[Defended thesis] Vivien Kleinpeter: Spatially explicit modeling and multicriteria evaluation of organic material flows to promote a circular economy at the scale of La Réunion island

Spatially explicit modeling and multicriteria evaluation of organic material flows to promote a circular economy at the scale of La Réunion island

• Starting date: 2nd January 2020
• University: L'Institut Agro
• PhD school: GAIA
• Scientific field: Agronomy sciences
• Thesis management: Matthieu Lesnoff, UMR Selmet, CIRAD et Tom Wassenaar, UR Recyclage et risques, CIRAD
• Thesis supervisors: Jonathan Vayssières, UMR Selmet, CIRAD et Danny Lo Seen, UMR Tetis, CIRAD
• Funding: CIRAD, ADEME
• #DigitAg : Labeled thesis – Axe 6, Challenge 7

Mots-clés: Agriculture, industrial ecology, modelling, climate change mitigation, scenario simulation

Résumé : La Réunion, like many island territories, faces strong challenges of food and energy self-sufficiency, and climate change mitigation. Its volcanic soils and tropical climate are important assets, with high biomass availability, which can supply a circular economy (i.e. in opposition to the linear model "produce, consume, throw away"). There is significant room for improvement in terms of local biomasses recycling with environmental, economic and social benefits for the island. The aim of this thesis is to conduct a multicriteria evaluation of several recycling scenarios aimed at mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by valuing local resources versus importing inputs. The conceptual framework of this thesis is industrial ecology. Its scientific originality is built around an integrated analysis of several biomasses recycling scenarios between 4 major sectors of the local economy: agriculture, livestock, agro-industry and urban. The chosen methodology is part of a participatory approach, mobilizing various actors (farmers and their cooperatives, private companies, local authorities, etc.) and a dynamic and spatially explicit simulation tool for a medium-term territorial prospective. This tool will be used to explore, with stakeholders, the dynamics of biomass flows between the 4 sectors mentioned above and GHG emissions. The mobilization of this tool and fine spatial data (such as the geolocation of farms, processing units, relief constraints, roads, etc.) for the management of biomasses at the island scale is new in La Réunion.

Contact :  vivien.kleinpeter [AT] cirad.fr