BOIS ET FORÊTS DES TROPIQUES, 2015, N° 323 (1) ANDRÉ AUBRÉVILLE (1897-1982) 7 Jacques Tassin André Aubréville (1897-1982), Cirad UPR BSEF Campus international a pioneering forester de Baillarguet 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5 France and a visionary mind Photo 1. On 17 June 1970, Aubréville was elected to the Academy of Sciences and received his academician’s sword from Yves Marcon, the former director of the Tropical Forestry Technical Centre (CTFT). Photograph CTFT/Cirad. BOIS ET FORÊTS DES TROPIQUES, 2015, N° 323 (1) Jacques Tassin 8 ANDRÉ AUBRÉVILLE (1897-1982) résumé AbstrAct resumen AUBRÉVILLE (1897-1982), FORESTIER TRO- AUBRÉVILLE (1897-1982), A PIONEERING AUBRÉVILLE (1897-1982), DASÓNOMO PICAL PRÉCURSEUR ET VISIONNAIRE FORESTER AND A VISIONARY MIND TROPICAL PRECURSOR Y VISIONARIO André Aubréville fut un forestier d’exception. André Aubréville was a remarkable figure in André Aubréville fue un experto forestal ex- Formé à l’École forestière française de Nancy, the field of forestry. In the 1920s, after train- cepcional. Formado en la Escuela Forestal il rejoignit dans les années 1920 les services ing at the Nancy School of Forestry, he joined Francesa de Nancy, se incorporó en la déca- forestiers coloniaux. Ses livres qui font encore the colonial forestry service. His books reflect da de 1920 a los servicios forestales colonia- référence témoignent d’un esprit encyclopé- an encyclopaedic mind, clarity of thought and les. Sus libros, que siguen siendo una refe- dique, d’une grande lucidité et d’un talent de a visionary talent, and still serve as reference rencia, revelan una gran lucidez y un talento visionnaire. Comprenant combien l’avenir de works. Realising that the future of tropical visionario. Comprendió que el porvenir del la forêt tropicale était menacé par les activi- forests was under severe threat from human bosque tropical estaba amenazado por las tés humaines, il mit en place des structures activities, he established forestry bodies that actividades humanas e implantó estructuras forestières susceptibles d’assurer ce qu’on would work to ensure what is known today forestales capaces de garantizar lo que hoy nommerait aujourd’hui une production sou- as sustainable forest production. In 1939, he denominaríamos una producción sostenida. tenue. Il devint en 1939 Inspecteur général was appointed Inspector-General of Water En 1939 alcanzó el puesto de inspector gene- des Eaux et Forêts de l’Afrique occidentale and Forests in French Equatorial Africa, but ral de aguas y bosques del África Occidental française mais était aussi déjà réputé comme had already achieved renown as a botanist Francés, pero ya había adquirido fama como botaniste spécialiste des Sapotacées et bio- specialising in Sapotaceae and in biogeogra- botánico especialista de las Sapotáceas y géographe. À l’âge de 60 ans, il fut nommé phy. At the age of 60, he was appointed as a biogeógrafo. A los 60 años fue nombrado Professeur au Muséum National d’Histoire Professor at the National Museum of Natural profesor del Museo Nacional de Historia Na- Naturelle de Paris, et entra à l’Académie des History in Paris, and entered the Academy of tural de París e ingresó en la Academia de Sciences de l’Institut de France. Travailleur in- Sciences of the Institut de France. He was an Ciencias del Institut de France. Trabajador fatigable, il considérait la botanique comme indefatigable worker who considered botany incansable, consideraba la botánica como un outil permettant de mieux comprendre as a means to reach a better understanding un instrumento que permitía comprender la complexité des forêts tropicales. S’insur- of the complexity of tropical forests. He vig- mejor la complejidad de los bosques tropi- geant contre les généralisations abusives, il orously opposed ill-founded generalisations, cales. Arremetió contra las generalizaciones montra pourquoi la climatologie actuelle ou showing how climate, past and present, de- abusivas y demostró por qué la climatología passée déterminait localement la compo- termines the contours and the local composi- actual o pasada determinaba localmente la sition floristique et les contours de la forêt tion of African forest flora, which was being composición florística y los contornos del africaine, forêt malmenée par les feux dont severely harmed by wildfires whose devas- bosque africano, un bosque maltratado por il mesurait l’effet dévastateur et durable. Il tating and long-lasting effects he was well los fuegos, de cuyos efectos devastadores y fut le premier à entreprendre une véritable aware of. He pioneered the “tropicalisation” duraderos era plenamente consciente. Él fue tropicalisation de la foresterie, à démontrer of forestry techniques and was the first to el primero que acometió una verdadera tro- la faiblesse du concept de forêt primaire et demonstrate the inadequacy of the “primary” picalización de la silvicultura, el primero que à suggérer la valorisation des forêts secon- forests concept and to point to the potential demostró la fragilidad del concepto de bos- daires. Il ne doutait pas que le matériau bois of “secondary” forests. He had no doubt that que primario y sugirió la valorización de los tiendrait, cinquante ans plus tard, face aux timber would maintain its value against com- bosques secundarios. No dudaba de que la matériaux concurrents, et que les espèces peting materials in the fifty years to come, madera de construcción resistiría, cincuenta les plus demandées le demeureraient encore and that the most sought-after tree species años después, al empuje de los materiales pour leurs qualités technologiques supé- would remain so for their superior technical competidores y que no caería la demanda rieures. L’ensemble de son œuvre appelait à properties. In all of his work, he advocated a de las especias más solicitadas debido a une forme d’interventionnisme susceptible type of interventionism designed to prevent sus superiores propiedades tecnológicas. de préserver les ressources forestières tropi- any form of over-exploitation of tropical for- Toda su obra apuntaba a una forma de inter- cales de toute forme d’exploitation abusive. est resources. Some may discern an overly vencionismo capaz de proteger los recursos D’aucuns ont pu y voir l’expression d’un tem- colonialist mindset, but in the sheer scope of forestales tropicales de cualquier forma de pérament jugé trop colonial. Mais on peut his proposals in favour of forest protection, explotación abusiva. Algunos pueden ver la tout autant aujourd’hui y déceler, par l’am- it is also possible to see a pioneering and vi- expresión de una mentalidad marcadamen- pleur des propositions formulées en faveur sionary mind at work in the field of forestry. te colonial. Pero, asimismo, hoy podemos de la protection de la végétation forestière, Keywords: forest botany, desertification, ero- descubrir, por la amplitud de las propuestas l’œuvre d’un forestier résolument précurseur sion, wildfires, forest flora colonial forests, planteadas para proteger la vegetación fo- et visionnaire. tropical forests, palaeogeography, Sapota- restal, la obra de un experto forestal clara- Mots-clés : botanique forestière, désertifi- ceae. mente precursor y visionario. cation, érosion, feux, flore forestière, forêt Palabras clave: botánica forestal, deserti- coloniale, forêt tropicale, paléogéographie, ficación, erosión, incendios, flora forestal, sapotacées. bosque colonial, bosque tropical, paleogeo- grafía, Sapotáceas. BOIS ET FORÊTS DES TROPIQUES, 2015, N° 323 (1) ANDRÉ AUBRÉVILLE (1897-1982) 9 Introduction 1983). And so he found his career: he would become a “forest botanist”, as he liked to describe it (Aubréville, 1961). When he took up his first position in February 1925, the Many of the authors who paid tribute to the great French tropical forest was not what he had imagined: “aesthetically, forest botanist André Aubréville after his death realised how the equatorial forest is disappointing; the impression is one difficult it was to illustrate the sheer diversity of his work and of vigorous plant growth, chaos and mystery” (Aubréville, the scope of his erudition. In writing the following pages to 1932). Appointed to the post of Water and Forests Inspector present this remarkable figure, I came up against the same for Côte d’Ivoire, he soon became the Head of the Water and difficulty. These pages aim nevertheless to introduce our Forests Service, a post he occupied until 1937. He immedi- readers to this outstanding botanist, not only for the reasons ately realised the specific nature, but also the diversity, of I have given, but also because Aubréville himself empha- tropical forests. This was a world that suited his energetic sised the distinctiveness of forestry in the tropics (Aubréville, temperament and whose unique character he was deter- 1949a), which prompted his in-depth and often visionary mined to bring to light, but it was also a fragile world whose analyses of many of its facets. only ally, it must be acknowledged, was the colonial forest Over and above the inherent interest of André Aubréville’s management service. For over a decade, thanks to his robust life and work, it is fascinating to see that in the first half of health, he mounted expedition after expedition through the 20th century, talented minds and astute observers, who French Equatorial Africa. At the same time, he set up a for- had no fear of venturing into wild and difficult terrain, had estry service for Côte d’Ivoire, and in so doing became pas- already discovered a number of governing principles of trop- sionately interested in forest botany. He saw to the establish- ical forests that we are still rediscovering today. ment of a forest station in the Banco forest, which he then listed for protection. But on his return in 1957, he was dis- mayed to see how sparse the forests had become, to the A highly qualified engineer point of remarking that “soon, we will need an aeroplane to see any forest at all” (Aubréville, 1957). This was not the who went on to become a tropical cynicism of disillusion, but the insight of a visionary, who had forest botanist already understood, at that time and as Auguste Chevalier had envisaged earlier, what was to come.