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Understanding local adaptations to marine heatwaves

Project description

Nurturing inclusive climate change adaptation in island societies

Devastating marine heatwaves (MHWs) threaten coastal ecosystems and the livelihoods of island societies dependent on oceanic resources. The intensifying and more frequent MHW events call for sustainable adaptation strategies to mitigate their socio-economic impacts. With the support of Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the MHWadapt project aims to guide efficient climate change adaptation in island societies. By exploring the relationship between adaptation decisions, values for nature, and anthropogenic capital, the project employs innovative methods (photo-voice and participatory geographic information system) in New Caledonia and Fiji. MHWadapt emphasises the interdependence of social and ecological outcomes and offers a platform to communicate transformative knowledge for effective climate change adaptation in the South Pacific and Europe.

Objective

Marine heatwaves (MHWs) are prolonged extreme oceanic warm water events, which can have devastating impacts on coastal ecosystems. The observed and projected future increase in MHW’s intensity and frequency is a growing threat for island societies that strongly depend on oceanic conditions and resources. MHWs cannot be prevented, but their socio-economic impacts could be limited with sustainable adaptation strategies. Such adaptation will only be efficient if guided by inclusive, place-based but scalable knowledge on the vulnerability of different groups of coastal resource users. I will use the theory of Gender Equity and Social Inclusion to develop a comprehensive understanding of values for nature, nature’s contributions to people (NCP) and anthropogenic capitals to support sustainable climate change adaptation. MHWadapt has three objectives: to (1) understand the relationship between decisions regarding adaptations and values for nature and NCP; (2) identify and characterise the anthropogenic capitals that underpin coastal resource users decisions; and (3) to gain in-depth knowledge of the feedback loops between values for nature, anthropogenic capitals and NCP co-production with climate change adaptation. MHWadapt differs from existing approaches that concentrate on top-down or natural science based approaches to climate change adaptation which overlook that social and ecological outcomes are interdependent and cannot be understood separately. Using novel methods (e.g. photo-voice, participatory GIS) in study areas in New Caledonia and Fiji, I will develop place-based, yet scalable scientific and transformative knowledge. The implementation of MHWadapt will draw on my skills in social science and the host’s research excellence on MHWs, including their ongoing fieldwork in my study regions. This setup ensures a theoretical and empirical foundation for my research and a forum for communicating my results to non-academic actors in the South Pacific and Europe.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01

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Coordinator

INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DEVELOPPEMENT
Net EU contribution
€ 195 914,88
Address
BOULEVARD DE DUNKERQUE 44 CS 90009
13572 Marseille
France
Region
Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Bouches-du-Rhône
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
No data