Thesis. Evocentric conservation of biodiversity: context, metrics, implementations (French)

Through the intensity of their activities, humans have become the primary factor driving biolog-ical evolution of living organisms. Scientific research has highlighted the rapid evolutionary changesin wild populations in response to global change, as well as their current and future impact on thebiodiversity inherited from evolutionary history. In 1980, Michael E. Soulé, one of the founders ofconservation biology, proposed that the evolutionary dynamics of species should be brought to theforefront of conservation issues. Since then, calls to focus more on these issues have been continuouslyrenewed. It is therefore crucial today to bring evolution to the forefront of biodiversity conservationtoday. Starting from the proposal of an evocentric approach to conservation, i.e. one that puts evo-lution at its centre, this thesis develops the scientific conditions for applying its principles. The firstpart presents the evocative ethical proposal and the scientific context in which it is embedded. Inparticular, the place of evolution in the scientific literature on nature conservation from its origins tothe present day, in reports from non-governmental organisations such as IPBES, and from nationalpolicies, is examined through a quantitative analysis of key words and a qualitative analysis of thetexts. We hypothesised a limited place of evolution in conservation, particularly over the past twodecades, contrasting with the central place given to evolution by the founders of conservation biology.The fact is that evolutionary issues are not addressed to the same extent as in the correspondinggeneral literature. The goals of evolution and the underlying values for preserving evolutionary pro-cesses and patterns are not made sufficiently explicit. However, a large part of conservation actionsand recommendations appears to us compatible with evocentric principles. To support and guide thisintegration of evolution into conservation, which is necessary but constrained by numerous obstacles,we define and develop the concept of evolutionary footprint in the second part. The evolutionaryfootprint is a set of metrics and indicators designed at accounting for the impact of any actor onthe evolutionary trajectories of a biological entity at both micro- and macro-evolutionary levels.This conceptual framework aims to go beyond ecological or biodiversity footprints while integratingtheir respective dimensions, providing a more systemic approach that reflects the reality of humanimpacts on living organisms. The evolutionary footprint is a tool for conservationists, and reduc-ing the evolutionary footprint of humans is a guiding principle of the evocentric approach. In thethird part, we investigate the conditions for implementing this principle in so-called species-centredconservation actions. Using the case of conservation translocations, we discuss the integration of anevocentric perspective into the objectives and monitoring of these actions to restore evolutionaryprocesses impaired by human activities. We then explore the conservation of protected areas throughthe pioneering case of the Port Cros National Park. The Scientific Committee of this park has takenthe initiative to base its scientific strategy on an evocentric approach, allowing us to discuss theimplementation of evocentrism at the territorial level. Finally, we provide a general discussion on the development pathways for the evocentric approach, along with a reflection on contemporary challenges and the means available to us to address them.

Sorbonne Université