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Summary:
In memoriam :
Larus argentatus ;
Urbi et orbi (in Tamazight).
Sommaire en français.
PROBLÉMATIQUES ET DÉBATS
Ecological agriculture for areas of major environmental
concern (Yvan Gautronneau)
Biological Invasions (Françoise Breton, with Marc
Cheylan, Mark Lonsdale, Jacques Maillet, Michel Pascal and Philippe Vernon
)
Trees of the Pyrenees (Michel Bartoli and Gérard
Largier)
Gas transfers in soils: environmental and agronomic implications
(Pierre Renault, Stéphanie Parry, Jorge Sierra and Luc Bidel )
Communication between farmers and their animals: an unexplored
field (Jocelyne Porcher)
Repères dans le PAF
Minister's Speech: Dominique Voynet
Genetically modified organisms in agriculture (APCA)
Eurobarometer: the opinion of Europeans on
biotechnology
Environmental conditionality for agricultural
subsidies
Natura 2000: an opportunity for dialogue
The French are increasingly environmentally-minded
Autres repères, autres paysages
Urban Periphery Areas in Africa: precarious farming
ON EN PARLE ENCORE
LVU (Landscape Value Units)
Greenhouse effect
Christianity and nature
Editor's note
AVEULOUQUE
Is the environment visible as an item for Web surfers?
Abstracts
[R] Ecological agriculture for
areas of major environmental concern (Yvan Gautronneau)
(L)
After having cheaper production as an objective, agriculture is now required
to take greater consideration of the environment and to be sustainable. Since
organic farming remains limited, complementary measures have to be set up.
Specific territories (water catchment areas, areas of wildlife or botanic
interest, etc.) should receive appropriate treatment so that agriculture
is not excluded: these are areas of major environmental concern (zones
à enjeux environnementaux majeurs = ZEEM). In these areas, the
main concern of agriculture would not be to produce as much as possible but
to protect as best as possible. The techniques exist (they can still be improved)
but their application by farmers depends on establishing a new contract between
them and the community.
[R] Biological Invasions
(Françoise Breton, with Marc Cheylan, Mark Lonsdale, Jacques
Maillet, Michel Pascal et Philippe Vernon )
(L)
This article is the transcription by Christine Silvy of a radio programme
by France Culture, La Science et les hommes (Atelier du Savoir), prepared
and presented by Françoise Breton. Broadcast on 2 April 1997, the
opinions of the five guests and the producer have been transcribed here without
any rearrangements or rewriting, to maintain the spontaneity of the
debate.
Plants and animals have conquered their present area of distribution by the
association of slow and sudden expansion phases. In the latter case, man
can be faced with a weed or a very harmful new pest. But in most recent cases,
it is man who has caused the invasion, by transporting individuals of the
species. This may be unintentional and be due to a lack of vigilance (mosquito
larvae have crossed the ocean in the water which stagnates in the inside
of used tyres, Caulerpa algae which is invading the Mediterranean Sea apparently
escaped from an aquarium, etc.) or intentional. This is the common case of
establishing game or animals for profit in newly colonized territories (the
rabbit in Australia), or the more curious case of bringing in wild animals
for rites (on coastal islands, in particular), and the appalling case of
introducing uncontrollable predators (cf. mollusks of the Pacific Islands).
In all cases, the most vulnerable ecosystems are islands. They also constitute
laboratories where scientists attempt to irradicate the invaders which should
not be there. And some invasions are advantageous: the case of beneficial
insects in biological control (well chosen).
[R] Trees of the Pyrenees
(Michel Bartoli and Gérard Largier)
(L)
Without a microphone or a radio, an interview with two foresters which
was aimed at our Dossier Forêts but which fits in here well
to continue the subject of invasions.
Spruce, larch, arolla pine, cedar, Austrian pine have been introduced and
planted to meet various needs. Hybridizations and introgressions are modifying
the genetic heritage of trees in the Pyrenees while the associated
fungi/mushrooms are modifying the microflora. And the landscapes are losing
their originality.
[R] Gas transfers in soils:
environmental and agronomic implications (Pierre Renault, Stéphanie
Parry, Jorge Sierra and Luc Bidel ) (L)
The environmental and agronomic research themes involving gas transfers in
the soil concern numerous mineral and organic molecules. The soil is the
centre/site of gas emissions which influence the greenhouse effect, the reduction
in ozone in the stratosphere and its increase in the troposphere, as well
as the acidification of rain. It concerns mainly emissions of carbon dioxide,
methane and gaseous nitrogen oxides (nitrous oxide, nitrogen monoxide and
dioxide). The volatilization of ammonia can minimize the acidity of rain.
This volatilization involves a loss of nitrogenous nutriments. The redox
potential and the pH of the soil solution have a central role on the chemical
form of nutriments. Oxygen affects the value of the redox potential and
determines the aerobic or anaerobic nature of the microbial processes.
Furthermore, soil aeration influences root growth through concentrations
of oxygen and ethylene, a molecule causing the development of aerenchymas
in certain plants. As far as maintaining the quality of soils and their
rehabilitation are concerned, the problem arises as to the degradation or
the extraction of toxic, gaseous or volatile organic compounds. Soils can
be contaminated either naturally by volatilization and diffusion, or provoked
by the forced circulation of air. Transfers of gaseous ammonia and radon-222
are more useful for analysing aerated soils where the structural pore space
plays a predominant role. Denitrification and emissions associated with nitrous
oxide occur in soils where there are locally anoxic conditions, the anoxic
fraction influencing the proportion of nitrous oxide limited in nitrogen.
The transport of oxygen in the saturated textural blocks and through films
of water covering certain organic matter is therefore important. Methane
emissions occur principally in saturated and non-aerated soils (ricefields,
marshes and flooded forests). Its production is partially counterbalanced
by its oxidation. In uncovered soil, transport by bubbling can exceed transport
by diffusion. When there are plants like rice present, the transport of methane
through the aerenchyma of the roots can be preponderant. Neither experimental
means nor models can adapt simultaneously to all these situations. Nevertheless,
the description of gas emissions, their consumption or their retention by
the soil always requires understanding the transport processes in a heterogenous
environent, describing the microbial activities which can vary in space and
in time, and sometimes, taking into account physico-chemical equilibria.
When gas transfers occur in the gaseous phase, it may be useful to take into
consideration the other gases in the atmosphere (nitrogen and argon among
others) because of the interdependence of the different flows.
[R] Communication between farmers
and their animals: an unexplored field (Jocelyne Porcher)
(L)
Communication between the farmer and his/her animals remains a largely unexplored
field of research, although the present evolution of agriculture in Western
societies and the place which animal farming holds within this agriculture
accentuates this field on more than one account. In this article, very much
based on bibliographic searches, the interest of this subject in the field
of research on animal well-being is underlined and the issue is place within
the context of the qualifications and competence in the profession of animal
farmer. Several areas of reflection are provided, aimed at laying the bases
for a study of communication between farmers and animals. There is a large
variety of animals farmed by man; here, the author concentrates on cattle,
pigs and sheep.
[R] The Minister's Speech: Dominique
Voynet, Minister of the Environment, at the France Nature Environment
Congress held in Orleans on 19 September 1997, on the theme of water
(L)
Water resource management is a major preoccupation of the Ministère
de l'Aménagement du Territoire et de l'Environnement (Ministry of
Land-Use Planning and Development and the Environment) which has taken the
important decision of abandoning the Rhine-Rhone canal. Another important
theme is the Loire and its floods and the agricultural usages (and misuses)
of water. And generally there is the major concern of employment. The third
major subject is what place should associations take in environmental policy,
whether it be waste, energy (greenhouse effect), nuclear plants, where
independent expertise is essential.
[R] Genetically modified organisms
in agriculture (APCA) (L)
Farmers have not particularly wanted this new plant breeding technique; they
do not want to suffer the consequences and find themselves bound to dominant
firms as well as having to face the distrust, even hostility, of many consumers.
The French Agricultural Council proposes: clear information on society, consumers
and users; a preliminary and transparent scientific evaluation; a case by
case decision taken by public authorities; the increase in research efforts;
international dialogue between the scientific organisations of the countries
concerned. Finally, the profession wants a serene debate.
[R] Eurobarometer: the opinion of
Europeans on biotechnology (L)
What do Europeans expect from biotechnology, what are their sources of
information, what do they trust, etc?
Overall, they are generally « optimistic » as far as the developments
they expect from modern biotechnology are concerned, but it is far from a
blind optimism. While they stress the positive consequences of certain research,
they are also wary of their possible risks. Their reactions vary greatly
from one theme to another. Although biotechnology remains a relatively unfamiliar
field for a large number of Europeans, they would like their opinions to
be taken into consideration.
[R] Environmental conditionality
for agricultural subsidies (L)
There is increasing social pressure for agriculture to participate in controlling
water, air and soil pollution, help respect the equilibrium of the major
agricultural systems and fight against the waste of resources (water, energy
in all its forms, raw materials, etc.). Respecting a code of good practice
could in the future determine the attribution of direct subsidies to agriculture.
This principle of « environmental conditionality » is at the heart
of debates of the EU Commission, which the close examination of programmes
implemented in Switzerland (terms and conditions for Integrated Production),
Germany and Austria (ecopoints and the MEKA programme) should elucidate.
As far as France is concerned, it seems to be unaware of the profusion of
initiatives among its European neighbours and appears to be without any strategy,
instrument or debate.
[R] Natura 2000: an opportunity
for dialogue (Simon Charbonneau) (L)
The directive 92/43 concerning the conservation of natural habitats, partially
transposed by a decree of 5 May 1995, mobilises all the actors in the rural
world against it, from foresters to farmers as well as hunters. Approximately
15% of the national territory would potentially be concerned by the EC measures
which clearly imposes on member states an obligation not to deteriorate natural
habitats and species’ habitats. Hunters are particularly furious but
supporters of nature sanctuaries should also be opposed to a unique use of
these territories, even if it is for the « good cause ». Flora,
fauna and landscapes will be better conserved if the agricultural and economic
life does not abandon them. To resolve these present hesitations, could we
not set up a non zonal policy for the protection of nature?
[R] The French are increasingly
environmentally-minded (Michèle Dobré and Béatrice
Hammer) (L)
The French, more and more receptive to political measures concerning air
and water pollution, are also more attentive to environmental factors in
their choices as consumers. Their purchases of organic produce (+11%), recycled
paper (+10%) and the choice of public transport for ecological reasons (+9%)
have been on the increase over the last year. But these acts are only one
aspect of ecological awareness. Other factors such as the cultural differences
highlighted by comparisons with other European countries lead us to qualify
this observation: full awareness of the environment is still to come.
[R] Urban Periphery Areas in Africa:
precarious farming (Paule Moustier and Jacques Pagès)
(L)
African towns and cities and the agriculture which they generate within them
are distinct specificities compared to Northern countries: a generally loose
urban fabric, which encourages farming activities wherever there is room;
an agricultural sector which employs more than half of the African population;
very rapid migratory flows between town and country; impoverishment in urban
areas. Agriculture around the periphery of towns in Africa serves the essential
purpose of providing food and employment, much more than that of leasure
and landscape.
The article first presents the main studies on the subject, carried out in
a geographic and sociological perspective, and which recommend the systematic
protection and promotion of agriculture in urban periphery areas.
The approach taken by the CIRAD (Centre de Coopération Internationale
en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement) is then presented,
which conentrates on the production systems and explains how towns are supplied
with produce.
[R] LVU (Landscape Value Units)
(Philippe Mérot) (L)
« To attempt to resolve the ambiguity of the term landscape value which
appears more and more often in administrative documents, it is time to propose
a scale of value including a system of units »
Worth 1 LVU, « a European site, obviously rural, preferably flat (undulating
can be considered as deformed flat). To start with, we take a large patch
of ground (hectares, km2 ?) on which we can add, as in the well-known game,
a stream, a wood, a pasture, a pretty little road bordered by plane trees
(gum trees in the south of France, pine trees in the Vosges Mountains), a
full set of ditches and fences. And then a few horses or cows (you know,
add a few livestock units), Monsieur Seguin’s goat, the Comtesse de
Ségur’s donkey and just to please Prévert, a nun and a
racoon… »
And it continues in the same spirit and with the same humour…
[R] Greenhouse effect
« I am appalled by the supplement entitled « Greenhouse effect
» of the Courrier de l’Environnement. Placed at the beginning,
without any other warning than a line in the table of contents, this journalistic
article which strings together superlatives and concepts with high symbolic
value (catastrophic, of course) is above all based on sensationalism and
not on scientific information. […]
The letter continues in the same spirit, up to « I do not understand
what place this article, without any editorial whatsoever, holds in the Courrier
de l’Environnement, otherwise a very enjoyable journal.
[R] Christianity and nature
(Pierre Guy)
« Courrier n°31, August 1997. I read the article with interest:
an approach based on texts, history, a certain equilibrium in the opinions
expressed. The subject is not new but it is treated well, however I felt
the conclusion was not comprehensive enough. It all led me to reflect on
the matter. […] »
[R] Editor’s note
Many thanks to all those readers who have shared their opinion with us on
a certain article or aspect of the Courrier. We will cite here, succinctly,
three reactions from readers who took the trouble to develop their opinions
(and which we are unable to reproduce in full here). Jacques Hardouin (Bureau
pour l’échange et la distribution de l’information sur le
mini-élévage and the Agronomy Faculty of Gembloux University)
points out that « le tangue » (the French for tenrec) – a
word which appeared in Jeanne Bourret’s article ‘les tangues de
la Ronce’ – is a small Madagascan rodent (Tenrec ecaudatus).
Jean-Pierre Moreau (retired zoologist of INRA, Versailles) notes that the
article of Hayo van der Werf (measurements of ecotoxicity) refers to old
concerns, Rachel Carson and DDT, and proposes a summary in three lines: 1.The
fate and possible impact of certain pesticides on the environment have been
studied. 2. The specific role of a certain molecule cannot result from
generalizations, even if they are mathematical. 3. The situation varies according
to the conditions of the environment, the products and the techniques used.
» Finally, Régis Caron (CFPPA du Valentin in Bourg-lès-Valence)
finds that the drawings are not very attractive and that the messages that
they convey are not pleasant as they tend to ridicule one category or another,
in a repetitive way.
[R] Is the environment visible as
an item for Web surfers? (Alain Fraval)
(L)
« A major preoccupation at this very end of the century – or so
it appears -, concern of town councillors and fishermen alike, an issue for
scientists as for students, banner of different movements … the environment
should be a clearly identified subject for the public, visible and accessible
on the Internet. Lets have a look, on the screen, what the story is, by a
quick scan of the Internet (in French). […]
Translation by Christine Young (INRA Jouy-en-Josas)