On 19 March 2021, Ifremer and IRD signed a 5-year framework agreement. The aim of the agreement is to strengthen the position of marine research for development in France, its overseas territories, Europe and internationally, and to consolidate cooperation to promote sustainable solutions.
Ifremer, a research organisation dedicated to marine science and technology, and the IRD, a public research institution that defends an original model of equitable scientific partnership with developing countries, have decided to work together to better respond to the challenges and aims of marine research for sustainable development.
This partnership focuses on the following 7 priorities:
Observe the physical and biogeochemical processes at work in the ocean and model their evolution and impact on the ocean by 2100;
An overall understanding of the land/sea continuum, coastlines, the ocean-lithosphere interface and extreme events;
Addressing societal challenges relating to the ocean in the context of global change: operational oceanography, adaptive management of marine ecosystems (evolution, preservation), law and economics;
Study biodiversity and marine ecosystems: diversity, structure and dynamics of populations and communities, connectivity ;
Taking an ecosystem approach to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
Consider the impact of emerging pollutants and toxic micro-algae, as well as the effects of diffuse pollution and human pressures on living marine organisms.
Developing and promoting a "One Health" approach integrating ocean-related issues.
This partnership is also an opportunity for the two establishments to pursue and develop their mutual knowledge initiatives in order to work together more effectively. Their research teams already work closely together in a number of joint research units (UMR) in France and overseas, scientific observation networks and research infrastructures.
"This agreement marks our shared desire to work together to better understand and respond to the major challenges facing the oceans. We will achieve this together, by pooling our resources and observations, sharing our knowledge with the international scientific community, and coordinating our campaigns at sea thanks to the French Oceanographic Fleet. Just like the ocean, we need to be 'connected' to better understand and protect it and ensure sustainable management of its resources. This connection between our two institutes is expressed in the joint research units that we share in mainland France, in Brest, Sète, Palavas and Montpellier, as well as overseas. Our partnerships in French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Reunion and French Guiana are all gateways to observing the three major oceans - the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian - to address the specific issues linked to the vulnerability of these territories and their populations to anthropogenic stress and climate change". François Houllier, CEO of Ifremer.
"IRD and Ifremer share a common vision of ocean science and the ethical values we uphold regarding the challenges and solutions posed by marine research for the sustainable development of the oceans and the people who live in them. We advocate multi-sectoral research focused on sustainable solutions for the ocean and the management of marine resources. This strengthened partnership with Ifremer should enable us to work even more effectively together, consolidating and pooling our marine science research projects and activities, particularly in the areas we are working on with our partners in the French overseas territories. This agreement is also a way for us to share the results of our research together, to promote open and socially responsible science. The international agenda, including this year's COP15, the launch of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences, the World Conservation Congress, etc. are all opportunities to organise joint initiatives and programmes, and to give even greater prominence to the research carried out by our joint ocean research units. We will be keen to raise the awareness of society as a whole, decision-makers, donors, partners and users alike, of the importance of excellent scientific research for the future of the oceans. Valérie Verdier, IRD CEO.