The official inauguration of the GeEAUde partnership chair
On May 31, 2024, Avignon University, in partnership with the Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement (INRAE) and IFP Énergies nouvelles (IFPEN), launched the GeEAUde partnership chair: “Dynamics of groundwater resources and interactions with associated ecosystems”.
The overall aim of GeEAUde is to develop, test and promote holistic tools and approaches to characterize and model groundwater resources, and to propose sustainable management strategies adapted to the Mediterranean context in the context of global change. Research work will focus in particular on groundwater recharge and availability, and will benefit from the expertise of numerous national and international socio-economic, private and public partners, as well as regional players involved in water-related issues.
The GeEAUde Chair, the only one of its kind in France, has a dual ambition: to bring together researchers, political decision-makers, managers, industrialists and water users, and to set up operational research of excellence to develop decision-making tools to guarantee sustainable and equitable management of groundwater resources.
At the inauguration, a number of speakers underlined the importance of this initiative. Carole De Souza, director of the Institut Agrosciences, Environnement et Santé, opened the session, followed by speeches from Gaëlle Mesgouez, vice-president of Avignon Université’s research commission, Mohamed Naaim, head of INRAE’s aquatic sciences department, and Olga Vizika-Kavvadias, scientific director of IFPEN.
Konstantinos Chalikakis, holder of the GeEAUde chair and deputy director of UMR EMMAH, presented the general framework, objectives and scientific program, accompanied by André Chanzy, INRAE research director and director of UMR EMMAH, Anne-Laure Cognard-Plancq, senior lecturer at UMR EMMAH, and André Fourno, IFPEN R&D engineer.
A round-table discussion on the territorial and regional challenges of groundwater resources brought together various players, including Christian Mounier, vice-president of the Vaucluse département, Julia Brechet, director of the Syndicat Rhône Ventoux, Laurent Rhodet, director of the Syndicat Mixte du Bassin des Sorgues, Eric Lahaye, regional director of Veolia, Alexandre Duzan, Group Lead Expert in Water Resources at SUEZ, and Jérôme Gelly, general manager of technical services at Grand Avignon. The round table was moderated by Andrée Brunetti, journalist with L’Écho du Mardi.
Georges Linarès, President of Avignon Université, concluded the event by thanking all those involved in making this project possible.
News: https://univ-avignon.fr/
Press article: L’Echo du mardi : « GeEAUde : l’Histoire d’eau bien en chaire de l’université d’Avignon »
