE programme with the Directorate General forresearch and education, and specific agreements with theTunisian National Heritage Institute (archaeology) and theRegional Agriculture Institute (utilisation of local resourcesin southern Tunisia for livestock).

Activities in Syria were conducted in collaboration withACSAD, the Arab Centre for the Study of Arid Zones andDry Areas, under an agreement signed in late 2000. Underthis agreement, work began on analysing and modellingthe effects of human activity on the hydrological andenergy balances of two farming catchments. In October2001, specialists from all over the Middle East came toDamascus for a training and demonstration seminar onhydrological modelling, jointly organised by the IRD andACSAD. And lastly, in September the IRD took part in amajor Franco-Syrian symposium on agronomy research, inDamascus.In the Lebanon, the IRD’s collaboration with St. JosephUniversity in Beirut was strengthened by two hydrologyresearch agreements. The year 2001 also saw the operational start of ROSEEM, the regional network ofenvironmental monitoring units that includes Jordan,Lebanon and Syria.Five IRD research units are working in Egypt, one in virol-ogy and the others in the social sciences (sociology,archaeology, urban studies and anthropology). Their workcontinued in 2001, mainly in collaboration with CairoUniversity, the Centre d’études et de documentationéconomiques, juridiques et sociales (CEDEJ)

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(for sociology), the Institut françaisd’archéologie orientale, Mansourah University and theNational Centre for Documentation of Natural heritage(for archaeology).

AsiaIn Asia, Thailand is the country where the IRD has mostcollaborative work in hand. Collaboration with the LandDevelopment Department, which began in 1994, wasfocusing on saline soils in 2001. Under an agreementwith Mahidol University, a research centre was created towork on emerging viral diseases and the vectors ofdengue fever; the work of the centre includes a majortraining component. In 2001 the Institute also organiseda number of symposia and conferences. Also, at therequest of Kasetsart University, the Institute’s representa-tive organised a meeting about the IRD’s activities inAsia, with representatives from other countries in regiontaking part.

In Laos, the number of IRD researchers increased fromone to six, as a team arrived to study erosion under aregional programme managed by a international consor-tium involving France and several Asian countries. Teamsfrom the same research unit are also working inThailand, and soon will be in Vietnam as well. Regionalworkshops are held regularly in one or other of thesecountries; for the October 2001 meeting it was the turnof Vientiane to play host.In Indonesia, the Catfish programme was prolongeduntil 2002. Collaboration with the Centre forInternational Forestry Research continued, on the subjectof “Change and perceptions of forest resources by thepopulations of East Kalimantan”. Lastly, in late 2001 anew archaeology programme began – a study of theecology of human settlements in southern Sumatra – incollaboration with the French School of Far EasternStudies and Indonesia’s National Centre forArchaeological Research.

In Vietnam¸ the food research programme with thehealth ministry’s Nutrition Institute set up a network toproduce a food complement for young children. Anagreement was signed with the National Science andTechnology Centre, with plans for new operations such asscientific exchanges, consultancy missions and training.Through a researcher seconded to Sun Yatsen Universityin China in late 2000, the IRD is taking part in trainingand research conducted by the Franco-Chinese Centrefor the Sociology of Industry and Technology. In May2001, the chancellor of Sun Yatsen University paid a visitto the IRD head office.In India, the Franco-Indian Water Research Unit wel-comed its first IRD researcher in February 2001.In June, when the rector of Jawaharlal Nehru Universityvisited the IRD, the Institute and the University signed apartnership agreement launching collaboration on thehydrology of Himalayan glaciers.

The IRD and its partners

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Cooperation with the European UnionThe IRD’s activities with the European Commissionexpanded in 2001. IRD teams are mainly involved in workfor the Framework Research and Development Programme(FRDP), particularly its International CooperationProgramme (INCO). But there are also many activities outside of the FRDP, in fishery research especially.Over the past ten years, the IRD has received an averageof 2 million euros a year in European grants.

Cooperation with internationalagricultural research centersThe Institute works in collaboration with 10 centres of theConsultative Group on International Agricultural Research(CGIAR), and a regional centre in Central America.Twenty-three programmes involving 38 staff are con-cerned. These partnerships concern genetic resources,water and soil management, assistance for training (aboutten theses are currently under way, there are some twentydoctoral students working as interns at the Institute, and in Colombia a Centre of Excellence in cassavabiotechnology was set up).