Florence Pinton

Conservation of Biodiversity as a European Directive: The Challenge for France

The purpose of the Habitats directive, based explicitly on scientific knowledge, is to preserve biological diversity on a European scale through the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora. It differs from the standard nature protection policy approaches because of the principles which it espouses: maintaining biodiversity and sustainable development. The use of these notions is clearly not neutral nor without consequences. In exploring the content of the biodiversity concept, this text seeks to demonstrate how it redefined nature. An analysis of the text of the directive reveals its theoretically innovative aspects and the difficulties of applying this new nature policy. While it is clear that there are real difficulties of interpretation which can apply to all the countries involved, the room to manoeuvre and the risks of conflicts vary from country to country because they depend on the particular political culture. Our hypothesis is that biodiversity, as conceived in the directive and the action framework proposed, involves many contradictions which account for the outbursts in political and scientific circles which its application caused in France.

Gestion dynamique de la diversité variétale du manioc en Amazonie du Nord-Ouest

Abstract The dynamic management of varietal diversity in cassava in north-western Amazonia. Based on a case study in a village of the Rio Negro region in Brazilian Amazonia, the article analyses the factors on which the maintenance and renewal of varietal diversity in cassava, the main crop and staple food in the region, are founded. A number of earlier studies, mainly in the social sciences, have shown the wide diversity existing in cassava varieties in several Amerindian or metis groups in Amazonia. This diversity has been mostly explained in terms of ecological advantages, i.e. of polyculture over monocropping. In most cases however, questions relative to identification of this diversity, its social meaning and the associated practices, which are all contribute to a certain type of lifestyle and of relations with the environment, are still unexplored. Our hypothesis as to the random and voluntary nature of the selection process in cassava varieties induced us to focus our study on the technical and socio-cultural aspects involved in the management of this diversity. The study is completed by a genetic analysis of the amplitude and organisation of this diversity. A better understanding of man’s action on this staple crop should enable us to identify the processes involved in the selection and conservation of cassava varieties and their ecological and socio-cultural foundations; assess the different consequences of a decrease in varietal diversity on the local and regional scales, more particularly the consequences linked to the dissemination of improved plant material; take account of the ecological, economic and socio-cultural significance of varietal diversity for local populations in designing conservation policies for genetic resources; and allow indigenous knowledges right of place in the selection processes of a plant material that nowadays is disseminated throughout the tropical world.

Manioc et biodiversité : exploration des voies d’un nouveau partenariat

Abstract The low development of regional market production in Amazonia and the subsequent marginalisation of rural communities are often seen to be caused by a commitment to traditional agriculture. This situation is generally interpreted as the result of forest peoples resistance to technological innovation, on one hand, and the failure of institutions in sustaining agricultural development, on the other. The rise of global environmental issues and the question of the diversity of cultivated plants, more specifically, has led to a reconsideration of the importance of traditional farming systems. Indeed, these could play an essential part in conserving phytogenetic resources. This paper deals with Cassava ( Manihot esculenta Crantz), the main crop cultivated in traditional Amazonian farming systems, and principal source of income for small farmers. It is based on a study that was conducted in a wide range of ecological and socio-economic contexts and demonstrates that the extensive genetic diversity of Cassava can be explained by specific management practices. These practices are in turn confronted to the representations held by scientists and developers regarding the integration of Amazonian population into the global economy. We will then suggest potential directions for development policies.

Extractivisme et développement régional

Entre extractivisme et reserve extractiviste Les debats portant sur la valorisation de la foret amazonienne ont favorise une confusion semantique. La notion generale d’extractivisme, qui renvoie a l’activite et a ses differentes formes d’expression, s’est effacee derriere celle de reserve extractiviste, notion plus operatoire pour pretendre figurer un modele de developpement durable et qui pourtant ne represente qu’un cas particulier des formes prises par l’extractivisme. Dans son acception l...