Colloque | Regenerating the Commons

In June 2025, I had the privilege of attending the biennial conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC), hosted this year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. This event brings together researchers from around the world who explore ways to strengthen sustainable governance and the equitable sharing of common resources.

I am deeply grateful to Armelle Mazé and Fabien Girard for organizing the panel on Seed Commons. There, I had the opportunity to present a paper entitled Cultivated agrobiodiversity beyond the human and non-human divide: A legal pluralism perspective. This talk reflected on cultivated biodiversity as one of the most striking examples of the profound interdependence between humans and non-humans. Seeds embody both human ingenuity and natural dynamics, intertwined for millennia in shaping agriculture.

Another highlight of the week was attending the talks of Fikret Berkes, whose work has inspired me for many years. I drew on his research in my doctoral thesis on seed security law, and it continues to inform my current work on small-scale fisheries. I also had the privilege of meeting other international scholars working on fisheries, including Xavier Basurto and Anastasia Quitana.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the Faculty of Law at the Université de Sherbrooke, the Student Engagement Support Fund, and AGECSDUS for their financial support, which enabled me to take part in this week of intense and inspiring exchanges. I return intellectually enriched, energized, and eager to continue pursuing these reflections on law, food, and the commons.