The French Institute of Pondicherry was established in 1955 through the Treaty of Cession of French territories in India. It is a multidisciplinary research and training centre with a broad spectrum of activities, dealing with "Indian civilisation history and ecology, Environment and development in South and South-East Asia". It is part of a network of research organizations administered by the Department of Social Sciences and Archaeology of' the French Ministry of' Foreign Affairs. It also belongs to the sub-network of' French Research Institutes in India which includes the CSH (Centre for Human Sciences, New Delhi) and EFEO (French School for Eastern Studies, Pondicherry). The French Institute has a staff of 80 researchers, technicians and administrative personnel. both French and Indian, consolidated every year by about twenty trainees and research associates from France and India, and also from other countries in Europe and other parts of the world. It is organized into three departments, Indology, Ecology and Social Sciences and a laboratory of Geomatics whose main research lines, developped in the framework of Indo-French cooperation, are as follows: - Indian Cultural Heritage and Knowledge: Indian analysis of sanskrit language and literature; History of religions in South India; Studies on contemporary Tamil Nadu. - Environment and Sustainable Development: Conservation of biodiversity and sustainable management of natural resources; Continental ecosystems functioning and modelling; Paleo-environments and climate changes. - Population, Health and Societies: Population and space in South India; Health and societies: Territories, resources and social changes. Documentary resources and collections of the French Institute are particularly rich, comprising specialized Libraries, Photolibrary, Manuscripts, Maps, Herbarium and Pollinarium. Beside the many seminars, workshops, conferences. exhibitions and trainings it is organizing regularly, the French Institute has