A partnership agreement on health ecology

On Wednesday, October 25, the City of Montpellier, Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, the main national organizations based in the region¹Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, EPHE, Institut Agro, EID Méditerranée and CHU de Montpellier signed an unprecedented partnership agreement entitled "Ecologie de la santé 2023-2030" (Ecology of health 2023-2030), designed to incorporate integrated approaches to health, such as the OneHealth approach, into public policy. This agreement initiates a consortium of reflection, action and research on shared themes to guide and enrich the "health and environment" policies of local authorities.  

This 7-year partnership agreement (2023-2030) is structured around nine key areas:

1. Accelerate the transfer of exposome research in order to better understand and prevent diseases linked to environmental damage,

2. Study the ecological resilience of ecosystems to better understand and prevent environmental impoverishment and the factors leading to the emergence of infectious diseases and zoonoses,

3. Monitor the ecology and evolution of hosts and reservoirs, vectors and pathogens to assess risks and develop prevention, surveillance and control strategies,

4. Evaluate the links between management, design and development practices in terms of urban (re)vegetation or the evolution of peri-urban agroecological practices and vector risks,

5. Experiment with new tools and strategies for sustainable, integrated management of vectors and vector risk on a regional scale,

6. Assess, monitor and prevent the health impacts of potentially damaging species, non-native species, invasive alien species and plant pathogens using methods compatible with the preservation of the environment,

7. Identify, promote and share awareness-raising tools for all stakeholders and the general public, to improve understanding of environmental health and the prevention of risks linked to the environment and biodiversity loss,

8. Accelerate the contribution of social sciences to environmental health within open science and participatory science research projects and in conjunction with living laboratory initiatives, inviting citizens, residents and users to play a role in research, innovation and changing practices,

9. Propose concrete measures to the City and Metropolis of Montpellier for the evolution of legal frameworks for urbanization, citizenship and management of the urban environment.

1. Signatories: Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, Ville de Montpellier, CNRS, Cirad, IRD, Inrae, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry -Montpellier 3, EPHE, Institut Agro, EID Méditerranée, Inserm, EFS, CHU de Montpellier ︎