> Link to the workshop report

Territorial ecology is defined as the study of the flows of matter and energy that are exchanged between society and the biosphere; it analyzes the territories through the prism of their consumption of matter and energy and the circulation of these flows within these territories.

This approach is a natural continuation of some research work already undertaken in the LabEx BASC. Indeed, since 2014, many applied research projects have emerged on the Plateau de Saclay, in very diverse and complementary fields of specialization. These projects associate different types of local actors (farmers, representatives of communities and institutions, associations) and many research laboratories. Territorial ecology provides a framework for bringing them together.

The workshop was co-financed by the LabEx BASC, the research federation FIRE and the territorial association of the Saclay plateau, Terre et Cité (via the European funding Leader). It brought together 26 researchers from complementary fields and expertise (social sciences, agronomy, soils, hydraulics, climate, etc.). They exchanged with farmers, elected officials, institutions, associations and civil society. (You will find more practical information on the workshop on the event announcement in french).

Video presentation of the Saclay Workshops

The analysis during this workshop focused on material flows only: agricultural productions of the Saclay plateau, food flows and organic waste (bio-waste, green waste, agricultural, slurry, wastewater), the decomposition of these flows into chemical substances (nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon) and water flows. Beyond the analysis of the metabolism, the workshop also allowed to discover the Saclay plateau, its history, its stakes related to agricultural issues and the brakes and opportunities related to change, and in particular to climate change.

Finally, the workshop provided an opportunity to build prospective scenarios. Three fictions were proposed (total territorial ecology, intensive and exporting agriculture, agricultural theme park), based on the major trends and weak signals identified in the territory, and the actors were able to discuss their feelings about these territorial fictions. These fictions were presented during the consultation phase for the drafting of the management plan of the Plateau de Saclay Natural Agricultural and Forest Protection Zone (ZPNAF), at the end of November-beginning of December 2016.

The same year, on November 23, 2016, a day of synthesis and reflection around these territorial ecology workshops was held in Paris, with the presentation of the work done and/or in progress, as well as related work allowing to compare and methods, followed by discussions on territory trajectories, their construction and implementation, and ways to enrich and renew the territorial ecology approach (program of this day in french).

The Synthesis of the Plateau de Saclay Territorial Ecology Workshop held on May 23-26, 2016, is available on the following link (in french). This document is not intended as a recommendation, but is a tool for reflections on the future of the Plateau de Saclay and on the participatory approaches that can be implemented on a territory to mature its future together.