Research in collaboration with local stakehoders on the Plateau de Saclay

Periurban areas covered around a third of France surface area and a quarter of its population in 2010. They are most often the theatre of strong change processes, with their own specificities in terms of nature of problems encountered and possible opportunities. Challenges pertain to consumption of agricultural areas (weakening of farms, local food self-sufficiency), semi-natural areas artificialisation process (change in ecological regulations, hydrological regimes), air pollution (transport networks density, road congestion, air quality…) or contamination of water-soil-air compartments by human activities. These areas represent therefore interesting study fields for the LabEx BASC.

Research carried out on the periurban fringes of Paris, including numerous projects on the Saclay Plateau and the Plaine de Versailles, provides several good examples of valorisation. Valorisation with non-academic partners on the Plaine de Versailles has a long history with researchers based at the Grignon research station. In contrast, prior to the launch of the LabEx there was little collaboration between researchers and local actors on the Saclay Plateau even though some BASC laboratories were already located in close proximity.

Close collaboration with the NGO Terre & Cité which brings together farmers, local politicians, local NGOs and researchers has triggered the development of numerous collaborative research projects with non-academic partners related to the preservation of open spaces, the agroecological transition, impacts of urbanisation on the Saclay Plateau and on climate change impacts on agriculture. BASC is thus a major partner in the EU LEADER project lead by Terre & Cite (1.2 million €), through which are cofunded collaborative projects on sustainable agriculture, hydrological management, and biodiversity management.

BASC is currently collaborating with a wide range of academic and non-academic partners to develop a project for a "Living Lab" that could provide funding and long-term visibility for research and social innovation on biodiversity conservation and sustainable food systems in the southwestern periurban areas of the Paris region.