Jean-Marie Pelt (24 October 1933 – 23 December 2015) was a French

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, botanist and pharmacist with degrees in both biology and pharmacy. He was professor at the

University of Lorraine The University of Lorraine (), often abbreviated in UL, is a grand établissement created on 1 January 2012, by the merger of Henri Poincaré University, Nancy 2 University, Paul Verlaine University – Metz and the National Polytechnic Institu ...

, specializing in medicinal plants and traditional pharmacopeia, and is the author of several scientific articles and books on pharmaceutical plants, plant biology and

urban ecology Urban ecology is the scientific study of the relation of living organisms with each other and their surroundings in an urban environment. An urban environment refers to environments dominated by high-density residential and commercial buildings ...

. Pelt was known to the French public as the producer of several television series and radio broadcasts on plant biology and ecology. He has been nicknamed the ''

Konrad Lorenz Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (; 7 November 1903 – 27 February 1989) was an Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist. He shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Karl von Frisch. He is often regarde ...

of the vegetable world''.

Scientific works

Through his academic career, Pelt studied the science of medicinal plants,

phytopharmacology Phytopharmacology is the study and practice of eradicating plant pathology originated from the ''Verbandes Deutscher Pflanzenärzte'' (1928–1939), (German Plant Physicians Society), headed by Otto Appel, known as the ''Organiser of German Plant ...

phytotherapy Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...

, and phytotoxicology. He specifically focused on the repertories of drugs and medicinal plants of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

Institutional roles

In addition to his research work at the University of Nancy and more recently the

, Pelt founded the European Institute of Ecology in 1972 and co-founded the French Society of Ethnopharmacology in 1987 and the Committee of Independent Research and Information on the Genetic Engineering in 1999. Along with

Simone Veil Simone Veil (; ; 13 July 1927 – 30 June 2017) was a French magistrate and politician who served as Health Minister in several governments and was President of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1982, the first woman to hold that office. ...

Jacques Delors Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (born 20 July 1925) is a French politician who served as the 8th President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. He served as Minister of the Economy, Finances and Industry (France), Minister of Finance of Fran ...

Corinne Lepage Corinne Dominique Marguerite Lepage (born 11 May 1951) is a French politician. She served as French Minister of the Environment in the Alain Juppé cabinets 1 and II 1995–1997 and as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) 2009–2014 for t ...

, Pelt was a fellow member of the Committee 21, the French deliberative assembly for the environment and sustainable development which is in charge of implementing the

Agenda 21 Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action age ...

action plan.

Urban ecology concepts and applications

As municipal councilor of

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

between 1971 and 1983, Pelt pioneered a policy of

.Pelt J.M. (1977) ''L'Homme re-naturé.'' Eds. Seuil. Because of the failure in post-war

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

and

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States ...

s occurring in Europe during the 1960s, and gathering inspiration from the concepts of CIAM, Professor Pelt initiated a new approach towards the urban environment. He developed his ideas on this topic in ''The Re-Naturalized Human'', a pioneering book from 1977 which was awarded the European Prize of Ecology. Based on the ideas of the Chicago School, Pelt's theories advocated for a better integration of humans into their environment and developed a concept concerning the relation between "stones and waters". His ideas were materialized in Metz with the establishment of extensive open areas surrounding the Moselle and the Seille rivers and the development of large areas for walking. He died on 23 December 2015. Plan_d'eau_du_saulcy_Metz

Bibliography

* The medications () (1969), Ed. Le Seuil. * Evolution and sexuality in plants () (1970), Eds. Horizons de France . * The re-naturalized Human () (1977), Eds. Le Seuil. - European Prize of Ecology * Plants: loves and vegetable civilizations () (1980), Eds. Fayard. ASIN B005P797KM * Medicine by the plants () (1981,1986), Eds. Fayard * The tremendous adventure of the plants () (1981), Eds. Fayard * Drugs and magic plants () (1971,1980), (1983), Eds. Fayard * Drugs, their history, their effects () (1983), Eds. Fayard * The social life of the plants () (1984), Eds. Fayard * My most beautiful stories about plants () (1986), Eds. Le Seuil * Flowers, celebrations, and seasons () (1986), Eds. Fayard * The pedestrian of Metz () with Christian Legay (1988), Eds. Serpenoise * Around the work of an ecologist () (1990), Eds. Fayard * At the back of my garden () (1992), Eds. Fayard * The child of the possible () (1992), Eds. Albin Michel * Vegetables () (1993), Eds. Fayard * The plants' world () (1993), collection Petit Point, Eds. Seuil * A lesson of nature () (1993), Eds. l'Esprit du temps * Fruits () (1994), Eds. Fayard * Universe's God, science and faith () (1995), Eds. Fayard * Words of nature () (1995), Eds. Albin Michel * The secrete languages of the nature () (1996), Eds. Fayard * From the universe to the Being () (1996), Eds. Fayard * The plants in danger () (1997), Eds. Fayard * The soul's garden () (1998), Eds. Fayard * The most beautiful story about plants () with M. Mazoyer,

Théodore Monod Théodore André Monod (9 April 1902 – 22 November 2000) was a French naturalist, humanist, scholar and explorer. Exploration Early in his career, Monod was made professor at the ''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'' and founded the '' Inst ...

, and J. Giradon (1999), Eds. Le Seuil * The cinnamon and the panda () (1999), Eds. Fayard * The Earth in inheritance () (2000), Eds. Fayard * Variation on celebrations and seasons () (2000), Eds. Le Pommier * Listening the trees () (2000), Eds. Albin Michel * The life is my garden () (2000), Eds. Alice, Belgique * The new natural remedies () (2001), Eds. Fayard * Spices () (2002), Eds. Fayard * The future straight in the eyes () (2002), Eds. Fayard * The law of the jungle () with Franck Steffan (2003), Eds. Fayard * Solidarity in plants, animals, and humans () (2004), Eds. Fayard * Virtues of the plants (), pictures of Peter Lippmann (2004), Eds. Chêne * Around the world of an ecologist, once again () (2005), Eds. Fayard * Those plants we are eating () (2006), Eds. Chêne * After us, the Deluge? () with

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(2006), Eds. Flammarion/Fayard * Ecology and spirituality () collective work (2006), Eds. Albin Michel * It's green and it's walking () with Franck Steffan (2007), Eds. Fayard * Beauty of flowers and decorative plants () (2007), Eds. Chêne * Nature and spirituality () (2008), Eds. Fayard * ''Le monde s'est-il créé tout seul ?'' with Albert Jacquard,

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, and

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(2008), Eds. Albin Michel * The reason of the weakest () with Franck Steffan (2009), Eds. Fayard * Little story of plants: the diary of a committed botanist () (2009), Eds. Carnets Nord * The precious gifts of the nature () (2010), Eds. Fayard * The paths of happiness () (2010), Eds. de la Martinière * Evolution as seen by a botanist () (2011), Eds. Fayard

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelt, Jean-Marie 20th-century French botanists French environmentalists 1933 births 2015 deaths French pharmacologists Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Academic staff of the University of Lorraine University of Lorraine alumni People from Moselle (department) 21st-century French botanists