Although extensively explored in philosophy, history, theology and social sciences, the link between human conceptions of nature and environmental governance remains elusive. Drawing on an extensive dataset covering 76 languages, we explore how conceptions of nature across cultural areas relate to measurable differences in environmental performance. We classify countries according to the etymological morphemes of their terms for nature in a conservation context and evaluate performance using the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) individual indicators, as well as EPI and three novel clusterings, namely, state-pressure-response dynamics, nature as an environmental asset, and the Nature Relationship Index dimensions. We find that environmental performance varies according to morphemes, reflecting cultural conceptions of nature. We distinguish three morphemes or linguistic clusters: a dynamic conception of nature, describing nature as a passive and fixed entity, a dynamic-process conception associated with spontaneity, proliferation, or selforganising processes, and a dynamic-birth conception associated with birth and renewal. Countries with dynamic conceptions of nature, particularly dynamic-birth ones, perform overall better than those with static conceptions of nature. Moreover, countries with dynamic-process conceptions perform better on indicators addressing the maintenance of ecological processes and living systems. For indicators focused on more narrowly bounded environmental objects, however, countries with dynamic-birth conceptions of nature show mixed results suggesting object-contingent performance effects. This may reflect the analytical orientation of Christian conceptions of nature which are gaining influence on environmental policy and conservation science. Policymakers should account for how conceptions of nature shape environmental priorities, hence performances, and design interventions that take into account the diversity of conceptions of nature. This implies reconsidering the cultural framing of environmentally necessary policies according to scientific knowledge when they do not resonate with prevailing conceptions of nature. Where appropriate, such policies may then be reframed through alternative cultural and societal understandings in which nature is engaged more indirectly, particularly through the lens of ecosystem services.

Cette contribution vise à proposer aux participants une familiarisation de base aux spécificités du monde marin, et notamment aux importantes originalités qui le distinguent du monde terrestre. L’objectif est de réliser une "plongée" illustrative et didactique plutôt qu’analytique, visant à vulgariser des notions capitales de l’océanographie et de la biologie marine afin d’enrichir le regard des participants issus de cursus éloignés des études marines. Y seraient notamment abordés: La sensorialité aquatique (optique/diffraction de la lumière, diffusion du son, densité tactile du milieu…); la dynamique de la matière sous l’eau (sédimentation, accrétion, érosion, orogenèse…); les groupes vivants spécifiques au milieu aquatique voire marin (éponges, échinodermes, tuniciers, foraminifères…); les spécificités des réseaux trophiques marins (notamment les animaux photosynthétiques, les animaux fixes et les végétaux mobiles); quelques points d’histoire évolutive (ancienneté du milieu marin par rapport au milieu terrestre, espèces terrestres revenues à la vie marine…); enfin un aperçu illustré des grands types de paysages sous-marins et de leurs spécificités. Au passage, on en profitera pour discuter certains clichés et erreurs communes dans les représentations populaires du monde marin.

Industrial agriculture led to a worldwide homogenization of crops and modes of cultures, but also of landscapes and relationships to the land, threatening at the same time biodiversity and cultural diversity. Developing alternatives to the agro-industrial system inherited from the twentieth century is therefore one of the greatest challenges facing humankind today. This article advocates for the promotion of the French concept of “terroir” as a foundational framework for preserving biocultural diversity, illustrating an ethical way of relating to the land. Already enshrined in European law for three decades and under study at the UNESCO and the FAO, it encourages farmers to adopt ecologically virtuous practices, while ensuring greater economic incomes. Moreover, it enhances the value of their work and their specific relationship with their environment in the long run. It also epitomizes broader worldwide initiatives, which propose basing agriculture not against the environment (both human and natural) but in symbiosis with it.

Industrial agriculture led to a worldwide homogenization of crops and modes of cultures, but also of landscapes and relationships to the land, threatening at the same time biodiversity and cultural diversity. Developing alternatives to the agro-industrial system inherited from the twentieth century is therefore one of the greatest challenges facing humankind today. This article advocates for the promotion of the French concept of "terroir" as a foundational framework for preserving biocultural diversity, illustrating an ethical way of relating to the land. Already enshrined in European law for three decades and under study at the UNESCO and the FAO, it encourages farmers to adopt ecologically virtuous practices, while ensuring greater economic incomes. Moreover, it enhances the value of their work and their specific relationship with their environment in the long run. It also epitomizes broader worldwide initiatives, which propose basing agriculture not against the environment (both human and natural) but in symbiosis with it.

The number of described echinoderm species is constantly increasing, especially thanks to the progress of genetic studies. Many species once considered widely distributed are now separated into several variants, not always recognizable from their morphology. However, a large part of the biological information, especially concerning the ecology and distribution of the source species, is extremely difficult to reattribute, and large quantities of data are thus rendered obsolete, or even distorted because of misattribution. This fact has several worrying consequences, from both a scientific and conservation points of view, because the distribution ranges of these new species can become totally mysterious and easily overestimated. This contribution proposes to illustrate this problem with three Indo-Pacific examples: one sea star that has retained its putative vast original range despite having been split into several dozen regional species, another whose problematic ecology has to be completely reassessed since it was split into (at least) 4 new species, and finally one whose actual range has been overestimated at an oceanic scale by an erroneous scientific consensus for over a century.

Demonstrating the absence of a species has always been a challenge for natural sciences, which are more used to documenting their presence; however, both forms of data are of equal scientific significance. The horned sea star Protoreaster nodosus is said, in the scientific literature, to be present throughout the whole Indo-Pacific region, from eastern Africa to the Pacific Ocean islands. However, a review of the scientific literature, along with a critical bibliographical study, citizen science surveys, web-based pictures analyses, and field studies suggests that the presence of this species could instead be restricted to the western Pacific Ocean, from Thailand to Samoa and from Japan to New Caledonia, with no reliable record in the Indian Ocean. Such a huge and long-running mistake on a very common and conspicuous species exemplifies the importance of a critical approach towards species distribution data, which appears too often based on layers of reproduction of never-reassessed data, turning hypotheses into commonly shared truth.

Objective: Venomous invasive ants are rapidly dispersing throughout oceanic islands. Medics unfamiliar with envenomation or venom-induced anaphylaxis may be unprepared for the range of possible reactions and corresponding treatments. We detail the suboptimal treatment of a patient suffering anaphylaxis from an ant sting on a remote island and describe what treatment should have been provided. Methods: The patient experienced stings on his feet from an ant later identified as tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata. Clinical examination revealed throat swelling without obstruction of the airway or pharynx. Results: The patient was provided the following suboptimal treatment: intravenously-administered antihistamine and saline perfusion. Injected epinephrine should be the standard first line of treatment for anaphylaxis, even when not all symptoms are present. Conclusion: A rise in invasive hymenopteran stings on oceanic islands is inevitable, and proactively improving public awareness and medical training could save lives.

Coral reefs, known as "the tropical forests of the ocean," have been increasingly subject to the phenomenon of anthropogenic economic pressures with sizeable negative consequences on marine biodiversity. We explore the growth process of coral reef-rich countries with the objective of evaluating the extent of this phenomenon. More specifically, we analyze the determinants of economic growth in these countries and highlight those with significant potential for contributing to the degradation of marine biodiversity. For this purpose, we build a 1960-2009 dataset on 74 CRF countries, i.e., countries with high marine biodiversity as proxied by the extent of the coral reef area of a country within its boundaries. Compared to the average country at the worldwide level, these high coral reef-endowed countries are typically characterized, among other features, by more international trade, less institutional quality, and higher fertility. Moreover, the rate of economic convergence of these countries increases with the level of education. We fit this CRF data sample to a set of growth theory econometric models, including the augmented classical Solow model and some new growth theories, and evaluate them by means of the Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) methodology that accounts for uncertainty inherent to both the specification of a growth model and the proxying of growth determinants. We further allow for the presence of multiple growth regimes. We find evidence that, in CRF countries, macroeconomic policy, natural capital, and education are robust determinants of economic growth. International and natural capital exploitation known to be important sources of anthropogenic pressures, our results suggest that it is possible to generate growth by diversifying away from activities that are natural capital-intensive and investing in education. The direct consequence of this strategic policy should be a lessening of anthropogenic pressures on marine biodiversity areas that are subject to land conversion, farming, and other run-offs, as well as coastal construction and public works associated with natural capital exports. Moreover, given that fertility typically falls with education, one can expect a slowdown of urbanization, uncontrolled sewage, and marine resources direct exploitation, which is a boon for marine biodiversity. However, at a country scale, the marine ecological footprint will depend on how the delocalization of these activities related to marine natural resource is done in a context of economic growth.

Protecting nature has become a global concern. However, the very idea of nature is problematic. We examined the etymological and semantic diversity of the word used to translate nature in a conservation context in 76 of the primary languages of the world to identify the different relationships between humankind and nature. Surprisingly, the number of morphemes (distinct etymological roots) used by 7 billion people was low. Different linguistic superfamilies shared the same etymon across large cultural areas that correlate with the distribution of major religions. However, we found large differences in etymological meanings among these words, echoing the semantic differences and historical ambiguity of the contemporary European concept of nature. The principal current Western meaning of nature in environmental public policy, conservation science, and environmental ethics-that which is not a human artifact-appears to be relatively rare and recent and to contradict the vision of nature in most other cultures, including those of pre-Christian Europe. To avoid implicit cultural bias and hegemony-and thus to be globally intelligible and effective-it behooves nature conservationists to take into account this semantic diversity when proposing conservation policies and implementing conservation practices.