Conception and implementation of interdisciplinarity in the Human-Environment Observatories (OHM, CNRS)

Abstract

To respond to the complexity of the socioecosystemic crises that increasingly affect an anthropized and globalized planet, since 2007 the author has developed and implemented within the framework of the CNRS Ecology and Environment Institute (INEE) a comprehensive interdisciplinary system known as the Human-Environment Observatories (or OHM, of which there were 13 in 2019), a laureate of the Laboratory for Excellence project (LabEx) as part of the French Government’s ‘Investing in the future’ programme (‘Programme d’investissement d’avenir’, PIA) since 2012. The author presents what interdisciplinarity means in this framework, how it differs from conventionally identified interdisciplinary exchanges, how it is conceived and implemented, from the theoretical to the most practical level. He provides some examples of work and in a discussion, positions this system and its principles with regard to the existing frameworks and systems.

Local Food Systems under Global Influence: The Case of Food, Health and Environment in Five Socio-Ecosystems

“…The literature review centered on five regions that are of interest to the interdisciplinary and international OHM research network. Their conception and implementation are thoroughly described by Chenorkian [26].…”

“…Briefly, OHMs have been implemented as part of the French government's "Investing in the Future Program" (Programme d'investissement d'avenir) [26]. Their role is to enable the study of anthropized ecosystems that are susceptible to socio-ecosystemic crises; they have "been designed as a means of stimulating, supporting and organizing the interdisciplinary approach required to deal with the very great complexity of these phenomena" [26] (p. 294).…”

“…Briefly, OHMs have been implemented as part of the French government's "Investing in the Future Program" (Programme d'investissement d'avenir) [26]. Their role is to enable the study of anthropized ecosystems that are susceptible to socio-ecosystemic crises; they have "been designed as a means of stimulating, supporting and organizing the interdisciplinary approach required to deal with the very great complexity of these phenomena" [26] (p. 294). To study the influence of unique disrupting events on the trajectory of local and anthropized socio-ecosystems, they are built on a ternary that consists of: (1) a "socioecological framework", which describes the context of a given place, (2) an anthropogenic "disrupting event", which disturbs it, and (3) a "focal object", the product of the first two components [26].…”

“…Their role is to enable the study of anthropized ecosystems that are susceptible to socio-ecosystemic crises; they have "been designed as a means of stimulating, supporting and organizing the interdisciplinary approach required to deal with the very great complexity of these phenomena" [26] (p. 294). To study the influence of unique disrupting events on the trajectory of local and anthropized socio-ecosystems, they are built on a ternary that consists of: (1) a "socioecological framework", which describes the context of a given place, (2) an anthropogenic "disrupting event", which disturbs it, and (3) a "focal object", the product of the first two components [26]. This provides a suitable framework for studying the transformations of local food systems within a globalized context that can be demonstrated through the comparison of five OHMs whose disrupting events can be linked to the process of food globalization at different temporal scales and intensity (Table 1; Figure 1).…”

Pesticide upsurge, cross-contamination and biodiversity: case studies from the Caribbean Coast Human-Environment Observatory

“…on the Guadeloupean socio-ecosystem. Even if the OHMs are in line with frameworks that have been developed to address complex human-environmental processes [Binder et al, 2013, Bourgeron et al, 2018, they are unique in the sense that they have defined their own socio-environmental context along with a disruptive event that is a human-based fact [Chenorkian, 2020]. This disruptive event has its own ability to self-disperse into a plurality of positions, functions and implications.…”