Rivoc and BiodivOc: The Keys to a Better Future in Occitanie
Advancer regional to to better preserve biodiversity and better combat vector-borne diseases. This is the mission that the Occitanie region has chosen to entrust to the UM as part of these last two key challenges. An initiative aimed at bring togetherregional academic, scientific, and economic forces around major strategic issues for the future of Occitanie. Presentation of these two key challenges, named BiovidOc and Rivoc.
A gravel pit lake in Haute-Garonne.
Copyright: © Rémy Lassus, EDB Laboratory, Toulouse.
What will life be like in Occitanie in the coming decades? What kind of climate will we face? What impact will this have on biodiversity? On human, animal, and plant health? Will we face new diseases? If so, will we have the means to treat them? Will we have succeeded in developing greener energy? While these questions are at the heart of science, the connections between research teams at the regional level are sometimes lacking in structure, and ties with the business world need to be strengthened to enable, in a second phase, greater utilization of the results at the local level.
More Attractive Research in Occitanie
“I’m one of those who believe that research can be useful,” says Montpellier-based biologist Didier Fontenille, “and when it addresses societal, economic, health, or environmental issues, we must seize this opportunity to make a difference. ” And for this researcher at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), the opportunity to make a difference is called Rivoc, one of the four key challenges supported by the Occitanie region, which was officially launched on March 18. A few days before that of BiodivOc, the second key challenge led by the University of Montpellier and spearheaded this time by ecologist and evolutionary biologist Philippe Jarne, a CNRS researcher at the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Studies (CEFE).
"Key Challenges" is an initiative of the Occitanie region aimed at identifying and bringing together the scientific community and local economic stakeholders around strategic themes for the region. “Excel, unite, and protect—these are the three keywords that apply to the goals we aim to achieve,” says Nadia Pellefigue, Vice President for Economic Development, Innovation, Research, and Higher Education. “We have engaged in dialogue with researchers to mobilize resources where rapid progress is possible. “We want to implement initiatives that enable an ecological transition and help make research more collaborative, more visible, and more attractive in Occitanie.” Four key challenges have been launched so far, two of which are led by the University of Montpellier, in line with MUSE’s three pillars: nourish, care, and protect.
Care for and protect with Rivoc and BiodivOc
The goal of the Rivoc key challenge is to address these issues, particularly by anticipating future diseases (see box) and by using research to foster the development of new control strategies. “Many animal diseases not only cause production losses but also pose a risk to human health. The Occitanie region, aware of both the health risks and local economic challenges, has decided to support this project,” explains Didier Fontenille.
This is an area that is already well established in Montpellier, Perpignan, and Toulouse, where there is a strong expertise base. It also fits into the broader “One Health” strategy, which views human, animal, plant, and environmental health as an integrated whole. “An unhealthy environment leads to diseases in plants, animals, and humans. This ties into the concept of biodiversity,” adds the director of Rivoc.
Biodiversity is precisely at the heart of the second key challenge, BiodivOc. “If there is one scientific field that is essential for addressing these issues, it is scientific ecology,” emphasizes Philippe Augé, president of the University of Montpellier. “And that’s good news! Because it is also a field of particular strength at UM and one of the pillars of the MUSE project, which aims to promote a transition toward an environmentally friendly society.”
Occitanie does indeed boast exceptional environmental potential, but it faces intense pressure from human activities. “The region is also one of 34 biodiversity hotspots. This means it is extremely rich in species. We have a diversity of landscapes that continues to amaze me every day, but it also means that this biodiversity is under serious threat,” warns Philippe Jarne. The causes: intense demographic pressure posing major challenges in terms of natural resource management, extensive agricultural activity, and local species threatened by the arrival of exotic species such as the coypu or the infamous tiger mosquito, which are addressed in this second key challenge. “The relationship we each have with nature is philosophical in nature, but this loss of biodiversity will not come without economic, social, and health consequences.”
Synergy Booster
For all stakeholders, the success of these key challenges therefore depends above all on better structuring of research based on synergy, as Philippe Augé points out. “These are excellent tools for fostering interactions among regional research hubs, organizations, and disciplines, for creating synergy among the 30,000 researchers in Occitanie, but also for developing projects with the private sector or nonprofit organizations and making scientific knowledge accessible to as many people as possible.”
Stemming from the KIM Rive initiative launched by Muse last February, the Rivoc key challenge already has some 40 partners. These include academic and university partners in Montpellier, Toulouse, and Perpignan; institutional partners such as the Ministries of Agriculture and Health; professional associations; civil society actors; as well as companies working to combat vector-borne diseases—developing diagnostics, medications, or vector control tools that are more environmentally friendly than current pesticides. “The region’s mandate is to organize scientific activities—including multidisciplinary basic research, of course—but also implementation initiatives, meaning the promotion and application of expertise at the regional level, and this is already beginning to create connections, networks, and opportunities,” explains Didier Fontenille. Several companies in Toulouse have reportedly already contacted researchers in Montpellier with a view to collaborating, “and the door remains open to anyone who believes they can contribute to or benefit from Rivoc,” adds the director (1).
Action-oriented research is something Philippe Jarne says he is also deeply committed to. “Among our objectives are, of course, a better understanding of biodiversity and the mechanisms that govern it, but there are also issues of cross-disciplinary collaboration and socio-economic partnerships. This isn’t necessarily the area where our community is expected to focus, yet we are already heavily involved in shaping public policy. ” To achieve these goals, the ecologist will be able to count on the 70 partners already participating in the BiodivOc challenge, including some twenty research units in Perpignan, Toulouse, Banyuls, and Moulis—as well as Montpellier, of course—but also organizations such as theCemeb and TULIP Labex initiatives. “We will rely on collaborative platforms, develop a multidisciplinary approach, and build relationships with biodiversity managers, as well as with consulting firms and large private companies.”
From Occitanie to the rest of the world
Each of these two key challenges will receive €2 million in regional funding over four years. For BiodivOc, this amount will specifically fund “between 3 and 5 projects, each receiving approximately €300,000 and involving at least five teams across two university campuses. “We want to turn these projects into scientific initiatives and use them as a springboard to secure additional funding.” As for Rivoc, this funding could also help bring in collaborators: “If African, American, or Asian researchers working on vector-borne diseases want to see what we’re doing in Occitanie, we have the funding to bring them here for three to six months,” adds Didier Fontenille.
For both researchers, while everything starts in Occitanie, the goal remains to disseminate knowledge and make it accessible to everyone. “We certainly aren’t going to fund research on penguins in Antarctica, but our research won’t be limited to Occitanie because the issues are much broader,” says the biodiversity specialist. “Our idea is that the rest of the world takes an interest in us, understands that things are happening in Occitanie, and comes to work with us; but conversely, we have a duty to put these results at the service of the rest of the world,” concludes the director of Rivoc.
(1): For further information, please contact Rivoc-Projet and BiodivOc
Vector-borne diseases
“A vector-borne disease is a disease affecting plants, animals, or humans caused by an infectious agent transmitted by a vector. This vector is an arthropod—either an insect, a tick, or, by extension, a mollusk,” explains Didier Fontenille. Vector-borne diseases are responsible for approximately 700,000 deaths worldwide each year. In an article titled “Chronicle of Foretold Epidemics in Southern France,” the researcher and his colleagues highlight four emblematic examples of vectors responsible for diseases that could emerge in Occitanie in the coming years:
- the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), a vector for dengue, chikungunya, and Zika;
- the striped tick (Hyalomma marginatum): a vector of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever for animals and possibly for humans;
- a midge (Culicoides sp.): a vector of bluetongue disease in sheep;
- the meadow leafhopper, also known as the "cuckoo spitter": a plant vector for the phytopathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa.