Future investments : OneWater, exploratory programme co-led by BRGM

The results of the first round of the “Priority Research Programmes and Equipment” (PEPR) call for proposals, published as part of the fourth future investments programme (PIA4) and the France Relance (Recovery) plan, were announced on 23 September 2021 by Frédérique Vidal, Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Guillaume Boudy, Secretary General for Investment, and Thierry Damerval, Chairman and Managing Director of the French National Research Agency.

The OneWater programme is one of the 4 exploratory PEPRs selected by the government

Among the 4 exploratory PEPRs selected following proposals by the international jury, the OneWater programme is being run jointly by BRGM, CNRS and INRAE. Dominique Darmendrail, director of the “Groundwater and Global Change” programme, is responsible for the OneWater programme at BRGM.

The intensification of hydrological extremes, due to global change, is a major challenge for our societies in the 21st century, which requires action at all levels. Water is a common good, which is essential for life and socio-economic development.

France was one of the first countries in the world to set up water governance at the catchment basin level, but the assumption that everything could be resolved at the basin level is no longer considered to be true. Global phenomena are overtaking local conditions and new questions are emerging. These challenges need to be addressed through more integrated, systemic, multi-actor approaches to co-construct solutions that are adapted to a range of different realities.

In addition to the three pilot organisations (CNRS, BRGM and INRAE), the OneWater programme also relies on several partners: Ifremer IRD, Météo-France, University of Bordeaux, University of Lyon 1, University of Montpellier (I-Site MUSE), University of Grenoble-Alpes, University of Rennes 1, University of Strasbourg, University of Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées.