Background and challenges

Under French law, it is mandatory to monitor "the possible appearance of NTEs of agricultural practices on the environment" (article L251-1 of the French Rural and Maritime Fishing Code). It is therefore essential to apprehend and assess the NTEs of the new, so-called non-conventional agricultural practices (i.e. those not involving the use of synthetic pesticides) currently being deployed. Understanding the NTEs of these methods on the environment and guiding society towards the adoption of these strategies is a real scientific and academic challenge. This requires a dialogue between various disciplines, including life sciences at all scales, mathematical modeling, economic and social sciences, and ethics.

The ENI-BC+ network is a consortium of scientists from different disciplines interested in the ENIs of plant protection methods. This network aims to stimulate the study of the non-target effects of pest and vector management strategies by:

1. Federating an interdisciplinary scientific community
2. Initiating new academic research projects
3. Working collectively on interdisciplinary synthesis and conceptual frameworks. 

Objectives 

The aim of this project is to structure an interdisciplinary research community on the study of the non-target effects (NTEs) of crop protection methods, with a focus on issues related to livestock farming and vector management. Analysis of the NTEs of protection solutions would: 

1. Avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, as in the deployment of synthetic pesticides
2. Guide research
3. Provide guidelines for choosing the best biocontrol solutions to deploy, depending on context and territory

The network was founded in 2020, funded by the SumCrop metaprogram in 2021-22, then by the Université Côte d'Azur in 2023. It brings together 140 scientists from different disciplines: especially from ecology and agronomy, and to a lower extent from ecotoxicology, mathematics, sociology, management, linguistics, philosophy, etc., as well as representatives of the French state (MASA, MTE and Anses agents). The network is organized around annual workshops attended by some forty scientists, during which lectures and presentations alternate with group discussion driven by collective intelligence tools. These workshops have seen the emergence of research projects on specific issues, as well as working groups to draw up synthesis. The current proposal aims to support the operation of this network, in particular by funding these annual meetings, and  it differs from the previously funded proposal in its ambition to open up the network to the international arena.

Involved research units and partnership:

The participants listed below belongs to the network administrator group. For non-INRAE participants, the institute to which they belong is indicated in the "Scientific division" column.

The network consists of the eni-bc@groupes.renater.fr mailing list, which currently has 139 subscribers (as of September 2023). Around 60-70% of these people are actively involved in the network, taking part in workshops and/or working groups

Partners 

Contact of the coordinator(s) :