A l'UM la science [S03-ep18]: Assessing payments for environmental services

This week on A l'UM la science we're talking about REDD+, the schemes designed to reduce deforestation. It's happening in Brazil, with Gabriela Demarchi, an economist at the Moisa laboratory. The report takes us to Baillarguet, on the roof of the Ecotron, with Damien Landais, head of the Macrocosme platform. Broadcast every Wednesday at 6pm on Divergence-FM 93.9.

Forests cover 31% of our planet's land area. But what is a forest? According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), forests are: " land occupying an area of more than 0.5 hectare, with trees reaching a height of more than 5 meters and a tree crown cover of more than 10%. " Of course, they are present on every continent and in both hemispheres, but also on the particularly successful cover of the latest issue of LUM, the University's science and society magazine, entitled L'appel de la forêt on this occasion.

On these pages, we invite you to discover these incredible ecosystems. In the far north of Canada, in the lush mangroves of French Guiana, on the small islands of the Pacific or here in mainland France, all forests have one thing in common: they're in a bad, even very bad way: climate change, megafires, cyclones, droughts, human exploitation. Trees are struggling, as is the biodiversity they harbor. In this issue, we talk to you about the emblematic Pyrenean bear, wild boar and even tiny ants. We also tell you about the Bakas, the people of Cameroon who try to survive between logging companies and natural parks.

Between 1990 and 2020, deforestation alone caused the loss of 420 million hectares of forest, roughly 7 times the size of France. International organizations are trying to stem the tide of deforestation with tools such as the Green Climate Fund and the Green Pact for Europe. One of these emblematic programs is REDD + for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.  

Gabriela Demarchi is an economist. After completing her thesis at CEE-M on the evaluation of REDD+ programs in Brazil, she is now pursuing her research at the Moisa laboratory.

In the second half of the program, we head to theEcotron on the Baillarguet site for a new series of reports. We begin with a visit to the Macrocosmes platform by Damien Landais, its manager.

At UM la science you've got the program, here we go!

Coproduction : Divergence FM / Université de Montpellier
Animation : Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview : Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting : Aline Périault, Lucie Lecherbonnier
Editing : Lucie Lecherbonnier

Listen to the program "A l'UM la science" on Divergence FM 93.9