Wednesday Poster Session - Governance & development

Malagasy universities, created in the 1960s, have progressively seen their infrastructures deteriorate, particularly student housing, leading to overcrowding, lack of maintenance, and critical living conditions. The University of Fianarantsoa exemplifies this situation, motivating cooperation between the Haute Matsiatra Region and the City of Lyon through the EAURIZON 2028 program to improve water, sanitation, and overall living conditions on campus. The Fianarantsoa Eco-Campus, initiated as a project, envisions the campus as a territorial laboratory of innovation bringing together institutions, researchers, and students. The methodology is based on a multidisciplinary and implicative approach, treating the campus as a space for experimentation. Its main axes include spatial planning, mobility, sustainable resource management, strengthened university interactions, and the creation of an operational transition model. Students, as key actors, will be actively involved in co-constructing solutions through workshops, training sites, and integrated pedagogical modules. The technical approach focuses on water management, waste management, and environmental planning, while the socio-organizational dimension aims to reinforce the commons, structure new management mechanisms, and adapt governance to local realities. Finally, a communication strategy will help raise awareness within the university community, promote eco-citizenship, and highlight the university as a showcase of ecological transition. 

In Madagascar, although water resources are generally abundant, they are unevenly distributed and subject to strong seasonal variations. Population growth, urbanization, and climate change are increasing tensions between agricultural, domestic, and energy uses. Irrigated rice cultivation—central to food security—consumes large amounts of water and creates conflicts with drinking water supply, especially in rural areas where traditional practices prevail. Since 2006, the Metropolis of Lyon and the Haute Matsiatra Region have been cooperating to improve access to water and sanitation and to implement Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The Soarano watershed, which is crucial for Ambalavao’s drinking water supply, is under significant pressure and is a source of conflict. To reconcile rural and urban needs, an IWRM approach has been carried out. It is based on the development of a shared diagnosis, the creation of a consultation platform (GLEC), collective planning, and the monitoring of actions. Despite the sustainable institutional funding, solutions such as supporting farmers have enabled an agroecological transition to begin. This shared governance has transformed upstream–downstream relations: farmers are now recognized as land managers contributing to water, food, and environmental security. Several capitalization tools, including a role-playing game, has been developed to disseminate these practices. 

This study evaluates three key regulating ecosystem services: water regulation, thermal regulation, and carbon sequestration within the campus of Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Cali. The campus’ ecological infrastructure, composed of wetlands, a constructed lagoon, and dense tropical vegetation including bamboo provides an ideal setting to assess multifunctional Nature-based Solutions (NbS). A mixed-methods approach was applied, integrating GIS-based analysis, satellite remote sensing, biophysical modeling, and field measurements. Runoff was modeled using hydrological simulations and the campus monitoring system. Thermal regulation was assessed through LST data complemented by on-site temperature measurements; and carbon storage was estimated to use allometric equations and tree inventory data. Results show clear spatial variability in ecosystem service provision, highlighting areas with strong multifunctional potential for climate adaptation. The study also underscores the benefits of combining remote sensing, modeling, and field data to evaluate ecosystem services at a campus scale, offering a framework applicable to similar urban institutional environments.