The 2025 edition of our activity report is now online!
The year 2025 was marked by a proliferation and escalation of crises and conflicts across various regions of the world. Attention paid to these issues is selective; humanitarian tragedies—such as the one caused by the war in Sudan—are relegated to the background despite their severity. At the same time, fiscal austerity in OECD countries has led to an unprecedented drop in funding for international solidarity—an effort whose very value is being challenged by ideological attacks encouraging a retreat into isolationism.
Faced with this situation, Iram is mobilizing within the coalitions of which it is a member to reaffirm the importance of international solidarity. This mobilization, which began in 2025, culminated on June 30, 2026, with the release of a film and a manifesto conveying several key messages. Solidarity is a prerequisite for our shared future and is essential for global peace, health, and stability. Climate, health, economic, and migration crises remind us that no country can sustainably protect its prosperity, security, and future while ignoring events elsewhere. These messages, which we champion collectively, resonate with the principles that have been at the heart of Iram’s objectives and actions since its inception.
Against this backdrop—which has severely impacted the sector—Iram rose to the challenges of 2025 and is entering 2026 with renewed prospects. The continuity of our work relies on the sustained efforts of our team and the organization to further strengthen our strategic partnerships and expand our geographical reach (Central Africa, the Indian Ocean, and Southeast Asia), as illustrated in the pages of this activity report.
Pastoralism serves as a prime example of this dynamic, rooted in geographies and partnerships that are both enduring and constantly renewed. In 2025, Iram continued its long-standing support for strategies aimed at securing pastoral mobility and improving policy dialogue among stakeholders involved in pastoral land governance at various levels. While historically dedicated to supporting organizations and policies promoting pastoralism in West Africa and the Sahel, Iram has more recently expanded its work to other regions—specifically the Mediterranean basin, Central Africa, and Mongolia. Research on pastoral mobility in Morocco, led by a doctoral candidate under a CIFRE contract, also began in 2025. Other topics were addressed as well—such as peace-building, issues specific to protected areas, pastoralism’s adaptation to environmental and social changes, and the role of youth in these systems. All these themes were central to our 2025 study day, which fostered a North-South exchange of perspectives on pastoralism and informed preparations for the 2026 International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists. Finally, 2025 provided an opportunity to advance key discussions regarding the future of our organization, which will soon celebrate its 70th anniversary. I would highlight two of these in particular. The revision of the "Iram Project" is set to conclude in 2027. Developed by the staff and members of the Iram Association, this document serves as an internal compass, helping us stay on course amidst a turbulent global landscape. It articulates our organization’s unique characteristics, prioritizes our intervention methods and areas of activity and investment, and seeks to answer a fundamental question about our identity: how can independent, ethical, and rigorous expertise play a role in building a world based on solidarity?
In 2025, Iram also continued to develop a strategy for the ecological transition of food systems, grounded in the sustainable management of natural resources and the reduction of inequalities. This strategy aims to improve the Institute’s operational methods and practices in order to reduce the environmental and climate impact of its activities. Its implementation is based on Iram’s core principles: partnership, co-learning, and shared governance. Through this strategy, Iram reaffirms its commitment to a just ecological transition, in which environmental preservation is inseparable from the fight against poverty and inequality.