Sébastien Barot joined IRD in 2002 after a PhD on the demography of the Rônier palm and a post-doctoral fellowship on the effects of fishing on the evolution of fish reproduction strategies. Since then, he has worked mainly on soil ecology (earthworms) and ecosystems and on agroecology by combining mathematical modeling and fieldwork in the savannahs of West Africa.

Yvonne Bonzi is professor of chemistry at the Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, head of the Laboratory of Analytical, Environmental and Bio-Organic Chemistry, 2013 laureate of the Kwamé N’krumah Prize of the African Union and member of the National Academy ANSAL-BF in Burkina Faso. She obtained a doctorate degree in organic chemistry from the University of Strasbourg in 1987.

Philippe Charvis is director of science at the IRD. As a director of research and geophysicist, he has worked on seismic hazards in Ecuador, Algeria and the Lesser Antilles, as well as on magmatism associated with hot spots. He was director of the Joint Research Unit Geoazur, vice-president of the scientific council of the Côte d’Azur Observatory and president of the “Earth and terrestrial planets” section of the National Committee for Scientific Research. In October 2015, he was appointed director of the scientific department Internal and surface dynamics of continents of IRD.

Flore Gubert is a research director at IRD. She has worked on migration issues in West Africa for the past twenty years, and conducts impact assessments on policies in various fields, in Africa and in France. She is also involved in research administration: she was director of the Societies and Globalization Department at the IRD between 2015 and 2020 and is currently vice-president of the of the Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme (FMSH).

An economist by training, Thomas Melonio is executive director of innovation, research and knowledge at AFD. This division produces economic and social research, evaluates financed projects, trains management personnel, finances innovative projects in the field of environment and participates in the dissemination of innovation. He was previously at the head of AFD’s partnerships department. From 2012 to 2017, he was deputy advisor and then advisor to the French President on Africa.

Ousmane Ndiaye works on the use of climate information by communities (agriculture, fisheries, health, floods, etc.) in their decision making and planning as well as on their training and awareness. He holds a doctorate degree in meteorology from Columbia University.

Benjamin Sultan is a research director at IRD. He has worked on climate and its impacts on agriculture in West Africa for more than 20 years. He has published more than 100 scientific articles and coordinated several projects in partnership with African researchers. He is also a member of the Science Committee of the World Adaptation Science Programme, part of the United Nations Environment Programme.

Valérie Verdier is chairwoman of the board and CEO of the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) since February 12, 2020. As a pathophysiologist, she holds a PhD in plant sciences from the University of Paris-Sud (1988) and a habilitation to conduct research (HDR). She studies the interactions between phytopathogenic bacteria and tropical plants, the understanding of which is a crucial issue for food security. Co-author of more than 100 scientific publications, she is internationally recognized for her fundamental contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms by which bacteria cause diseases, notably in cassava and rice, and to the approaches developed for their control. Until her nomination, Valérie Verdier was director of the Joint Research Unit Plant-Microorganism-Environment Interaction (IMPE) and was responsible for one of the five scientific departments of IRD: the Department of Ecology, Biodiversity and Functioning of Continental Ecosystems.