The aim will be to elucidate the relationship with living beings in the context of climate crisis and biodiversity loss.
Earth is a “living planet” because it possesses the properties that allow for the emergence and maintenance of life, manifested through the presence of organisms capable of reproducing, growing, developing, and ultimately, dying. Living beings structure the biosphere, which itself results from multiple interactions with the elements of the geosphere (lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere).
The development of our societies (anthroposphere) relies on these interactions as they provide us with energy and materials. In return, our activities strongly influence these dynamics, and since the mid-19th century, the growth of the human population, coupled with the rise of our technologies, has profoundly transformed our natural environment, leading to an unprecedented rate of biodiversity degradation. This has created risky situations for our societies: erosion of fertile soils, forest dieback, degradation of water quality, more easily spreading epidemics and pests, disrupted climate regulation, etc.
In addition to these impacts on life, the current climate change amplifies the uncertainty about the future of living organisms and ecosystem services and could become the primary factor driving biodiversity degradation during the 21st century.
The research axis “The Living Planet” aims to explore the interdependence between our societies and the rest of the living world in a context of transition, in order to understand the dynamics at play by recognizing their complexity. This axis questions how we consider life, its governance, legal status, economic and social contributions, as well as its dynamics and future in light of global changes.
With the goal of putting life at the heart of decision-making, we rely on foresight to bring new knowledge to sustainably support the transition of our societies and territories. This requires analyzing the knowledge, methods, and expertise that confront each other in these anticipatory practices, as well as defining indicators for transition governance. Additionally, it is necessary to question the solutions to be proposed based on research findings, their integration by decision-makers, and how the democratic challenges of defining a shared future are being addressed.
The complex nature of the systems studied also invites us to approach the transition using systemic and integrative approaches, such as the Ecosystem-based Approach (EbA), which explicitly acknowledges the relevance of interdisciplinary approaches combining natural sciences, environmental and earth sciences, engineering sciences, and social sciences to support decision-making processes for planning and development by intrinsically considering the links between human societies, life, and environmental factors.
The activities of the members of the Institute also aim to promote the consideration of life among the management tools of businesses, the steering of activities, and the territorial planning of communities within the framework of the transition.