BRIDGES Research Program

The south-west Indian Ocean is one of the world's richest regions in terms of biodiversity, where small-scale fishing is key to the wellbeing and nutrition security of many communities. But global pressures (climate change, growing global demand for natural resources, intensification of uses) are threatening ecosystems, and the human societies that depend on them. This is the context for BRIDGES – Fisheries and Biodiversity in the Western Indian Ocean Research Program which aims to carry out ambitious collaborative research to bolster social and environmental resilience, and support a future generation of actors for the region. This Program is jointly runned by the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), the Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer) and the Research Institute for Development (IRD). BRIDGES is funded for a 10-year period (2023-2033) as part of the France 2030 investment plan.