Sylvain P

S. Pioch is one of the leading researchers and consultants in the area of marine ecosystem management and policy as well as ecological restoration and engineering within mitigation hierarchy (avoid, reduce and mitigate human space consumption). He developed in partnership with NOVA University (Florida, USA) and UMR AMURE (Brest, France), the concept of eco-design for marine infrastructures, in order to enhance their integration in the ecosystem: harbour, off-shore wind mill, mooring, sewage or water supplies.

He belongs to the University Paul Valéry, Montpellier, in the CEFE laboratory. The CEFE (Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive) is the largest ecology laboratory in France and one of the largest in Europe. See http://www.cefe.cnrs.fr/fr/. It includes a strong restoration ecology component since 1992.
The CEFE is developing its activities on key concerns of modern societies and the EU, namely: biodiversity, global changes, ecosystem functioning, and the importance of understanding functional and evolutionary ecology in global, regional and national planning and management for safe, sustainable and just development. Much of the research focuses on Mediterranean and tropical ecosystems but the group in which both J. Aronson and S. Pioch participate, namely the Dynamics of Socio-Ecological Systems Department, is active globally, both in long-term projects and in international networks such as Resilience Alliance, Ecosystem Services Partnership, Society for Ecological Restoration, and Restoration of Natural Capital Alliance. Along with a growing number of other groups in Europe, this department combines environmental and social sciences, and economics, to study, predict, and – where appropriate - pilot the responses of human-influenced and semi-natural ecological systems to varying stressors, drivers and direct interventions.
Supervisors: Président of the university