Biodiversité, Agroécosystèmes, Société, Climat

The overarching objectives of the LabEx BASC are to develop and mobilize science to support improvements in the provision of food, fiber and bioenergy for people, while at the same reducing the negative impacts of human activities on biodiversity, ecosystem services, the climate, and the quality of air, water and soils. The LabEx BASC was not renewed beyond 2019, so activities using limited remaining funds were minimal in 2020. 

            The emerging focus in BASC on sustainable periurban territoires was strengthened further in 2020 with the consolidation of a "Living Lab" project focusing on the study, design and implementation the ecological and agroecological transitions. This project brings together researchers and local non-governmental organizations, farmers, citizens and politicians to co-construct research and action to address these challenges. Along with our partner Terre et Cité we successfully applied in 2020 for funding from the "Fondation de France" to support this project. Hopefully, scientists involved in the LabEx will continue to participate as a consortium if a university funded follow-up to BASC is accepted in 2021.

            Members of the BASC consortium continue to make important contributions to the structuring of graduate study for the Université Paris-Saclay. In particular, we submitted a pre-proposal in 2019 for support by the university for interdisciplinary programs to extend the work of BASC. The pre-proposal was successful and we interacted intensively with the university in 2020 to prepare a submission of a full proposal in 2021. This proposal builds heavily on BASC initiatives and expands it to include food systems.