Sheep Pastoralism in the Southern Alps: Opportunities and Vulnerabilities

Conference Scientific and technical culture, Research
July 8, 2024Villar-d'Arène - Lautaret Garden
Sheep herding at the Col du Lautaret © Serge Aubert/CNRS Images
Sheep herding at the Col du Lautaret © Serge Aubert/CNRS Images
From 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. By Philippe Choler, research director at the CNRS; Rémy Perron, a doctoral student working with him on this topic; and Muriel Della-Vedova, agriculture program manager at the Écrins National Park
Livestock farming systems that rely on the summer use of high-altitude grazing lands, or alpine pastures, are at the heart of societal issues and choices:
  • How can we maintain or develop mountain agriculture and high-value-added local products in the face of climate and socioeconomic changes?
  • How can we ensure that pastoralism contributes to the conservation-oriented management of the remarkable functions and biodiversity of mountain ecosystems?
  • How can we reconcile—or, at times, bring together—the various roles of mountain pastures—as areas for production, recreation, and the preservation of “wild” life—within a shared vision of the region?

All of these topics will be explored during this day dedicated to pastoralism (featuring a field trip and a themed tour of the garden’s collections), and will be summarized and expanded upon during this panel discussion. This wonderful day of discussion will conclude with a cocktail reception. See the full program for the day

 

Philippe Choler, researcher at the Alpine Ecology Laboratory (UGA/USMB/CNRS)

Philippe Choler, CNRS research director at the Alpine Ecology Laboratory (UGA/USMB/CNRS), has been working for over 30 years on the functioning and dynamics of alpine pastures, combining different approaches (biodiversity, climatology, socio-ecology, environmental history). Watch his video on the greening of Alpine peaks produced by the Grenoble Observatory of Universe Sciences, a federation to which The jardin du Lautaret the Alpine Ecology Laboratory belong.

Rémy Perron, doctoral student at the Alpine Ecology Laboratory (UGA/USMB/CNRS)

Rémy Perron is a doctoral student at the Alpine Ecology Laboratory and AgroParisTech, researching the links between pastoral practices and alpine vegetation. His work focuses in particular on recent developments in sheep pastoralism in the Southern Alps.

Muriel Della-Vedova, agriculture project manager at Écrins National Park © Pascal Saulay

Muriel Della-Vedova is the agriculture and pastoralism program manager at Écrins National Park. She primarily oversees projects at the intersection of agriculture/pastoralism and biodiversity/climate change (agri-environmental and climate measures, pastoral assessments, grasslands, the " Alpages sentinelles" program, etc.). Listen to one of her interviews on monitoring alpine pastures in the context of climate change: Le mag', Radio Ram05
Published on March 19, 2024
Updated on April 3, 2026