In Southern Africa, East Africa and the Indian Ocean, IRD intervenes in continental and insular contexts that vary in terms of development, and covers many scientific themes, such as the marine sciences, climate change, health, the environment and the social sciences. The institute works in the spirit of regional cooperation, via its sites in the French overseas territories, as well as South-South collaborations.
From 14 to 17 May 2018, IRD celebrated 70 years of scientific cooperation in Madagascar. For this occasion, the Institute and its partners offered a series of events for the public, focusing on science and scientific culture.
This conference was held from 23 to 26 October 2018 in Cape Town. There were 37 presentations during 7 themed sessions.
On the initiative of Kenya, Canada and Japan, the first Sustainable Blue Economy Conference took place from 26 to 28 October 2018 in Nairobi. It brought together almost 15 000 participants, to focus on the theme of the contribution of the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Programme goals for 2030.
The Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) expert group held a regional consultation workshop on 12 May 2018, in Port Elizabeth (South Africa), to coincide with the Future Earth conference on “Seedbeds of Transformation: the Role of Science with Society and the SDGs in Africa” (9 to 11 May).
IRD has been working for over 10 years on the SIT. After a laboratory testing phase, the aim of phase 2 of the project (2016-2018) was to evaluate the technical, economic and social feasibility of the technique, to envisage its future application in the natural habitat.
The International Research Group-South (GDRI-Sud) DELTAS was created in 2018, to consolidate an international research network on socio-environmental dynamics in the deltas of the western Indian Ocean. It is based on IRD’s long-term partnerships in the region and on the WIoDER consortium, bringing together researchers and students from Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Mozambique) and Europe (France, Netherlands, United Kingdom).
The FARI is based on the need to guarantee greater participation by the research institutions and universities present in the region, including the need to help implement the evaluation component of the works of the Nairobi Convention. This UN organisation is working for the protection, management and improvement of the marine and coastal environment in the western part of the Indian Ocean. IRD joined the FARI in 2018, meaning that it could propose actions for the governance of the high seas and seamounts at COP9 of the Nairobi Convention in August.