Mesurer l'importance de la biodiversité pour les sociétés forestières des pays du Sud. Une méthode d'investigation pluridisciplinaire

Abstract

Rapid appraisal methods are often criticized by the scientific community for their superficiality and the otten contested quality of information that they provide. It is however crucial to propose rigorous methods that meet the demands of development institutions and decision makers, beyond academic and long-term survey techniques. In the context of biodiversity research, the MLA (Multidisciplinary Landscape Assessment) - a set of methods developed by CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research) - assesses the reasons for which resources and landscapes are important for forest communities and the implications for biodiversity and conservation. It is built on both social sciences (socio-economics, anthropology, ethno-botany) and natural sciences (ecology, botany, soil science). Taking experiences in the field in Cameroon, Gabon, the Philippines, Vietnam, Kalimantan and West Papua, we analyze the ways in which MLA can meet the different expectations without falling into the traps of conventional rapid appraisal methods. We conclude that this multidisciplinary approach is a flexible diagnostic tool that can serve as a basis for more in depth and longer-term studies. In this type of study, special care should be taken regarding ethical issues as well as the local impacts of research on the longer term and the dissemination of results amongst the targeted communities. © NSS Dialogues, EDP Sciences 2007.