Nicola Gallai’s research while affiliated with École Nationale Supérieure de Formation de l’Enseignement Agricole and other places

L’imposition de la question environnementale dans le débat social, et plus précisément la montée en puissance des problèmes soulevés par la gestion de services écosystémiques, biens très souvent non marchands et communs, invitent les économistes à renouveler leurs méthodes pour accompagner la prise de décision d’acteurs publics et privés. Partant de cet enjeu, l’article présente une méthode originale appelée Évaluation monétaire délibérative (EMD). Combinant approches quantitative et qualitative, l’EMD a pour but de favoriser l’expression de valeurs environnementales plurielles au sein d’un groupe social, de mettre ces valeurs en débat et de soutenir ainsi la définition des priorités environnementales communes au sein du groupe. La dernière partie de l’article montre l’intérêt de recourir à une telle évaluation pour accompagner des acteurs dans des démarches de transitions écologiques à l’échelle des territoires ruraux.

L’imposition de la question environnementale dans le débat social, et plus précisément la montée en puissance des problèmes soulevés par la gestion de services écosystémiques, biens très souvent non marchands et communs, invitent les économistes à renouveler leurs méthodes pour accompagner la prise de décision d’acteurs publics et privés. Partant de cet enjeu, l’article présente une méthode originale appelée Évaluation monétaire délibérative (EMD). Combinant approches quantitative et qualitative, l’EMD a pour but de favoriser l’expression de valeurs environnementales plurielles au sein d’un groupe social, de mettre ces valeurs en débat et de soutenir ainsi la définition des priorités environnementales communes au sein du groupe. La dernière partie de l’article montre l’intérêt de recourir à une telle évaluation pour accompagner des acteurs dans des démarches de transitions écologiques à l’échelle des territoires ruraux.

La note présente une recherche qui interroge la construction sociale des représentations d’étudiants de brevet de technicien supérieur de l’enseignement agricole sur le changement climatique. Il vise à mieux comprendre comment s’opère la diffusion et de la circulation des connaissances sur cette thématique au sein de cette population et le rôle que les étudiants peuvent y jouer. Nos résultats révèlent que ceux-ci sont des relais actifs de cette diffusion et circulation dans le milieu scolaire et dans leur lieu de vie. Dans cette dernière sphère sociale, ils contribuent même à inaugurer des pratiques innovantes de lutte contre le changement climatique.

La note présente une recherche qui interroge la construction sociale des représentations d’étudiants de brevet de technicien supérieur de l’enseignement agricole sur le changement climatique. Il vise à mieux comprendre comment s’opère la diffusion et de la circulation des connaissances sur cette thématique au sein de cette population et le rôle que les étudiants peuvent y jouer. Nos résultats révèlent que ceux-ci sont des relais actifs de cette diffusion et circulation dans le milieu scolaire et dans leur lieu de vie. Dans cette dernière sphère sociale, ils contribuent même à inaugurer des pratiques innovantes de lutte contre le changement climatique.

There is growing interest in using the ecosystem services framework for environmental risk assessments of chemicals, including plant protection products (PPPs). Although this topic is increasingly discussed in the recent scientific literature, there is still a substantial gap between most ecotoxicological studies and a solid evaluation of potential ecotoxicological consequences on ecosystem services. This was recently highlighted by a collective scientific assessment (CSA) performed by 46 scientific experts who analyzed the international science on the impacts of PPPs on biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services. Here, we first point out the main obstacles to better linking knowledge on the ecotoxicological effects of PPPs on biodiversity and ecological processes with ecosystem functions and services. Then, we go on to propose and discuss possible pathways for related improvements. We describe the main processes governing the relationships between biodiversity, ecological processes, and ecosystem functions in response to effects of PPP, and we define categories of ecosystem functions that could be directly linked with the ecological processes used as functional endpoints in investigations on the ecotoxicology of PPPs. We then explore perceptions on the possible links between these categories of ecosystem functions and ecosystem services among a sub-panel of the scientific experts from various fields of environmental science. We find that these direct and indirect linkages still need clarification. This paper, which reflects the difficulties faced by the multidisciplinary group of researchers involved in the CSA, suggests that the current gap between most ecotoxicological studies and a solid potential evaluation of ecotoxicological consequences on ecosystem services could be partially addressed if concepts and definitions related to ecological processes, ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services were more widely accepted and shared within the ecotoxicology community. Narrowing this gap would help harmonize and extend the science that informs decision-making and policy-making, and ultimately help to better address the trade-off between social benefits and environmental losses caused by the use of PPPs.

Preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services is critical for sustainable development and human well-being. However, an unprecedented erosion of biodiversity is observed and the use of plant protection products (PPP) has been identified as one of its main causes. In this context, at the request of the French Ministries responsible for the Environment, for Agriculture and for Research, a panel of 46 scientific experts ran a nearly 2-year-long (2020-2022) collective scientific assessment (CSA) of international scientific knowledge relating to the impacts of PPP on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The scope of this CSA covered the terrestrial, atmospheric, freshwater, and marine environments (with the exception of groundwater) in their continuity from the site of PPP application to the ocean, in France and French overseas territories, based on international knowledge produced on or transposable to this type of context (climate, PPP used, biodiversity present, etc.). Here, we provide a brief summary of the CSA's main conclusions, which were drawn from about 4500 international publications. Our analysis finds that PPP contaminate all environmental matrices, including biota, and cause direct and indirect ecotoxicological effects that unequivocally contribute to the decline of certain biological groups and alter certain ecosystem functions and services. Levers for action to limit PPP-driven pollution and effects on environmental compartments include local measures from plot to landscape scales and regulatory improvements. However, there are still significant gaps in knowledge regarding environmental contamination by PPPs and its effect on biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services. Perspectives and research needs are proposed to address these gaps.

Simple Summary Greek kiwi production systems suffer from a Pollination Services (PS) shortage due to the declining number of wild pollinators. This study assesses the barriers towards the implementation of a PS market in Greek kiwi production systems by conducting two separate quantitative surveys, one for beekeepers and one for kiwi producers. The field survey findings corroborate the existence of a strong basis for further collaboration between the two stakeholders, as both of them acknowledge the importance of PS. Moreover, the farmers’ willingness to pay and the beekeepers’ willingness to receive regarding the renting of their hives for PS were examined. Abstract The kiwi is a highly insect-pollinated dependent crop and is the cornerstone of the Greek agricultural sector, rendering the country as the fourth biggest kiwi producer worldwide, with an expected increase in national production the following years. This extensive transformation of the Greek arable land to Kiwi monocultures in combination with a worldwide shortage of pollination services due to the wild pollinators’ decline raises questions for the provision of pollination services, and consequently, for the sustainability of the sector. In many countries, this shortage of pollination services has been addressed by the installation of pollination services markets, such as those in the USA and France. Therefore, this study tries to identify the barriers towards the implementation of a pollination services market in Greek kiwi production systems by conducting two separate quantitative surveys, one for beekeepers and one for kiwi producers. The findings showed a strong basis for further collaboration between the two stakeholders, as both of them acknowledge the importance of pollination services. Moreover, the farmers’ willingness to pay and the beekeepers’ willingness to receive of the beekeepers regarding the renting of their hives for pollination services were examined.

In the early XXth century, the Gulf of Gabes in SE Tunisia used to host the most extended Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds in the Mediterranean basin and was a highly productive hotspot of benthic species. Since the 70's, >500 million t of wet toxic phosphogypsum discharges from a fertilizer industrial complex have led to the gradual loss of ∼90 % of its initial surface. This drastic shrinkage is accompanied by significant value losses originated from the direct and indirect-use services of which the most important ones are small scale fisheries and carbon storage function. Using market valuations of a number of services we estimate economic losses at 105 million € in 2014 (∼915€/ha), i.e., around 115 % of the added value of the gabesian fertilizer factories for the same year. Value losses should increase in the near future in relation with the COP26 agreements which boosted the open carbon credit market. Without actions to reduce negative production externalities caused by the fertilizer industry in the Gulf of Gabes it would not be possible to recover Posidonia ecosystems in this region leading to further economic, ecologic, and cultural losses.