Environment. Biodiversity interviews in Grand Est: "There are things to do to save what can still be saved."

The fourth edition of the Grand Est Biodiversity Talks, “Reinventing our relationship with living things,” opened this Friday, May 23, at the Sainte-Croix Animal Park in Rhodes, Moselle, with an observation that sets the tone for the discussions that will take place during the round tables: humans are primarily responsible for the loss of biodiversity. “Biodiversity is in free fall, with the number of animals and plants disappearing at an unprecedented rate,” emphasized Laurent Singer, president of the Sainte-Croix Park, during the inauguration. The results are such that for the organizers of these Talks, the ecological crisis directly calls into question the way humans live on the planet. “We are in an absolute urgency to act,” adds Laurent Singer, hoping that the work to be carried out by the experts gathered around three themes can have the greatest impact and raise awareness among a wide audience.

This year's guest of honor, philosopher-novelist Gaspard Koenig, broadly shares this observation. His awakening came during a horseback riding trip across Europe, which allowed him to experience nature and animals more closely and transformed him. "But the issue of biodiversity is still very marginal; I'm happy to be able to talk about it," he confides.

He also published an essay, after his book Humus , on agrophilosophy, which leads us to rethink the link between Man and the earth. "Soil degradation is the cause of the collapse of life," notes Gaspard Koenig. "Globally, humanity has eliminated three-quarters of the living on the planet in fifty years. This is what scientists call the sixth extinction." Global warming comes in third place, after the scarcity of resources. "This should be the first issue on which political families position themselves," believes Gaspard Koenig, presenting an invention from the American university MIT of pollinating robots to replace bees. "Can you imagine where we are!" notes the novelist-philosopher, stunned.

However, even if a certain skepticism is shared, some experiences are proving promising. "This should contribute to developing a strategy for tomorrow to serve the living," hopes Laurent Singer, by laying the foundations for "virtuous paths." It will involve habitat restoration, agriculture, and education. Patrice Costa, president of the European Institute of Ecology , is convinced: "People want to know, to understand what's happening... We're starting to understand that we're in it! There are things to do to save what can still be saved."

Round tables this Saturday, May 24: rewilding in the Grand Est and in Europe (10 a.m.), agriculture and biodiversity (2 p.m.), pedagogy and environmental education (4:30 p.m.).