Sustainable development goals

09/07/20

Regional focus: Infectious diseases in the centre of the scientists’ target

Their names are Florian, Muriel, Andres, Veerle, Louis-Clément... Each morning, a community of IRD researchers working in Southern, Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean wakes up with a simple idea in mind: fighting communicable diseases having significant effects among the region’s populations.

02/07/20

Sustainability science: a priority of IRD governance

Valérie Verdier, President and CEO of IRD, presented the changes in its governance to the Board of Directors on June 26, 2020. She reaffirmed the priority of Science, as part of an equitable partnership with the South and French Overseas Territories, and the increasingly important role of...

30/06/20

Citizen science: a great tool for socio-ecological studies

A new study shows the multiple insights that citizens bring while participating in an ecological assessment. Involving the local population ensures both the creation of reliable data and a greater public support for scientific and conservation projects.

25/06/20

Kenya: Science carries on during pandemic, to maintain insect breeding

When the country implemented a national lockdown and travel restrictions due to the current health crisis, Paul-André Calatayud and his kenyan colleagues had to organize in order to keep their research and laboratory work going. They indeed cannot stop their activity as they breed insects that...

20/06/20

Covid-19: our partners at the forefront of the fight - Zimbabwe

Numerous scientific partners of IRD, in France and in the countries of the Global South, are at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic, through actions of research, in the field and in support of public decision. Meet Prof. Pfukenyi, from the University of Zimbabwe.

16/06/20

[Meet a scientist] Moagabo Ragoasha: once an IRD scholarship holder, now an oceanographer in the SA-France network

Moagabo Ragoasha has just defended her PhD and is now a qualified South African physical oceanographer. Thanks to the IRD scholarship program, she had the opportunity to share her PhD time between France and South Africa. Let’s have a chat with her so she can share her experience with us!

08/06/20

Report argues for land redistribution to create new jobs in agriculture in South Africa

Bruno Losch, political economist at Cirad based at the University of the Western Cape, contributed to this study highlighting the possibilities of job creations if South Africa chooses the path of a pro-poor land reform.

08/06/20

Zimbabwe: Research carries on, from laboratory to remote working

Florian Liégeois, an IRD virologist, has been hosted by the University of Zimbabwe, in Harare, for the past few months. The country having implemented lockdown regulations since last April, he and his partners needed a new organisation so that their research on coronaviruses continues.

05/06/20

Roundtable on Air Pollution

Air pollution by fine particles is a global issue. It is the main health risk and the main cause of non-communicable diseases, the second largest contributor to global warming (just after CO2), and with quantities of fine particles arriving in the ocean more than twice the amount of plastic waste...

22/05/20

Covid-19: improving knowledge on coronaviruses carried by bats to protect human populations

IRD, Cirad and the University of Zimbabwe, long-standing research partners in animal and zoonotic diseases, launched a new project on the genetic diversity of coronaviruses found in Zimbabwean bats.

15/05/20

COVID-19: Mask distribution to community-based partners in Lamu

More than 5000 masks were distributed to the partners of the Mikoko Project on mangrove conservation in Lamu.

14/05/20

Fire smoke from South America reaches the Namibian coast

A team of scientists conducted an analysis of the aerosol composition over the Namibian coast. The atmosphere contains smoke coming from biomass fires in Angola and also South America.

11/05/20

We found high UV doses at high-altitude hiking trails in Reunion and Cape Town

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is important for life on earth and especially for humans.

03/05/20

[Meet a scientist] Dinis Juizo: Making sure that water flows under every bridge

Spread along the Mozambican channel and crossed by 9 major cross-border rivers, Mozambique and its 30 million inhabitants have to share the limited fresh water resources they are offered. Dinis Juizo is a civil engineer, specialised in hydrology and water resources management at the Eduardo Mondlane...

30/04/20

Baboon mothers carry their dead infant for up to ten days

Scientists studying wild Namibian chacma baboons showed that baboon mothers care, protect and carry their dead infants on average for 3 to 4 days, and up to ten days.

30/04/20

New bugs, found in Kenya, can help to control major maize pests

Insect pests, such as maize stemborers and fall armyworm, increasingly challenge food production around the world.

22/04/20

Competing for nesting sites influences a species’ social evolution

As a small rodent living in South Africa, the four striped-mouse, genus Rhabdomys , faces many challenges to live and breed. Nest-selection is particularly important for small creatures to hide from predators and protect the young.

20/04/20

Aquaculture at the crossroads of global warming and antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance is responsible for some 700 000 deaths each year worldwide. In relation to this phenomenon, a team of researchers from IRD and CIRAD have raised the alarm regarding the development of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in aquaculture, which is affecting fish production and...

14/04/20

Safeguarding biodiversity is essential to prevent the next COVID-19

Experts share their insights on the link between biodiversity loss and emerging infectious diseases.

06/04/20

African and Asian societies in the digital era

When did you last use your fingerprint as identification? When was the last time you had a look at WhatsApp? For most of us, these habits are part of our everyday life. Even though we are used to them today, they cause major disruption and changes, as all new technologies do.