EU Choice 5

The expansion of the urban environment is causing fragmentation/destruction of natural habitats, conservation problems and a change in the relationship between man and nature. However, urban areas can also harbor significant biodiversity in close proximity to humans, which can then be used for conservation, awareness raising, human welfare enhancement and even therapeutic purposes. It is a challenge to work in ecology while denying the existence and consequences of the urban environment and its particularities. The aim of this course is to help future professionals in the field of ecology to find a compromise between urban development and respect for nature. Through courses given by various professionals and an outing in Montpellier, the student will discover where (associations, research departments, communities, ...), with whom and how an ecologist can act in urban ecology.

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1 "The way in which the modern West represents nature is the least shared thing in the world" (Descola, 2005, p. 56). According to anthropologist Philippe Descola, the category of "Nature," as a reality separate from the human world, is an invention of Europeans that is only one of the possibilities available to societies to account for the living and non-living beings that surround them.

If Philippe Descola contributes to renewing questions about the relationship between society and the environment, he nevertheless draws on a long tradition in the human and social sciences. Numerous works have already explored the various forms of knowledge and social organization to which these relationships give rise: ethnoscience, anthropology of technology, economic anthropology, ethnoecology, sociology of science and technology, etc.

This issue is far from being confined to the academic sphere. It also arouses the interest of actors in conservation (biodiversity, natural resources, etc.) and industry (pharmacology). It also mobilizes so-called "indigenous" populations who claim, both locally and internationally, access to resources and the preservation of an intangible heritage.

2. Situated at the meeting point of the social sciences and the life sciences, these disciplines analyze how human societies use plants, animals, and other components of the environment, but also how their conceptions and representations of their environment(s) guide these uses. This research also explores how human societies organize themselves, perpetuate themselves, change to adapt to new contexts (globalization, global changes) and transmit knowledge about their relationships with nature.

For a long time, these disciplines focused more specifically on the interrelations between so-called "traditional" societies and their immediate environment. Subsequently, since the 1970s, researchers have reconsidered the distinction between so-called "traditional" and "modern" societies in order to better address new contemporary environmental and social transformations.

Indeed, on the one hand, local societies, even the most isolated, are affected by events that are decided and take place on different scales (international conventions, economic crises). Their immediate environment is also affected by global phenomena (climate change, erosion of biodiversity, etc.). In return, their actions can also have international ecological, social and economic repercussions, when, for example, these societies organize themselves to bring their claims to international arenas.

On the other hand, the relationship that modern societies have with their environment is being reconfigured in the face of the observation that the planet is increasingly "artificialized" and threatened by ruptures and serious crises. The place of fauna and flora is being reconsidered and is the subject of controversy as to their rights. Moreover, the entry into a new geological era, the Anthropocene, is invoked to challenge both the natural sciences and the human and social sciences on the need to consider differently a common history of the environment and societies.

3. The very work of scientists and engineers is apprehended in a new light. In this respect, a new scientific project in the humanities and social sciences aims at reconsidering the role of "non-humans" and calls for finding other analytical categories than those of Nature and Culture. New scales and methods of investigation are also envisaged to analyze global processes.

These recent changes in scale invite the researcher in the humanities and social sciences to (re)consider his or her approach through a reflexive approach: he or she is no longer a simple observer, but can also be a real actor in the processes, when not directly involved in a social movement.

4. The objective of this module is to introduce these different scientific and operational fields. It is to provide students with reference points and elements for reflection, in order to be able to construct scientific questions on the relationships between societies and the environment, in order to reflect on the ways in which current environmental and social issues can be dealt with. The varied geographical and disciplinary experiences of the speakers will make it possible to illustrate the approach through a wide range of ecosystem types, socio-cultural contexts and themes. In the time available, we will not pretend to cover all the themes, approaches and methods in an exhaustive manner. Any student wishing to delve deeper into this area will need to engage in a more in-depth training process.

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Management of the Aquatic Environment and Flood Prevention
Discipline: Ecology, Hydraulics

This teaching unit allows students to immerse themselves in a real case study, in the field, related to the GEMAPI competence. Actors and managers will be met on the study site in order to appreciate the stakes and the complexity of the territory. The groups of students will work on a concrete project to bring together the management of the aquatic environment and the prevention of floods respectful of ecology, the environment and man. This teaching unit will be an opportunity to implement the knowledge and skills acquired during the previous teaching (ecology, hydraulics, legislation, land use planning...)

The study is deployed on the same concrete case, from the field phase to the presentation phase of the impacts of the developments, through modeling, analysis or concerted management. The work is done in groups.

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The expansion of the urban environment is causing fragmentation/destruction of natural habitats, conservation problems and a change in the relationship between man and nature. However, urban areas can also harbor significant biodiversity in close proximity to humans, which can then be used for conservation, awareness raising, human welfare enhancement and even therapeutic purposes. It is a challenge to work in ecology while denying the existence and consequences of the urban environment and its particularities. The aim of this course is to help future professionals in the field of ecology to find a compromise between urban development and respect for nature. Through courses given by various professionals and an outing in Montpellier, the student will discover where (associations, research departments, communities, ...), with whom and how an ecologist can act in urban ecology.

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This UE is based on the same pedagogical project as the UE "Salon de l'écologie-1": the organization and participation in the two events "Festi'Versité" and "Salon National de l'Ecologie" (see sheet "Salon de l'écologie-1").

The specificity of the "Salon de l'écologie-2" course lies in the roles and implications of the students in their mission of assistance to the project managers of the two events. In this UE, they are involved in positions of responsibility as administrators of one of the partner student associations: president, treasurer, communication manager, logistics manager, eco-responsibility manager, festivities manager, congress manager, forum manager. They will coordinate the highlights of the events, the actions of the different teams and the work of the students and volunteers involved in the implementation through the EU "Ecology Fair 1".

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"I - Physical characterization and biogeochemical cycles of coastal marine ecosystems II - Biodiversity and functioning of coastal marine ecosystems III - Law of the coast and the sea; Uses, conflicts and integrated management of the coastal zone. This course offers students a systemic approach to the study of coastal marine ecosystems from a multidisciplinary perspective. The physical structure of these ecosystems will be addressed through courses on their geomorphology and hydrology with a particular interest in the hydric couplings with the open sea and their watersheds. Their biogeochemistry will be addressed in particular to describe the fluxes of carbon and nutrients through the water and sediment compartments. Several aspects of their biodiversity will be illustrated to describe the importance of these ecosystems as a living environment for the species they support and in particular the role of this biodiversity in their functioning will be discussed. The coastal zone is densely populated by humans (40% of the world population). Particular interest will be given to human uses (e.g. aquaculture) and their territorial planning and in particular the evaluation of their ecosystem services in an economic context, management and protection measures (e.g. Marine Protected Areas, Natura 2000) and professionals in the management of these environments will present feedback from concrete experiences. Finally, the implications of the law of the sea for the management of the coastal zone will be taught. "

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1 "The way in which the modern West represents nature is the least shared thing in the world" (Descola, 2005, p. 56). According to anthropologist Philippe Descola, the category of "Nature," as a reality separate from the human world, is an invention of Europeans that is only one of the possibilities available to societies to account for the living and non-living beings that surround them.

If Philippe Descola contributes to renewing questions about the relationship between society and the environment, he nevertheless draws on a long tradition in the human and social sciences. Numerous works have already explored the various forms of knowledge and social organization to which these relationships give rise: ethnoscience, anthropology of technology, economic anthropology, ethnoecology, sociology of science and technology, etc.

This issue is far from being confined to the academic sphere. It also arouses the interest of actors in conservation (biodiversity, natural resources, etc.) and industry (pharmacology). It also mobilizes so-called "indigenous" populations who claim, both locally and internationally, access to resources and the preservation of an intangible heritage.

2. Situated at the meeting point of the social sciences and the life sciences, these disciplines analyze how human societies use plants, animals, and other components of the environment, but also how their conceptions and representations of their environment(s) guide these uses. This research also explores how human societies organize themselves, perpetuate themselves, change to adapt to new contexts (globalization, global changes) and transmit knowledge about their relationships with nature.

For a long time, these disciplines focused more specifically on the interrelations between so-called "traditional" societies and their immediate environment. Subsequently, since the 1970s, researchers have reconsidered the distinction between so-called "traditional" and "modern" societies in order to better address new contemporary environmental and social transformations.

Indeed, on the one hand, local societies, even the most isolated, are affected by events that are decided and take place on different scales (international conventions, economic crises). Their immediate environment is also affected by global phenomena (climate change, erosion of biodiversity, etc.). In return, their actions can also have international ecological, social and economic repercussions, when, for example, these societies organize themselves to bring their claims to international arenas.

On the other hand, the relationship that modern societies have with their environment is being reconfigured in the face of the observation that the planet is increasingly "artificialized" and threatened by ruptures and serious crises. The place of fauna and flora is being reconsidered and is the subject of controversy as to their rights. Moreover, the entry into a new geological era, the Anthropocene, is invoked to challenge both the natural sciences and the human and social sciences on the need to consider differently a common history of the environment and societies.

3. The very work of scientists and engineers is apprehended in a new light. In this respect, a new scientific project in the humanities and social sciences aims at reconsidering the role of "non-humans" and calls for finding other analytical categories than those of Nature and Culture. New scales and methods of investigation are also envisaged to analyze global processes.

These recent changes in scale invite the researcher in the humanities and social sciences to (re)consider his or her approach through a reflexive approach: he or she is no longer a simple observer, but can also be a real actor in the processes, when not directly involved in a social movement.

4. The objective of this module is to introduce these different scientific and operational fields. It is to provide students with reference points and elements for reflection, in order to be able to construct scientific questions on the relationships between societies and the environment, in order to reflect on the ways in which current environmental and social issues can be dealt with. The varied geographical and disciplinary experiences of the speakers will make it possible to illustrate the approach through a wide range of ecosystem types, socio-cultural contexts and themes. In the time available, we will not pretend to cover all the themes, approaches and methods in an exhaustive manner. Any student wishing to delve deeper into this area will need to engage in a more in-depth training process.

See full page

Management of the Aquatic Environment and Flood Prevention
Discipline: Ecology, Hydraulics

This teaching unit allows students to immerse themselves in a real case study, in the field, related to the GEMAPI competence. Actors and managers will be met on the study site in order to appreciate the stakes and the complexity of the territory. The groups of students will work on a concrete project to bring together the management of the aquatic environment and the prevention of floods respectful of ecology, the environment and man. This teaching unit will be an opportunity to implement the knowledge and skills acquired during the previous teaching (ecology, hydraulics, legislation, land use planning...)

The study is deployed on the same concrete case, from the field phase to the presentation phase of the impacts of the developments, through modeling, analysis or concerted management. The work is done in groups.

See full page