In order to improve sustainability and design adequate management strategies in threatened tropical forests, integrated assessments of the use of ecosystem services are needed, combining biophysical, social, and economic approaches. In particular, no integrated ecosystem services (ES) assessment has been conducted in Central Africa, where rural communities deeply depend on forests in a high-poverty context. Here, we aimed to quantify the use of ES provided by tropical forests to local populations in the Dja area (Cameroon), identify its determinants and evaluate its sustainability. We conducted various interviews and field surveys with 133 households in three villages, focusing on three provisioning services (bushmeat, firewood, and timber), and five cultural services (cultural heritage, inspiration, spiritual experience, recreation, and education). Local populations consumed a mean of 56 kg of bushmeat/person/year (hunting zones covering on average 213 km²), 1.17 m³ of firewood/person/year (collection zones covering on average 4 km²), and 0.03 m³ of timber/person/year. Between 25% and 86% of respondents considered cultural services as important. The use of ES was mainly influenced by population size, deforestation rate, and forest allocations, whereas the influence of socio-demographic characteristics of households remained limited to slight differences between Baka and Bantu people. We conclude that the consumption of firewood and timber is sustainable, whereas high hunting pressure has resulted in severe defaunation in the area due to the large decline in the abundance and biomass of forest mammals hunted for bushmeat by local populations.

Agroecology represents a pertinent option to improve the sustainability of agriculture. To promote its application, agroecological concepts should be taught to students and professionals in the agricultural sector. However, most agricultural courses are not adapted to teach these concepts due to little interactivity or interdisciplinarity, and a lack of a systems approach to farm management. Serious games help to fill these gaps by simulating complex models in which players can learn by doing. We thus developed a serious computer game, called SEGAE (SErious Game for AgroEcology learning), which represents a mixed crop-livestock farm and assesses impacts of farming practices on indicators related to environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Its pedagogical interest was evaluated through two types of surveys given to university students who played the game during a one-week workshop: A knowledge survey on agroecology, and a feedback survey based on flow theory. Results showed that students increased their knowledge of agroecology significantly, particularly those who had had little knowledge of crop production. More than 86% of the students enjoyed the game, appreciating its interaction and feedback. Thus, SEGAE is an interesting tool to help students acquire knowledge of agroecology in a fun way by facilitating interdisciplinary and collaborative learning.

La durabilité des circuits courts (CC) est souvent abordée selon les performances comparées entre les chaînes locales et globales. Or force est de constater que les études menées sur le sujet s’accommodent très mal des spécificités liées aux CC. La perspective adoptée dans cet article s’émancipe d’une analyse de la durabilité articulée autour de ses piliers et endosse une approche inductive. À travers une analyse qualitative, l’étude souligne l’importance d’observer les logiques multi-acteurs à l’œuvre au sein des territoires. Parmi les ressorts fondamentaux émerge, tel un dénominateur commun aux CC, la densité des interactions que les acteurs tissent entre eux. Cet aspect est fondamental tant pour la compréhension des leviers que pour celui des freins à la durabilité des initiatives.

As the 2009 dairy crisis drew attention to the situation of dairy farmers in Europe, the extent of strategical power left to farmers in dairy cooperatives of increasing size is a frequently raised issue. Four dairy cooperatives collect 97% of the milk in the Walloon Region (in the southern part of Belgium). Two of them integrated agro-food multinationals. We decided to analyze the trajectories of Walloon dairy farmers exploring alternatives to the delivery of milk to these mainstream dairy cooperatives. We focused on the territories situated to the east of the Walloon Region, where dairy farming represents 75% of farming revenues. Alternatives consist either of processing milk on farm or in concluding a contract with a cheese processor collecting milk directly from farmers. Our objective was to understand the issues faced in these alternative trajectories and the reason why these alternatives remained marginal. We designed a qualitative case study based on interviews with farmers and local cheese processors. We mobilized evolutionary approaches on the stability and transitions of systems and approaches of change at the farmer level. It appears that the alternative trajectories remain embedded in a broader dairy context. The lock-ins emerging from this context determine the evolution of the farming model towards intensification and the individual identity and capabilities of farmers. We present a model of interconnected and embedded lock-ins, from the organizational frame of the regime to the individual frame. This model illustrates how the agency articulates with structural dynamics. We propose structural measures in the organization of agricultural education and in terms of support to alternative supply chains that will enhance agency in favor of a change.

L’économie de la fonctionnalité est souvent présentée comme un nouveau modèle susceptible de favoriser la transition vers une économie soutenable. Dans la plupart des travaux en langue anglaise, la dimension environnementale est parfois mise en avant, voire considérée comme consubstantielle au modèle, mais l’inscription territoriale des activités n’est pas traitée, ou alors seulement en filigrane. Or de nombreuses raisons laissent à penser qu’une économie de la fonctionnalité ne tenant pas compte de son ancrage territorial court le risque de ne pas exprimer son plein potentiel de soutenabilité. Il nous paraît donc important de poser explicitement la question de la territorialité dans les initiatives d’économie de la fonctionnalité. Dans cet article, nous procédons à une revue de littérature sur le complexe fonctionnalité-territoire et proposons une discussion visant à mettre en lumière la pertinence d’intégrer une réflexion territoriale aux travaux portant sur l’économie de la fonctionnalité.

A package of innovations was disseminated in urban agriculture and created real opportunities for employment, income, and the supply of vegetables of high nutritional quality. However, ten years later, farmers are working for a daily income of less than United State Dollars 1.25, and critical exceedances of heavy metal content standards in crops are recorded. Survey data collected from 202 farmers were used to identify, via the Logit model, the factors influencing the sustained adoption of the of two contrasting innovations of the package. The results of the exploratory survey of 537 farmers showed that 2.42% owned a motor pump, while the in-depth survey revealed that 25.2% of the 202 respondents were using motor pumps at the time of the survey. A total of 74.8% watered with buckets and watering cans. The high cost of the motor pump makes it inaccessible to farmers. Some tried to circumvent this constraint, which led to group purchases. Integrated soil fertility management was used by 58.4% of respondents. In total, 41.6% applied only chemical fertilizers. However, Integrated soil fertility management has been hampered by farmers’ difficulties in accessing organic matter. The results of the Logit model revealed that no socio-demographic factors were significant for sustained adoption of the motor pump. They were relevant, rather, for integrated soil fertility management, where a single factor (mutual aid) appeared to play a role, albeit a moderate one. Economic factors such as land tenure status and diversification of income sources were significant for a sustained adoption of the motor pump. In contrast, no economic factors were significant for a sustained adoption of the integrated soil fertility management. Institutional factors such as access to credit and membership in an association were significant for sustained adoption of the two of innovations studied. A series of avenues to follow to improve the productivity of farms is proposed. We suggest an in-depth study of the mutual aid practiced by 86.1% of the farmers. The results of this study can be taken into account in research and policy aimed at improving adoption of innovative techniques that are beneficial to farmers in developing countries.