Under the auspices of the University of Cergy‐Pontoise and the Paris School of Economics, we will hold a workshop, November 13‐14, on the Ecology of Poverty and Economic Development. This conference is supported by the French National Research Agency, through the program Investissements d’Avenir ANR‐10‐LABX‐93‐01, and with the support of Labex MME‐DII.

Theme and Objective :

The plight of the extremely poor, as found in underdeveloped countries, is one of the major challenges of our time. The extremely poor often rely on primary production based on the natural environment for their livelihoods and suffer high rates of morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases. Combined, these two imply dynamic ecological feedbacks whose effects on economic development remain poorly understood. We are bringing together an international group of natural and social scientists to develop a new research program on coupled bioeconomic and biophysical processes, and the effects of potential interventions. Our aim with this workshop is to more clearly define this field. We will identify key themes and important pioneering research questions designed to guide the broader community of natural and social scientists, as well as policy‐makers. It is the intent that this should be the first of a series of such workshops that, through collaboration among the participants, will result in a publishable body of work.