L’archive, devenir et avenir de l’œuvre d’Henry Bauchau

L’abondance des ébauches théâtrales conservées dans les archives d’Henry Bauchau amène à considérer trois aspects encore sous-estimés dans l’approche de son œuvre. En premier lieu, sa fascination pour la forme dramatique, épique notamment, mais non suivie d’effets, rappelle que l’auteur aurait voulu être un homme d’action sans réussir dans cette voie. En second lieu, cette partie spectrale ou fantomale de son œuvre entre dans les contours de l’œuvre complète : cette inventivité dramatique, que l’on retrouve dans les autres genres pratiqués, se manifeste dans la théâtralité romanesque ou poétique. Enfin, le 3ème aspect met en évidence l’importance de la voix, intérieure notamment, qui crée différents niveaux de parole et d’écoute

Mapping Congo Basin vegetation types from 300 m and 1 km multi-sensor time series for carbon stocks and forest areas estimation

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the Congo Basin forests by delivering a detailed map of vegetation types with an improved spatial discrimination and coherence for the whole Congo Basin region. A total of 20 land cover classes were described with the standardized Land Cover Classification System (LCCS) developed by the FAO. Based on a semi-automatic processing chain, the Congo Basin vegetation types map was produced by combining 19 months of observations from the Envisat MERIS full resolution products (300 m) and 8 yr of daily SPOT VEGETATION (VGT) reflectances (1 km). Four zones (north, south and two central) were delineated and processed separately according to their seasonal and cloud cover specificities. The discrimination between different vegetation types (e.g. forest and savannas) was significantly improved thanks to the MERIS sharp spatial resolution. A better discrimination was achieved in cloudy areas by taking advantage of the temporal consistency of the SPOT VGT observations. This resulted in a precise delineation of the spatial extent of the rural complex in the countries situated along the Atlantic coast. Based on this new map, more accurate estimates of the surface areas of forest types were produced for each country of the Congo Basin. Carbon stocks of the Basin were evaluated to a total of 49 360 million metric tons. The regional scale of the map was an opportunity to investigate what could be an appropriate tree cover threshold for a forest class definition in the Congo Basin countries. A 30% tree cover threshold was suggested. Furthermore, the phenology of the different vegetation types was illustrated systematically with EVI temporal profiles. This Congo Basin forest types map reached a satisfactory overall accuracy of 71.5% and even 78.9% when some classes are aggregated. The values of the Cohen's kappa coefficient, respectively 0.64 and 0.76 indicates a result significantly better than random

The Assessment of African Protected Areas

In order to achieve goals for reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss, it is vital that geographically flexible conservation funding is focused on the areas where biodiversity is the highest and is most threatened. There is currently a shortage of systematic and repeatable methods for the assessment of priority areas for conservation. Furthermore, existing prioritisations tend to focus on large biogeographical units, defined by regional experts. We propose a continental scale repeatable methodology, using existing geographical databases, for the prioritisation of African protected areas. This information is utilised to develop 6 indicators for each protected area, quantifying its value with regards to amphibian, bird and mammal species diversity, irreplaceability of habitat, and threat from population pressure and agricultural boundary pressure. These indicators are then summarised to show how the protected area performs, for each indicator, in comparison to other protected areas from the same country or the same ecoregion. Results are also synthesised to show the most valuable protected areas for a given taxa. Finally, the prioritisation is presented via the internet in conjunction with phenology, climate, and environmental information specific to each protected area.JRC.H.3-Global environement monitorin

Aspects de la genèse de L’Escalier bleu

L’article retrace la genèse du recueil L’Escalier bleu, dont l’écriture s’échelonne de 1958 à 1964, et qui a connu quatre éditions distinctes du vivant de l’auteur. L’étude des manuscrits, opérée en lien avec les témoignages du poète dans son journal et avec l’écriture du roman La Déchirure, relève les variantes qui trahissent la difficulté de dire un site crucial dans l’histoire de la personnalité de l’auteur. Elle montre combien l’advenue de la forme est en même temps une advenue à soi de l’écrivain

Multi-level Policy Coalitions An Interpretative Model Of Water Conflicts ιn The Americas

This article proposes an analytical approach to conflicts and policy-making related to urban water management based on multi-level policy coalitions. This is necessary to articulate four main issues. First, the repositioning of social and political struggles for access to water, along with policy variables. Second, the analysis of the effects of ecological transition, including climate change. Third, the reincorporation of these struggles and challenges in a multi-level approach. Finally, the enquiry into the apparent contradiction, in contemporary policymaking. The article proposes a definition of multi-level coalitions as collective preference systems that influence the content of policies (ideas/advocacy, decisions, policy tools) and their implementation, groups of actors that arise from engagement in policy issues. In the first section, the article presents the objectives of research on urban water management in the Americas, within the framework of which this analytical approach by multi-level coalitions is fashioned. In the second section, the article details four analytical issues. In the third section, it gives a definition of multi-level coalitions.19415317

African rainforests: past, present and future

In recent decades, there has been a surge of interest in tropical forests, as there is increased appreciation of the rich biodiversity they host and the many roles they play in the functioning of the Earth system at local, regional and global scales. Of the world’s major tropical forest regions, most research and policy attention has focused on the Amazon region, the world’s largest tropical forest bloc, and to a lesser extent on South East Asia, the third largest tropical forest region. By contrast, the world’s second largest tropical forest region, the tropical forests of Central and West Africa (termed the Guineo-Congolian region) have been relatively neglected. This has been for a number of reasons, including challenging and fragmented politics, civil conflicts and logistical as well as infrastructure challenges. Nevertheless, there is an extensive amount of research activity in the African rainforest zone that has rarely been compiled in a single interdisciplinary volume. This review paper synthesizes the insights emerging from the theme issue on ‘African rainforests: past, present and future’ of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.JRC.H.5-Land Resources Managemen