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The determination of changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) content under different cropping systems is necessary for policy development oriented towards soil conservation, C sequestration, and future C credit markets. The aim of this study was to generate an open SOC dataset resulting from a systematic literature search related to the agricultural systems for Southeast Asia. The dataset has 209 articles and 4341 observations on soils of cropping systems in this region from articles published between 1987 and 2023. This dataset included different management practices, land uses, soil sampling depth, and length of SOC content assessment. In addition, inherent features of crop production reported in the experiments were included in the dataset. This dataset can be applied to quantify and compare the impact of different land uses or management practices on SOC content, providing foundational knowledge towards identifying sustainable practices. Lastly, it is a useful guide for future regional SOC sequestration policies and the development of C credit markets.

Evaluators widely utilize theory of change or impact pathway approaches to design and evaluate interventions. In research settings, there is increasing demand for ex ante impact pathways that are place-based, coherent, and plausible, in order to foster more impactful interventions. Foresight approaches, which enable a collaborative, structured, and systematic way to anticipate, prepare, and affect the course of change, can help achieve this by exploring diverse future scenarios, the consequences of different assumptions, or how to overcome threats and leverage opportunities for change. Through three case examples, we show how foresight tools used prior to developing impact pathways can free participants from preconceived notions of the intervention's context, actors, and impacts, and thus support creative and systemic analyses of the future to rethink the present. They extend the analysis of how different actors can shape the future, identifying effects that might otherwise be overlooked or marginalized during the planning and evaluation of the intervention, while also helping to identify the conditions necessary for desired impacts. Nonetheless, their use entails evaluative judgments about the potential impacts to be prioritized in intervention design and evaluation. This is especially relevant in the case of research where scientific or technical aspects are usually prioritized. Finally, there is an entry cost to foresight tools for evaluators, in particular for the facilitation of strategic thinking about the future. However, we recommend them as a worthwhile addition to the evaluator's toolbox to broaden the scope of design and evaluation.

Au Maroc, les politiques agricoles et rurales, pour faciliter leur déploiement, encouragent la mise en place d'organisations de développement local telles que les coopératives. La création massive de ces organisations peut être comprise à la fois comme une stratégie opportuniste de la part des populations rurales, et comme une injonction descendante des pouvoirs publics en vue d'associer ces populations aux responsabilités de développement territorial. L'objectif de l'article est d'analyser la capacité des leaders de ces organisations à se saisir des mécanismes offerts par les pouvoirs publics et les bailleurs de fonds pour mener des actions de développement sur leurs territoires. À travers des entretiens semi-directifs avec les leaders de vingt-deux organisations de développement local dans les oasis de la vallée de Todgha Ferkla, nous analysons comment s'entrecroisent le leadership local, les organisations et les actions de développement dans cet espace. Les résultats montrent l'existence de fortes et multiples structures d'opportunités de création d'organisations de développement local. Ces structures d'opportunités permettent l'émergence de nouveaux types de leaders. Leur rôle dans le développement local est illustré à travers deux exemples. L'accompagnement technique, institutionnel et stratégique de ces organisations, ainsi que la réussite de la relève des leaders actuels, pourraient constituer un gage de pérennité de leurs actions de développement territorial.

CONTEXT: Oil palm smallholders often have difficulty implementing good agricultural practices and replanting, and tend to obtain low yields compared to corporate plantations. A frequent strategy to improve the sustainability of smallholder production systems is sustainable intensification, aimed at increasing land productivity and farmers' incomes. To facilitate sustainable intensification, many leading public and private sustainability initiatives require farmers to join farmer organisations as a precondition for certification and assistance, with the objective of achieving advantages of scale. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is to analyse the resilience of farmer organisations in the Ophir plantation when faced with replanting. We do so by linking actors, situations, and contexts relevant to collective action in five farmer cooperatives in Ophir over a 40-year period. Our aim is to offer unique insights into the enduring dynamics that influence the resilience of farmer organisations, shed light on smallholder oil palm replanting strategies, and draw several key lessons from this case. METHODS: Our findings are based on field visits by the lead author before, during and after replanting. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected to enable a holistic overview. During visits, 110 interviews with relevant stakeholders were recorded, project reports were collected, as were data on yields, costs, and other information on the functioning of the farming system. Analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery of the Ophir plantation and plantation inspections allowed us to further quantify replanting methods and replanting progress. A combined IAD-SES-NAS framework was used to structure findings and link variables, key events and context. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that farmer organisations can facilitate sustainable intensification in smallholder systems, but the resilience of farmer organisations proved diverse during replanting. Thus, f

Agricultural activities are a major contributor to prosperity and a key player in the maintenance of productive and resilient landscapes. However, ageing farmers, yields gaps and climate change are hampering the development of agriculture, and Southeast Asia is no exception to this trend. In this worrying context, the revitalisation of the sector through agricultural education is a key issue: academic curricula in Agriculture and Environmental Sciences must regain their attractiveness among students and their capacity to meet the present and future needs of agricultural chains. Gathering a group of universities in the region, we explored several ways of diversifying the existing academic curricula through the design of original tools aimed at reconnecting scholars with field-based approaches to agricultural challenges and concepts. The aim of the TALENT programme (TrAining on LandscapE maNagemenT) is to raise awareness among the present and future sustainability managers in charge of making informed decisions concerning tree-crop plantations, and of developing relevant policies on sustainable development issues. Here, we propose a renovated approach to analyse the landscape, assess ongoing agricultural practices, generate a simplified agrarian diagnostic tool and finally assess the sustainability of current agricultural practices.

L'approche par les Systèmes d'Innovation (S.I) a été largement mobilisée depuis la fin des années 1980 et a connu pléthores terminologies appropriées aux terrains visités. Cette approche a, à la fois permis de saisir la nature des interactions inter-institutionnelles entre parties prenantes d'un système et a influencé les politiques publiques d'innovation en termes d'instruments pertinents. L'approche en termes de S.I est dupliquée sur de nombreuses échelles territoriales (régionales, locales, nationales) ou encore sectorielles. Néanmoins, aucune proposition intersectorielle n'a été réalisée au sein de cette approche. Nous interpellons ainsi le concept d'une Seule Santé pour pouvoir proposer un Système Intersectoriel d'Innovation dans le cadre du Cameroun. Une Seule Santé représente un cadre d'analyse intégrée connectant les animaux, les plantes et leur environnement. Une Seule Santé peut ainsi représenter un axe potentiel de construction d'un nouveau Système Intersectoriel d'Innovation par une meilleure coordination interministérielle et intersectorielle. En cela, nous verrons comment il peut être intégré comme outil de politique publique intersectorielle, tout comme inséré dans ce nouveau système d'innovation au Cameroun.

Many countries have integrated agroforestry into their sustainable development policies, particularly in Southeast Asia. In Timor-Leste, the national strategy to promote agroforestry has adopted a modern, technique-oriented approach focused on crop rotation, intercropping and agro-silvo-pasture. In so doing, it has largely overlooked the pre-existence, diversity and performance of traditional agroforestry systems (AFS). The data collected in seven villages located in four districts of the eastern municipalities of Timor-Leste identified five common AFS: home garden, crop field and fallow, young agroforest, forest garden and silvopastoralism. The combined use of the customary AFS by rural households depends on the households' ability to access the four types of capital (land, financial, labour and social) underpinning their development strategies. Four rural household archetypes were therefore distinguished. Six farming strategies used by these archetypes were identified: cattle specialisation, palm and tree product harvesting, crop intensification, diversification of off-farm and on-farm income, abandonment of farming, and survival. Each of these farming strategies combine certain customary AFS. The diversity and complexity of AFS require a better description of how they function and a better understanding of how they fit into the heterogeneous development strategies of rural households before actions are considered to improve their performance.

This paper analyses the central role of water infrastructure in the transformation of hydrosocial territories through a case study in the Forquilha catchment in Brazil's Nordeste. Decentralised state-led infrastructural development reinforced the resilience of communities to drought, leading to more sustainable water access by many families; this was further magnified through individual and collective initiatives. However, this entailed the overdevelopment of small-scale hydraulic infrastructure and the formation of small community-based hydrosocial territories, which changed water flows and social relations at different scales. We show how this has led to the loss of hydraulic connectivity and the fragmentation of the catchment and how it has weakened collective action vis-à-vis the state. The state staged a remarkable interventionist comeback in the catchment by connecting medium-sized reservoirs in the upstream part of the catchment to urban water supply networks. In the absence of negotiated water reallocation, this may lead to the loss of water and livelihoods by vulnerable groups.

Agroecological food system transformation remains marginal in South Africa despite numerous policies, plans and programmes favouring sustainable agriculture. Problems of weak budgets, fragmented interventions and lack of coordination reflect the power dynamics in the prevailing food system, dominated by large-scale conventional agriculture and agribusiness. The paper provides an in-depth case study of the importance of promoting agroecological transitions. Following a qualitative research methodology based on a literature review for context, preparatory discussions with local contact points, and semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with local actors in the field, the paper describes, analyses and characterises the agroecological transitions in the Overberg District in the Western Cape. It considers the broader policy, discursive and organisational landscape of agroecology followed by an in-depth analysis of the site drawing on key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The results demonstrate that local stakeholders are positioned to better connect food and nutrition issues with human health, biodiversity, climate change, natural resource management, and local development. As a result, transformative dynamics could emerge from local projects and programmes. Several lessons and recommendations are drawn to contribute to the policy debate. These highlight the potential of multi-actor coalitions which can develop from specific agroecological initiatives and activate positive dynamics, bringing in multiple interventions of municipalities.

Si les approches participatives et inclusives ont été reconnues nécessaires pour impliquer les populations dans la gestion des ressources et des territoires, leur impact reste souvent faible dans la durée, que ce soit à l'échelle locale ou pour des territoires plus vastes. C'est à partir de ce constat qu'une équipe du Cirad a mis au point à la fin des années 1990 une méthode s'appuyant sur un jeu sérieux, TerriStories®. Les effets de la première expérimentation au Sénégal en 1998-1999 perdurent encore aux échelles locale et nationale. Appliquée à la gestion de territoires locaux puis à la définition de règles nationales foncières et environnementales, la méthode a impulsé, dans tous les pays où elle a été déployée, des propositions collectives endogènes que les acteurs portent ensuite eux-mêmes et mettent en oeuvre selon leurs propres besoins.

Although participatory and inclusive approaches have been recognised as necessary for involving local people in the management of resources and territories, their impact often remains limited in the long term, whether at the local level or for broader territories. Based on this observation, a CIRAD team developed a method in the late 1990s using a serious game, TerriStories®. The effects of the first trial in Senegal in 1998-1999 are still seen today at the local and national levels. Applied to the management of local territories, then to the definition of national land and environmental regulations, the method has succeeded – in all of the countries in which it has been deployed – in driving collective endogenous proposals that the actors themselves then deliver and implement according to their own requirements.

Aunque se ha reconocido que los enfoques participativos e integradores son necesarios para implicar a la población local en la gestión de los recursos y los territorios, su impacto suele ser escaso con el paso del tiempo, tanto a nivel local como en territorios más extensos. Teniendo esto en cuenta, a finales de los 90 un equipo del Cirad desarrolló un método basado en un juego responsable: TerriStories®. Los efectos de la primera experiencia, realizada en Senegal en 1998-1999, siguen haciéndose sentir a nivel local y nacional. El método, aplicado a la gestión de los territorios locales y luego a la definición de las normas nacionales de tenencia de la tierra y del medio ambiente, ha impulsado en todos los países donde se ha desplegado, propuestas colectivas endógenas que los propios actores proponen y aplican después en función de sus propias necesidades.

The future of most tropical sectors is clouded by growing constraints linked to, among many other parameters, climate change, price volatility and labour scarcity. Perpetuating agricultural systems inherited from the colonial era (a time of abundant arable land, protected markets, and cheap and disciplined labour) will not be enough to prepare these sectors in facing immediate crucial challenges unless substantial structural transformations are made. Implementing a successful agroecological transition in a 70-billion USD sector, covering 25 million ha worldwide, calls for drastic changes in mind-sets and practices. The key issue is no longer simply to increase productivity, but to foster innovations designed to support endangered tropical biodiversity, while providing a decent living for shrinking agricultural communities in the Global South. Agroforestry practices have a role to play in providing substantial climate change mitigation with an impact comparable to other climate-focused solutions, such as reforestation. The expected contribution of oil palm-based agroforestry relies on agro-environmental services, as basic agricultural functions such as soil preservation, pollination, or pest control can be ensured by living organisms inside and around the plantation. Diversified systems are able to achieve both economic and environmental gains, as they use land more efficiently than monocultures. Building on regenerative agriculture, new plantation designs are emerging and deserve to be thoroughly assessed to establish evidence-based advocacy for change.

Embora as abordagens participativas e inclusivas tenham sido reconhecidas como necessárias para envolver as populações na gestão dos recursos e dos territórios, o seu impacto a longo prazo é muitas vezes reduzido, quer seja na escala local quer seja em territórios mais vastos. Foi a partir desta constatação que uma equipe do Cirad desenvolveu um método baseado num jogo sério no final dos anos 1990, TerriStories®. Os efeitos da primeira experiência no Senegal, em 1998-1999, ainda persistem em termos de escalas local e nacional. Aplicado à gestão dos territórios locais e depois à definição de regras nacionais fundiárias e ambientais, o método tem impulsionado, em todos os países onde foi implementado, propostas coletivas endógenas que os próprios atores levam adiante e implementam de acordo com as suas próprias necessidades.

The evolution of family farming cannot be analyzed only from the perspective of production. Since it is also a kinship unit, the family farm reveals social tensions that contribute to the migration of young people, especially for young women. This study presents an analysis of the factors that contribute to this migratory process, considering youth and gender variables. The analysis is based on a participatory diagnosis, multisectoral interviews and surveys in thirty-three communities located in the center of the Ceará State (Northeastern Brazil). The research reveals that the main factor of this migratory process is the lack of appreciation of family farming by the qualified rural youth, who participate little in decision-making. When the analysis of the migration is gender-focused, the invisibility of young women productive and reproductive work stands out as the main driver of migration to urban areas and proves to be greater than for young men. Rural youth migration will shape the rural territory and will probably change the format of family farming. Understanding its factors may help to propose public policies more adapted for family farming.

L'émergence de l'agroforesterie en Côte d'Ivoire est devenue une priorité nationale. Le secteur agricole du pays génère 70 % des recettes d'exportation, emploie les deux tiers de la population active et contribue à un tiers du PIB. Cependant, ces performances économiques remarquables reposent sur une agriculture de rente qui se développe au détriment des forêts naturelles, entraînant l'un des taux de déforestation les plus alarmants au monde. Pour faire face à cette situation, l'État ivoirien promeut l'agroforesterie comme solution, en particulier dans le secteur du cacao. Cependant, une analyse fine de l'origine des arbres présents dans les champs suggère que l'agroforesterie en Côte d'Ivoire peut être divisée en deux catégories : l'agroforesterie de reforestation, qui permet de reconstituer le couvert forestier en associant progressivement des arbres aux cacaoyers, et l'agroforesterie de déforestation, qui dégrade et appauvrit la couverture forestière en convertissant les forêts naturelles en systèmes agroforestiers. Il est crucial de distinguer ces deux formes d'agroforesterie afin de développer des politiques qui encouragent la reforestation plutôt que la déforestation. Il est également nécessaire de mettre en place des indicateurs dynamiques qui permettent d'évaluer les trajectoires agroforestières des champs dans le temps et, ainsi, de favoriser un engagement à long terme des agriculteurs dans l'augmentation de la couverture forestière.

In drylands, scientific research shows that mobile livestock systems derive the maximum social, environmental and economic benefits from these areas. These systems ensure both short-term security in case of shocks and, in the right conditions, investment capacity. However, it is difficult to develop indicators to understand and assess their contribution to territorial development, as they sit at the intersection between several scales of space and time, as well as of social and institutional organisation. The operational framework proposed here is aimed at rethinking the role of livestock systems in the sustainability of resources and societies in drylands. Six types of development indicators compare these three dimensions: characteristics of herds and of goods and services provided by the species bred, herd size, herd management system, management of land and resources use, access to state support, and dependence on markets. This framework invites policymakers to integrate these different scales in order to understand the adaption mechanisms and the risks associated with intervention.

Dans les régions sèches, les résultats scientifiques montrent que l'élevage mobile permet de tirer le meilleur profit social, environnemental et économique de ces espaces. Cette activité offre à la fois une sécurité à court terme en cas de choc et, dans de bonnes conditions, une capacité d'investissement. Il est cependant délicat d'élaborer des indicateurs pour comprendre et évaluer sa contribution au développement territorial car elle se situe à l'intersection de plusieurs échelles de temps, d'espace et d'organisation sociale et institutionnelle. Le cadre opérationnel proposé ici vise à repenser le rôle de l'élevage pour la durabilité des ressources et des sociétés des régions sèches. Six types d'indicateurs de développement croisent ces trois dimensions : caractéristiques du troupeau et des biens et services issus des espèces élevées, taille du troupeau, conduite d'élevage, gestion des ressources communautaires, accès aux soutiens de l'État, dépendance aux marchés, usage des terres et des ressources. Ce cadre invite les décideurs politiques à intégrer ces différentes échelles pour comprendre les mécanismes d'adaptation et les risques en cas d'intervention.

A growing number of emerging economies receive significant parts of their overseas finance and investment from Chinese state-owned or state-linked institutions. While academic research has focused on how Chinese policy and state-owned banks approach sustainable development issues, Chinese sovereign-backed overseas development funds are a critical yet overlooked component. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by providing the first comprehensive overview of such funds regarding their scope, activities and capitalization, as well as by assessing the funds' policy approach to sustainability. Qualitative and quantitative data are collected from databases, funds' websites, newspaper articles and public statements in both Chinese and English to identify common features between funds and to analyse their sustainability policies in comparison with global best practices. The paper specifically analyses the funds' sustainability approaches rather than impact due to a lack of comprehensive data on the funds' investments. First, the paper finds that given their number, announced capital size of US$213 billion, geographic scope and sectorial focus, including on high-emissions projects such as mining, energy and heavy industry, the funds are influential players in global development finance. Second, regarding the funds' approaches to sustainability, the paper finds that the funds lack transparency about their policies and practices, which is a key component of sustainable fund management practices. Third, based on an in-depth analysis of available information, we identify a lack of sustainability in the funds' mandates, an absence of safeguards, limited project pipeline disclosure and no sustainability performance assessment. Lastly, the paper provides four policy recommendations on how to improve the funds' sustainability approaches based on the unique way they are governed by different parts of the Chinese state apparatus.

Integrated landscape approaches that engage diverse stakeholder groups in landscape governance are increasingly promoted to address linked social–ecological challenges in tropical landscapes. Recent research suggests that a transdisciplinary approach to landscape management can help identify common research needs, enhance knowledge co-production, guide evidence-based policy development, and harmonize cross-sectorial integration. Meanwhile, guiding principles for landscape approaches suggest that identifying common concerns and negotiating a process of change are fundamental to implementation and evaluation efforts. As such, the use of decision support tools such as theory of change models that build ordered sequences of actions towards a desired, and agreed, future state are increasingly advocated. However, the application of the theory of change concept to integrated landscape approaches is limited thus far, particularly within the scientific literature. Here, we address this gap by applying the principles of landscape approaches and knowledge co-production to co-produce a theory of change to address current unsustainable landscape management and associated conflicts in the Kalomo Hills Local Forest Reserve No. P.13 (KFR13) of Zambia. The participatory process engaged a diverse range of stakeholders including village head people, local and international researchers, district councillors, and civil society representatives amongst others. Several pathways, actions, and interventions were developed around the themes of deforestation, biodiversity and wildlife conservation, socio-economic development, access rights, and law enforcement. To make the theory of change actionable, participants identified a need for enhanced cross-sector and multi-level communication, capacity development, and improved governance, while a lack of commitment towards coordinated knowledge exchange and access to information along with poor policy formulation and weak enforcement of rules were

Local development organisations are now widespread in rural regions of North Africa. In the past, these organisations were usually only involved in a few sector-specific activities. This study investigated the activities of 24 local development organisations in the Saharan regions of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The fields of action of these organisations have expanded in the past decade, thanks to their increased capacity to handle relations with other actors. They have become active in defining what development means at the local level, although public administrations do not yet acknowledge such a role.

En Afrique, si les premiers projets d'observatoires fonciers ont émergé à la fin des années 1980, c'est à partir du milieu des années 2000, qu'ils se sont multipliés avec la mise en oeuvre d'observatoires fonciers à Madagascar, au Cameroun, au Burkina Faso ou encore en Afrique du Sud, en Ouganda et au Sénégal. Ces projets d'observatoires fonciers, portés par des acteurs très différents, ont pour ambition d'améliorer la gouvernance de la terre et des ressources qu'elle porte au profit d'une meilleure gestion des espaces agricoles, naturels et de leurs interfaces. Pourtant, malgré la grande visibilité et attractivité du concept, beaucoup d'observatoires fonciers ne parviennent pas à engager des activités effectives de production d'informations et de diffusion de connaissances. Cet article vise à éclairer les principaux facteurs explicatifs des écarts de mise en oeuvre, entre les projets sur le " papier " et les projets sur le " terrain " en accordant une attention particulière aux contraintes de nature socio-économique et politique d'accès, de production et de partage des données dans le champ du foncier.

This paper develops a novel approach called Outcome Trajectory Evaluation (OTE) in response to the long-causal-chain problem confronting the evaluation of research for development (R4D) projects. OTE strives to tackle four issues resulting from the common practice of evaluating R4D projects based on theory of change developed at the start. The approach was developed iteratively while conducting four evaluations of policy-related outcomes claimed by the CGIAR, a global R4D organization. The first step is to use a middle-range theory (MRT), based on “grand” social science theory, to help delineate and understand the trajectory that generated the set of outcomes being evaluated. The second step is to then identify project contribution to that trajectory. Other types of theory-driven evaluation are single step: they model how projects achieve outcomes without first considering the overarching causal mechanism—the outcome trajectory—from which the outcomes emerged. The use of an MRT allowed us to accrue learning from one evaluation to the next.

La mondialisation de l'économie et des problèmes environnementaux et sanitaires a influencé les modes d'intervention des politiques publiques en matière d'élevage. Cet article explore les bouleversements induits dans ce secteur et en particulier sur le pastoralisme. Il analyse les tenants et les aboutissants de la reconnaissance, de l'institutionnalisation et de la valorisation économique des activités pastorales par les politiques publiques. Il en ressort que les aspects intersectoriels et multifonctionnels du pastoralisme ont, dans la plupart des cas, été négligés alors qu'ils sont déterminants dans les dynamiques des socioécosystèmes considérés. Aussi, explorons-nous comment l'approche par les communs peut permettre aux acteurs eux-mêmes de promouvoir une gestion adaptative du pastoralisme en réifiant, dans les milieux considérés, les interactions homme-animal dans leur complexité.

The article examines the participation of farmers in the Mesas de Desarrollo Rural (MDRs) established in Uruguay in 2007. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholders between 2016 - 2018 to explore their participation, analyse official documents and do participant observation of meetings. The main findings indicate the adaptability of these mechanisms to territorial and producer conditions; their openness to other non-agricultural sectoral institutions; and difficulties in maintaining or renewing the participation dynamic, particularly of farmers' representatives. The impacts of the political changes in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic on MDRs were also examined after new interview of new policy responsibles.

Desde os anos 1990 o estado do Amapá apostou num desenvolvimento territorial sustentável a partir da valorização econômica dos produtos da sociobiodiversidade e do reconhecimento dos saberes associados a estes recursos e detidos pelos povos e comunidades tradicionais (PCT). Este modelo de desenvolvimento endógeno se deu em sinergia com as dinâmicas globais na política federal brasileira, assim como dos mercados globais. O artigo questiona o papel de diversos fatores, a começar pelo papel das populações tradicionais, no sucesso do mercado do açaí, que hoje é reconhecido como um catalisador de desenvolvimento territorial sustentável. A partir de uma análise reflexiva de três experiências em diferentes localidades do Estado (Mazagão, Bailique, Oiapoque), as autoras mostram distintas estratégias relacionando populações tradicionais com o mercado, em função de proximidades (geográficas e sociais) e grau de organização coletiva. Estratégias nas quais os instrumentos de fomento públicos ou privados são necessários e mobilizados de forma diferenciada (PGPM-Bio nas comunidades ribeirinhas na proximidade da Capital, PNGATI nas Terras Indígenas, Fundos privados nas comunidades ribeirinhas do Bailique), apenas para reforçar dinâmicas sociais internas. A informalidade fragiliza ainda fortemente a posição dos povos e comunidades tradicionais em todos os elos da cadeia, porém, abre espaços para consolidação dos mercados locais e (assim) para a soberania alimentar.

La persistance du sous-développement a amené l'université africaine à interroger et repenser sa responsabilité sociétale depuis la crise économique mondiale des années 1990. Il en est le cas au Cameroun où l'Indice de Responsabilité Sociétale des Universités (RSU) reste toujours faible conformément au constat fait à l'université de Douala (IRSO = 0,4), la plus grande du pays. Certaines innovations de la RSU sont tout de même observées. La recherche responsable expérimentée dans le Projet d'élaboration d'une Stratégie de Sécurité Alimentaire dans la ville de Douala (Projet SYSTALDO), constitue l'une de ces innovations du partenariat Université/Municipalité. La pertinence de l'Indice du Système d'Innovation en Quintuple Hélice (ISIQH = 0,64) dans la mise en oeuvre de ce projet démontre une amélioration non négligeable de la contribution de l'université de Douala au développement local. La vulgarisation de cette innovation en quintuple hélice souffre cependant de l'absence d'un dispositif incitatif et coercitif. Une Politique Nationale de Recherche Responsable (PNRR) favoriserait une meilleure valorisation de cette innovation par les collectivités territoriales dans la " municipalisation " du développement national.

This paper uses a series of serious games – a form of participatory modelling designed and played in Kandal, Cambodia - as an entry point for reexamining relations between development projects, participatory formats, landscape transformations, and sustainable futures. Critics of development and participation have shown that participatory formats simplify real-world complexities by rendering them technical. This is also the case for serious games. But contrary to what is often assumed, 'depoliticization' is not the unavoidable outcome. Instead, participatory outcomes depend on specific sociotechnical patterns of more or less generous constraints. To support collective exploration requires tinkering with these patterns of constraints to keep the boundaries between virtual and real worlds, insiders and outsiders, and the present and future relatively permeable. Generous constraints and permeable boundaries do not keep power out of participation but facilitate glimpses of different possibilities. In Kandal, they made it possible to shift from narrow technical discussions on the rehabilitation of specific preks (water channels) towards a collective exploration of sustainable futures for the full mosaic landscape. In general, we argue, serious games hold potentials as experimental systems, which are serious to the extent that they work like technologies of humility. In this capacity, they can support efforts to do difference together, and explore more-than-human worlds and divergent practical ontologies. Learning from this multiplicity matters for moving towards sustainable forms of living in Kandal and elsewhere.

Local development organisations are now widespread in rural regions of North Africa. In the past, these organisations were usually only involved in a few sector-specific activities. This study investigated the activities of 24 local development organisations in the Saharan regions of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The fields of action of these organisations have expanded in the past decade, thanks to their increased capacity to handle relations with other actors. They have become active in defining what development means at the local level, although public administrations do not yet acknowledge such a role.

Governments are updating national strategies to meet global goals on biodiversity, climate change and food systems proposed in the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 framework and agreed at the United Nation's Climate Change Conference (COP26) and Food Systems Summit (UNFSS). This represents a unique and crucial opportunity to integrate and accelerate food system actions to tackle interconnected global challenges. In this context, agroecology is a game-changing approach that can provide the world's growing population with nutritious, healthy affordable food, ensure fair incomes to farmers and halt and reverse the degradation of the natural environment. Here, we explore agroecological transition pathways in four case studies from low- and middle- income countries and identify catalysts for change. We find that enabling policy and market environments, participatory action research and local socio-technical support each plays a critical role in stimulating transitions towards agroecology. We propose strategies and priorities for research to better support agroecological transitions using these catalysts of change as entry points. Engagement of governments, private sector, civil society, farmers and farm workers in this research agenda is essential.

Les crises que nous traversons interrogent les modèles de société qui fondent nos priorités et nos actions. Comment retrouver une capacité à agir pour un idéal de justice sociale et écologique ? Comment remobiliser nos sens et habiter en conscience et en responsabilité nos territoires ? Différentes voies sont explorées par la communauté internationale, les États ou encore la société civile, pour rendre plus explicites les relations entre le bien-être social et l'état de l'environnement. Mais aucune ne semble parvenir à s'ancrer réellement dans les processus de décision. Les communs traitent de ces relations de manière sensible et raisonnée. Cet ouvrage est le fruit de 20 ans de recherches engagées et de réflexions transdisciplinaires d'un collectif de chercheurs investis dans la coopération internationale avec les pays des Suds (juriste, économiste, modélisateur, sociologue, géographe, écologue, agronome, informaticien). En appréhendant simultanément les besoins des humains et des non-humains, l'approche par les communs de la terre et des ressources qu'elle porte, présentée dans cet ouvrage, nous invite à identifier et investir les marges de manoeuvre permettant à la diversité des usagers de faire valoir leurs prérogatives et d'assumer leurs devoirs. L'innovation sociale proposée constitue le creuset de l'inclusion de non-humains dans des collectifs qui sont institués, à défaut, parfois, d'être institutionnalisés. Les " acteurs du vivre ensemble " se dotent ainsi d'une capacité d'analyse et d'engagement qu'ils s'imposent de rendre explicite ; ils mobilisent des outils et des méthodes facilitant l'action collective ; et ils cherchent à s'accorder pour faire face aux incertitudes. Le renforcement du lien social et de la conscience écologique qui en découle est le moteur de nouveaux projets de territoires à co-construire fondés sur un " faire commun " et une gouvernance repensée. Cet ouvrage s'adresse aux étudiants, acteurs politiques et territoriaux, scientifiques, op

De nombreux juristes engagés soutiennent l'établissement d'une nouvelle catégorie de biens, les " biens communs ", pour faire face à l'urgence écologique. L'anthropologie politique de la juridicité focalise quant à elle son attention sur les dynamiques sociales associées au faire commun. Il s'agit de restituer les dynamiques du droit révélées par le pluralisme juridique en accordant un intérêt particulier aux conditions d'émergence et de promotion des innovations sociales portées par des collectifs d'usagers de la terre et des ressources qu'elle porte. Ces innovations sociales contribuent dans de nombreuses situations à la prise en charge par les citoyens, de relations d'interdépendances entre humains, et entre humains et non-humains, ceci dans des contextes où les propositions portées par l'État ou les marchés n'apparaissent pas satisfaisantes aux yeux des habitants des territoires concernés. Selon cette approche, il est possible de postuler que le principe général de solidarité écologique est complété par un fait juridique : l'existence d'une solidarité (sociale et) écologique vécue par un collectif d'usagers (humains et non-humains) de la terre et des ressources qu'elle porte. Ce fait génère, entre les membres des communautés d'usages considérées, des devoirs et des prérogatives, susceptibles de constituer la source d'un droit opposable aux tiers : un droit à l'usage de la terre et des ressources qu'elle porte. La valorisation des usages associée à l'expression de la solidarité écologique peut ainsi conduire à réifier des comportements particuliers, existants ou souhaitables (y compris des comportements associés à l'exercice de la puissance publique) à différentes échelles territoriales.

Effective knowledge exchange at science-policy interfaces (SPIs) can foster evidence-informed policy-making through the integration of a wide range of knowledge inputs. This is especially crucial for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES), human well-being and sustainable development. Early-career researchers (ECRs) can contribute significantly to knowledge exchange at SPIs. Recognizing that, several capacity building programs focused on sustainability have been introduced recently. However, little is known about the experiences and perceptions of ECRs in relation to SPIs. Our study focused on SPI engagement of ECRs who conduct research on biodiversity and ES, as perceived and experienced. Specifically, we addressed 'motivations', 'barriers' and 'opportunities and 'benefits'. A total of 145 ECRs have completed the survey. Our results showed that ECRs were generally interested to engage in SPIs and believed it to be beneficial in terms of contributing to societal change, understanding policy processes and career development. Respondents perceived lack of understanding about involvement channels, engagement opportunities, funding, training, perceived credibility of ECRs by other actors and encouragement of senior colleagues as barriers to engaging in SPIs. Those who have already participated in SPIs generally saw fewer barriers and more opportunities. A key reason for dissatisfaction with experience in SPIs was a lack of impact and uptake of science-policy outputs by policymakers – an issue that likely extends beyond ECRs and implies the need for transformations in knowledge exchange within SPIs. In conclusion, based on insights from our survey, we outline several opportunities for increased and better facilitation of ECR engagement in SPIs.

L'initiative Grande Muraille verte (GMV) est bien plus qu'une activité de reforestation pour limiter la désertification des écosystèmes sahéliens. Elle vise à restaurer des terres dégradées pour permettre une meilleure résilience et durabilité des territoires sahéliens face aux changements globaux (O'Connor & Ford, 2014). Sur le terrain, les résultats obtenus sont une combinaison d'interactions entre des acteurs et des processus biophysiques et socioéconomiques se déployant dans l'espace et le temps afin de restaurer les fonctions écologiques et économiques du milieu. Les dimensions territoriales des activités de reforestation au sahel font l'objet d'un intérêt croissant notamment à travers la mise en oeuvre de l'accélérateur de la GMV qui vise à amplifier la portée géographique de l'initiative. En vue de la mise à l'échelle des opérations de reforestation au Sahel, il convient de se demander comment cette action de restauration s'insère dans un territoire et le transforme (Turner et al., 2021). La modélisation, spatialement explicite, offre un cadre d'analyse permettant de réduire la complexité d'un objet géographique, comme les activités de reforestation de la GMV, pour s'intéresser à ces caractéristiques propres : topographie, hydrologie, distributions végétales et faunistiques, mode opératoire de restauration ; et aussi aux interactions que cette initiative entretient avec son environnement écologique et social. Cette modélisation nécessite une approche pluridisciplinaire permettant de créer un cadre d'échanges pour la recherche et les acteurs du développement. La modélisation territoriale devient alors un objet d'aide à la décision permettant d'évaluer l'impact des opérations de restauration mais aussi de penser l'avenir à travers des scénarios prospectifs de gestion afin d'accompagner les acteurs dans l'organisation des actions (Delay et al., 2022).