 La
Lettre de l'Institut des Sciences et des Techniques de l'Equipement
et de l'Environnement pour le Développement.
Editorial
Research and Development
Countries of the South, particularly in Africa, are marginalized
in international scientific and technological competition.
The "brains" of these countries, although not absent from the
global production of knowledge, are mainly at work in laboratories
and companies of the North.
Yet science knows no frontiers.
The important problems of the day (such as the environment,
energy, biodiversity, water, climate, health or financial crises)
in which major economic and political interests are at stake,
arise and must be addressed on a global scale. But not all
countries have the same vision or share the same priorities
for tomorrow's world. At each major international conference
or negotiation, conflicts of interest and confrontations erupt.
These largely reflect the economic and social imbalances between
the North and the South, which are fuelled inter alia by the scientific and technical
gap separating the two parts of the world.
To preserve the future of
the planet, it is essential and urgent for rich countries to
help those of the South not only to participate in global research
but also to build autonomous, sustainable scientific capacities.
These capacities must achieve proficiency in both the programming
and the implementation of the activities relevant to them.
High quality research must
accordingly be carried out in countries of the South, in partnership
with their researchers and engineers, on problematics that
are key to the future of these countries. The aim is two-fold.
To strengthen scientific communities of the South and facilitate
their active participation in the global research effort. And
to establish sound scientific bases in countries of the South,
on which to define and implement their own development strategies.
The French Ministry of Foreign
Affaires is seeking to meet this requirement through the various
components of its scientific cooperation policy with the countries
of the South. The Prud Programme, presented in this issue,
is just one example among many others.
Elisabeth Beton Delègue,
Director of Scientific, Academic
and Research Cooperation
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Contents
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Research
and development
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Feature:
PRUD -The new urban situation in countries of the South
requires scientific research in this field to be renewed by focusing
on actor configurations and new intervention logics. This is the
context of the Urban Development Research Programme launched in
2001 by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Isted is the manager-operator
of this programme in partnership with
Gemdev, the scientific operator. Other examples of major programmes
presented in this issue also illustrate cooperation in the field
of research.
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Information Update : News-Events-Training
sessions-Publications
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Contact
Anne BARON
Head
of Communication
Departement
La Grande Arche, Paroi Nord
92055 Paris La Défense Cedex
Tél. : 33 (0)1 40 81 24 06
Fax : 33 (0)1 40 81 23 31
Mél. : anne.baron@i-carre.net
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