At the 92nd ACFAS conference, held May 5–9, 2025, in Canada on the theme of “cross-disciplinary research perspectives on responsible management practices,” the CLIPSSA project (Climate of the South Pacific, Local Knowledge, and Adaptation Strategies) gave a voice to Pacific island agriculture. In a presentation entitled “From perception to adaptation strategies: local climate change management practices in New Caledonia and Vanuatu,” Samson Jean Marie, a doctoral student in anthropology and geography working on this project, presented the initial results of these field surveys. He explained how farmers in these territories, who are on the front line of climate change, are adapting their practices to cope with it.

 

Territories on the front line

Oceanian societies, which are heavily dependent on natural and agricultural resources, are on the front line when it comes to intensifying weather, climate, and environmental disturbances: prolonged droughts, destructive cyclones, soil salinisation, and shifts in agricultural seasons. Vanuatu, regularly ranked among the countries most exposed to global climate risks, is a striking example of this. In New Caledonia, repeated episodes of La Niña and El Niño are causing water imbalances and undermining food security in rural areas.

Based on around 100 interviews conducted with farmers, institutions, politicians, and local organisations, Samson, in collaboration with the project’s research team, analyses how agricultural knowledge is built and transmitted in the face of climate change.

This resolutely interdisciplinary approach combines anthropology, agronomy, geography, sociology, and climatology to grasp the complexity of local dynamics. In his presentation, the doctoral student outlined a range of local adaptive responses, such as crop management practices, water management strategies, local cyclone warning systems, and post-disaster responses identified in the areas studied. “Adaptation is not simply a matter of applying international recommendations. It is experienced, improvised, and discussed at the level of gardens, fields, and families,” explained the young researcher.

 

Dynamic local knowledge

Contrary to popular belief, local knowledge is not static. It is transmitted, adjusted, and reinvented in response to climate change. Traditional mulching, hole cultivation, water storage in handmade tanks, adaptation of varieties, and community oral alerts before cyclones: farmers’ innovations take many forms, often invisible to decision-makers, but central to local resilience. “In several villages in Vanuatu and among tribes in New Caledonia, experienced farmers serve as information relays before cyclones arrive. They read the signs of the wind, the birds, and the sea.  These biocultural markers, combined with weather information, enable farmers to anticipate the event [cyclone] ” better, as observed more broadly by the research team.

 

From words to action: when local practices lead the way

By documenting this knowledge, the CLIPSSA project highlights that rural communities in the Pacific are not simply “vulnerable” to the effects of climate change: they are already taking action, often in pragmatic and innovative ways, far from the media spotlight or international climate policies. In other words, these initiatives already embody a responsible approach to climate and environmental change management at the local level. They provide a concrete foundation on which public policies and institutions can build.

The ACFAS conference thus provided a forum to highlight the urgent need to change approaches to local agricultural adaptation practices in climate policies. In response to the conference title, “Cross-disciplinary research perspectives on responsible management practices,” and the conference debate, “Moving from words to action,” the doctoral student replied: “It is time to move from words to action. And that starts with recognising that adaptation cannot be decreed, but must be built with those most directly affected: the inhabitants themselves. Local practices, particularly those related to adaptive responses to the impacts of climate change, are a form of local expertise in action. Ignoring them means depriving ourselves of essential levers for sustainable adaptation.”

Taro plantation in the ‘voura’ of Ipayato (Santo, Vanuatu) @ Samson JEAN MARIE

As part of the “Pacific Climate, Local Knowledge and Adaptation Strategies” project (CLIPSSA), researchers in human and social sciences (HSS) have been deployed in the four countries and territories involved: New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia and Vanuatu. Their objective: to document and report on local agricultural knowledge and its evolving strategies for adapting to the challenges of climate change.

 

Key Figures

To date, the HSS teams have conducted several hundred interviews across the various study sites:

• New Caledonia (La Foa, Canala and Maré): 89 farmers, 11 institutional and political stakeholders

• Vanuatu (Espiritu Santo and Efate): 43 farmers, 12 institutional and political stakeholders

• French Polynesia (Tahiti and Moorea): 57 farmers, 3 food processors, 36 institutional actors, 10 researchers

• Wallis and Futuna (Futuna and Alo): 25 farmers, 10 institutional stakeholders

 

Three Months of Fieldwork in French Polynesia – First Half of 2025

From April to July 2025, postdoctoral modeller Dakéga RAGATOA (in charge of French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna) and project engineer Fleur VALLET accompanied the HSS field team, composed of postdoctoral anthropologist Maya LECLERCQ and interns Chloé DELBOVE and Moeana PENLAE.

Institutional meetings and interim feedback

On the islands of Tahiti and Moorea, the researchers engaged in discussions with the Chamber of Agriculture and Lagoon Fishing (CAPL), the Department of Agriculture (DAG), the CRIOBE research center, the AgroDev and Pae Tai Pae Uta (PTPU) consultancies, the Opunohu agricultural high school, and the “Taro ITE” project team, supported by the KIWA Initiative.

 

 

Public seminar at the University of French Polynesia

On April 22, a seminar at the Pacific Human Sciences Center (MSHP) enabled Maya and Dakéga to present the project’s methodology and early findings. This public restitution reflected the project’s commitment to science communication and local stakeholder engagement. The event brought together AFD Polynesia, NGO representatives, students, and researchers. A second presentation was held at Saint Joseph High School in Punaauia, where Dakéga introduced the APSIMX agroclimatic model, used to simulate future climate effects on Pacific crops, particularly tubers (yam, taro, cassava…).

Read more: From Local Knowledge to Simulation: An Integrated Approach to Anticipating Climate Impacts on Pacific Root Crops & seminar recording

 

Engaging with Local Stakeholders

Maya, the anthropologist in charge of coordinating fieldwork in French Polynesia, led the research alongside Catherine SABINOT, IRD anthropologist and CLIPSSA scientific coordinator. Field interviews with farmers were conducted by Chloé and Moeana, both completing their master’s internships within the CLIPSSA project—Chloé through the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, and Moeana through the University of French Polynesia. They spent several weeks with farming communities: Moeana in Moorea and Chloé on Tahiti’s peninsula, gaining insights into agricultural practices and climate adaptation strategies. Their findings complemented the results produced in 2024 by Maya and Marie-Amélie RICHEZ.

The mission concluded with several feedback workshops for the people involved in the study: future farmers enrolled in the BTSA program at Moorea Agricultural High School, farmers from Moorea, and those from the Tahiti Peninsula.

Read more: CLIPSSA Scientific Findings Presented at the Opunohu Agricultural High School, Moorea

 

Three Months of Fieldwork in Vanuatu – First Half of 2025

Meanwhile, Samson JEAN MARIE, PhD candidate in anthropology and geography, and Ida PALENE, intern from ISTOM, completed a total of six months of immersive fieldwork in Efate and Espiritu Santo. Catherine SABINOT joined them for two weeks. In April, postdoctoral modeller Gildas GUIDIGAN also joined the team for three weeks to familiarise himself with the field and meet institutional stakeholders managing agricultural data.

Institutional and Scientific Engagement

To ensure strong collaboration with local institutions, many meetings were organized.
In Efate, the team engaged with the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department (VMGD), the Department of Agricultural and Rural Development (DARD), and representatives from the Van-KIRAP project (Vanuatu Klaemet Infomesen blong Redy, Adapt mo Protekt), aimed at strengthening the country’s resilience to climate change.
In Espiritu Santo, a working visit to the Vanuatu Agriculture Research and Training Center (VARTC) was coordinated by Marie Vianney MELTERAS, the center’s director of research and CLIPSSA focal point in Vanuatu.

 

An Ethnography of Agricultural Knowledge

Samson and Ida shared the daily lives of rural farming communities in Santo and Efate over several weeks. In households, fields, markets, forest paths and rivers, they engaged with elders, youth, women and men, as well as institutional and customary actors. They chose an immersive, participatory approach based on observation, dialogue, and careful listening. Occasionally joined by Catherine during their stay, they used a variety of methods: semi-structured interviews (individual and group), participant observation, discussion workshops, and georeferenced mapping of fields and knowledge-sharing locations.

Farming Systems in Constant Adaptation

Their research revealed a wide array of adaptive strategies implemented by farming families: diversification of plots, crop rotation, preservation of traditional irrigation systems, farming in more remote areas…
While Samson’s work is part of his PhD research on local knowledge and adaptive capacities, Ida focused on the often-overlooked role of women, who play a central part in fieldwork, seed preservation, and knowledge transmission.

Back from the field, the two young researchers brought back more than just data—they also returned with a new language that they now harem save (understand) and toktok (speak): Bislama. A living testimony to their immersion and the relationships forged with the communities they encountered.

 

 

CLIPSSA: Between Pitchfork, Furnace, and Climate Forecasts

Throughout their investigations, the researchers also immersed themselves in the processing and culinary uses of the food crops studied within CLIPSSA. From Vanuatu’s laplap to nalot, a traditional island meal, and through coconut milk preparation workshops in Taravao (French Polynesia), the teams engaged with the food cultures of their hosts.

These moments also echoed a broader issue at the heart of the CLIPSSA project: the food sovereignty of Pacific Island communities.

 

Want to Learn More? 

Stay tuned for upcoming articles featuring field reports from our human and social sciences interns. 

Final Internship by Moeana PENLAE

University of French Polynesia – Master’s Degree (Year 2) in Biodiversity, Ecology and Environment, specialisation in Pacific Island Environments (BEE – EIO)

February – July 2025

Supervisors: Maya LECLERCQ (IRD), Catherine SABINOT (IRD)

Participated in the facilitation of 3 feedback workshops in Tahiti and Moorea in June and July 2025, bringing together agricultural students and local farmers met during fieldwork. 

 

Figure 1: Photo of one of the feedback workshops held in Moorea with Agricultural BTS students and trainees in Agricultural Installation Training (FIA) at the Centre de Formation Professionnelle et de Promotion Agricole (CFPPA) of Opunohu (Source: Maya Leclercq, June 2025)  

 

Article summary 

Pacific island territories are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, especially regarding small-scale agriculture, which is subject to challenges such as irregular rainfall, droughts, and fragile ecosystems. In this context, proper water management and the preservation of adapted agricultural knowledge are essential to ensuring food security. This study, conducted in Moorea as part of the CLIPSSA project, focuses on how farmers adapt to environmental challenges. Our team carried out interviews, field observations, and participatory workshops, highlighting a diversity of local strategies: the use of traditional environmental indicators, and innovative techniques such as drainage systems and composting. The study reveals two main types of agricultural knowledge: on one hand, ancestral knowledge transmitted orally or through observation—such as lunar cycles (tarena) or plant phenology; on the other, contemporary knowledge stemming from modern practices, shared via media, online videos, or training programs. Hybrid forms of knowledge transmission exist, where knowledge circulates through peer exchanges, social networks, or training programs that blend empirical practices with technical input. However, this knowledge is weakened by socio-economic constraints, such as the declining interest of youth in agriculture and difficulties in accessing land. This work thus highlights the vulnerabilities in the transmission of agricultural knowledge and underscores the importance of grounding adaptation policies in local realities. 

 

Study context 

High islands such as Moorea are particularly vulnerable to climate change: extreme rainfall, flooding, landslides, and prolonged droughts. These hazards threaten local food security and complicate water management, especially for sensitive crops like taro or vegetables. For this study, the research area covers a significant portion of Moorea, including an agricultural subdivision and the agricultural high school in the Opunohu valley, as well as valleys where subsistence farming is practiced. 

Figure 2: Study site 

 

In addition to climate-related challenges, farmers face several social constraints. Young people often turn away from agriculture, drawn to jobs perceived as more prestigious. Access to land remains difficult, with land often being shared or legally insecure. Finally, traditional knowledge is gradually disappearing as farmers age—the average age is 49 (RGA 2023)—threatening knowledge transmission and generational continuity. 

The study is based on 18 semi-structured interviews conducted from mid-April to the end of May on the island of Moorea, involving institutional stakeholders (Department of Agriculture (DAG), Chamber of Agriculture and Lagoon Fisheries (CAPL), etc.), farmers, and informal discussions with roadside fruit and vegetable vendors. 

 

Main results 

The results highlight a diversity of adaptation practices that reflect both a strong cultural foundation and a high capacity for innovation:

• Water: A central issue
  During periods of heavy rainfall (December–January in French Polynesia), excess water currently represents one of the main climate challenges for farmers in the Opunohu Valley, especially for sensitive crops such as taro, banana, or papaya, which suffer from soil saturation. In some areas, drainage systems (drainage ditch) or rainwater collection systems have been implemented, sometimes in a homemade manner. However, workshops conducted with farmers showed that this constraint is not shared by all: on sloped land, natural runoff allows water to drain more easily, thereby reducing the risk of waterlogging. 

Figure 3: Photo of a drainage ditch dug on a farmer’s land in Opunohu (Moorea) to evacuate excess water (Source: Moeana Penlae, July 2025) 

 

• Crop choices adapted to local context
  Producers adapt their choices based on topography, soil quality, and water access: banana trees in humid areas, citrus trees on higher ground, and pineapples on dry terrain. Some diversify their crops to reduce risk. 

• Knowledge in constant hybridization
  Many farmers continue to use traditional indicators such as tarena or natural signs (plant phenology, appearance of insects indicating imminent rain, etc.). These indicators are combined with modern sources such as online tutorials, advice from the Department of Agriculture (DAG), or agricultural training (CFPPA). 

• A strong connection to the land
  The fa’a’apu is more than a field: it is a place of learning, memory, and identity. It embodies a sensitive relationship to the fenua, a Tahitian term generally referring to a country, land, or territory. It is often associated with everything related to the soil, the environment, or cultural belonging. 

• Weakened knowledge transmission
  Agricultural knowledge has traditionally been passed down through observation and hands-on practice between generations. Today, this transmission is fading, as young people are showing less interest in the agricultural sector, with the farming profession being undervalued. 

 

Spending less to adapt 

In a context of limited resources, farmers are developing low-cost and autonomous solutions, often outside institutional frameworks: 

• Natural compost made from food scraps, banana leaves, plant waste, or fish waste 

• Buried containers and repurposed tarps to store rainwater 

• Raised beds or elevated growing areas to prevent water stagnation 

• Crop associations to optimize soil moisture (e.g., planting banana trees around other crops) 

It has been observed that, to cope with climate change, many farmers implement simple and inexpensive solutions, often created by themselves. In 1962, Claude Lévi-Strauss described the “bricoleur” as someone who creatively assembles available materials to solve problems—illustrating the inventiveness of these practices through flexible and resourceful thinking. These practices also reflect a certain degree of isolation: due to a lack of targeted support, adaptation often relies on individual efforts. 

 

Conclusion 

Agriculture in Moorea is currently shaped by multiple challenges: climatic, social, and institutional. Yet, farmers demonstrate active resilience by inventing new ways of farming, learning, and transmitting knowledge. This resilience is based on: 

• A deep understanding of the environment 

• An ability to experiment, adapt, and improvise 

• A strong cultural attachment to the fenua 

• A determination to preserve a way of life connected to the land 

To strengthen this dynamic, it is urgent to: 

• Recognize farmers as co-actors in climate adaptation 

• Support modest solutions and local innovations 

• Create spaces for intergenerational exchange 

• Include local knowledge in public climate policies 

Although rooted in Moorea, this research offers valuable lessons for other island territories. It shows that local agricultural knowledge is not a thing of the past, but a valuable resource for building a more resilient, self-reliant, and climate-adapted future. 

Supported by IRD, Météo-France and AFD, the CLIPSSA project (Pacific Climate, Local Knowledge and Adaptation Strategies) aims to give a voice to the younger generation on climate change, blending science with the art of writing. The Clim’en Vers initiative stems from this ambition. It was conceived by Caroline AGIER, communications and digital affairs officer at the interregional office of Météo-France in New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna. The goal is to guide students in creating texts related to climate change and adaptation, and to showcase their work at relevant events in the form of display panels.

 

Passing on knowledge about climate change

To launch the project, Thomas ABINUN, meteorology and climate studies engineer at the Météo-France interregional office in New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna, and Myriam VENDÉ-LECLERC, climate adaptation strategy officer for the Government of New Caledonia, introduced students to the key concepts of global climate change and the different ways to adapt to it. On Tuesday, May 6, 2025, two classes from Lycée Escoffier in Nouméa attended this presentation, coordinated by their science teacher, Ms. BERTRAND.

Introductory session on climate change at Lycée Escoffier, 05/06/2025, ©Cléophée MONTIZON

Choosing key words, writing and performance

In the second stage—writing—the 10th-grade class in Hospitality and Catering Sciences and Technologies (STHR) dedicated two hours of their French class on Thursday, May 22, to the activity led by Mr. MAFFAY. This writing workshop was facilitated by Georgina SIOREMU, artist and communications and science mediation assistant within the CLIPSSA team. It allowed students to create heartfelt, committed texts while sharpening their sense of rhythm through a final recitation. Their original work emerged from four different writing prompts: 

• Write a letter to someone close to you who lives on the other side of the world and doesn’t yet fully understand the impact of climate change. Warn them.

• You live by a river. Due to heavy rains, your house was flooded and you had to move up into the mountains. Describe how you feel.

• Do you know the story of the hummingbird metaphor? If it could speak, what would it say to humankind?
• You run into a former internship supervisor years later. He runs a restaurant and tells you how hard it has become to source key ingredients—especially yam, sweet potato and taro—because of droughts and floods. You go home and write your thoughts in a journal.

Writing session at Lycée Escoffier,  May-July 2025, ©Caroline AGIER

 

In the following workshops, held on Wednesday, July 2 and Wednesday, July 9, students added stylistic devices and refined their sentences to make them more impactful. Each group then practiced performing their text aloud.

On Thursday, July 3, 11th-grade students were surprised by the arrival of a new guest: Simane, a slam artist with both local and international recognition, joined by influencer and TV presenter Astro, and Passil, organizer of the Urban Films Festival. They introduced them to the fundamentals of slam poetry—its definition, values, and purpose. Using a list of verbs and a word cloud on the theme of “the environment”, he created a slam in just a few minutes. Simane then offered a wealth of advice on how to deliver and pace their texts. The students watched several slam performances by the guests.

Writing session at Lycée Escoffier, 07/03/2025, ©Caroline AGIER

 

The second hour was devoted to a writing workshop led by Georgina, designed to link the students’ future profession in hospitality to the CLIPSSA project. A series of prompts helped guide their writing:

• Tomorrow’s menu – cooking in times of crisis: Imagine a restaurant in 2050 facing food shortages due to climate change. How do they adapt? What new recipes? What creativity?

• The submerged school – tale of a sunken place: Tell the story of a hospitality school located on a coastline threatened by rising sea levels. What happens to its staff, its clients, its legacy?

• The last chance banquet: You are organizing a symbolic meal to raise awareness about climate change. What’s on the menu? Who do you invite? What is the atmosphere like?

• Journal of an eco-responsible apprentice: You follow an apprentice learning to cook and serve while reducing environmental impact—sorting waste, sourcing locally, saving energy, following ethical practices…

• A world without seasons: Imagine a world where seasons no longer exist. How does this affect restaurant operations and menu planning?

 

The young slammers thus went through all the key phases of text creation: developing ideas, searching for vocabulary, writing with rhyme, and incorporating stylistic devices. On Friday, July 4, the 11th-grade students finalized their texts, produced clean copies, and performed their final versions aloud.

The creative works of both 11th- and 12th-grade students were exhibited during the Caledonian Forum on Climate Change held on July 22, organized by the Government of New Caledonia in partnership with the University of New Caledonia (UNC).

Exhibition at the Caledonian Forum on Climate Change, 07/22/2025, ©Caroline AGIER

They will be showcased again on August 8 during the Science and ESD Festival organized by the Vice-Rectorate, and in October during the Science Festival coordinated by CRESICA.

Clim’en Vers exhibition panels, 07/2025, ©Caroline AGIER

Over the past few weeks, a class of twenty CM2 pupils from Marie Havet elementary school in Nouméa, accompanied by their teacher Audrey Mazeron, have become co-researchers at the crossroads of three research projects: CLIPSSA, SOCPacific2R, and MaHeWa on marine heat waves (WP3).

 

 

In dialogue with researchers involved in CLIPSSA and/or MaHeWa project (Catherine Sabinot, Elodie Fache, Annette Breckwoldt), students from the University of New Caledonia (Amandine Aiglehoux, Elijah Tenene, Reine Wadieno), Vanessa Montagnat from New Caledonia’s Department of Pedagogical Education, Florian Barthe from the Symbiose association, and their teacher Audrey Mazeron, these young co-researchers defined two drawing instructions. They then proposed these instructions to the other 5th graders in their school, whom they also interviewed after the drawings had been completed. Analysis of these drawings led the young co-researchers to adjust their two drawing instructions, which will then be used for drawing workshops in elementary school in La Foa and Thio:

• Draw what might happen to fish and coral, vegetables and fruit, as a result of climate change.
• Draw what fishermen and farmers can do to have fewer problems, even if the planet warms up.

 

 

The schoolchildren from La Foa and Thio, after following the given instructions, tested and adjusted a drawing instruction focusing on reef passes in turn. A few days later, the young co-researchers from Nouméa responded enthusiastically, each producing a corresponding drawing.

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The C’nature conference: what future climate for New Caledonia? 

 

Christophe Menkès and Alexandre Peltier, respectively a climatologist and co-coordinator of CLIPSSA, and a meteorologist in charge of climate at Meteo-France‘s inter-regional office in New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna, presented their work to the public at the C’nature conference on April 1, 2025. The conference, organized by CRESICA at the Province Sud auditorium, was attended by 110 participants.

Christophe Menkès at the C’nature conference, 04/01/2025, © Cléophée Montizon

 

New Caledonia’s past climate 

Alexandre Peltier presented the methods used to measure recent climatic changes in New Caledonia. Every day, meteorologists check the readings from temperature and precipitation stations. Access to historical data is necessary to monitor long-term climate trends. Analysis of this data shows an average rise in New Caledonia’s climate of 1.3°C since 1965 and an increase in the frequency of heatwave episodes.

On the other hand, precipitation fluctuates due to the oscillation between El Niño and La Niña, which is crucial for this part of the Pacific. During the austral winter, precipitation decreased by 11 millimetres per decade between 1955 and 2024.

As far as cyclonic activity is concerned, it is impossible to establish any significant trend for the territory of New Caledonia, due to the absence of homogeneous historical data. Although such data could be used to observe the evolution of these phenomena, the many technical advances that improved their monitoring during the second half of the 20th century mean that the information available is too heterogeneous.

 

Future climate in Nouvelle-Calédonie

Christophe Menkès then presented the climate changes expected in the future.

The 2022 IPCC report shows a global temperature increase of 1.4°C from 1850 to 1900. Numerous climate models are available to simulate these climate trends. Based on past and present data, these models project future global temperatures from 2015 to 2100. They provide climatologists with an interval of uncertainty and a range of future possibilities. Different evolution scenarios are determined according to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions expected.

After a detailed explanation of how the IPCC’s climate simulations work, the CLIPSSA project co-coordinator pointed out their lack of precision for island areas such as New Caledonia. CLIPSSA simulates the impacts of climate change, which are far from uniform across the globe, on this small territory, as well as on Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna and French Polynesia.

To achieve this, climate models will be regionalized, i.e. adapted to the scale of these territories. The finest scale will be 2.5 kilometres, enabling us to examine the future of precipitation, temperatures and cyclones. For a climate simulation to be reliable, the researchers must include it in 14 simulations. This ensemble predicts a temperature rise in New Caledonia between +2.2°C and +3.5°C, with an average of +3°C, in 2100, compared with the 1981-2010 period.

Watch the whole conference below.

 

 

Pacific in transition: perspectives on climate

 

When the human and social sciences and climate sciences come together to consider the future of agricultural production in the South Pacific

Against a backdrop of climate upheaval, agricultural practices in the Pacific are facing profound changes. Increased climate variability and extreme events, such as heavy rainfall and severe drought, are testing local agrifood systems. These changes raise essential questions about adaptation, resilience and the transmission of agricultural knowledge. To publicize these issues and make their scientific implications accessible, the CLIPSSA project brought together over 120 people in the South Pacific Community (SPC) auditorium in Nouméa for an evening of scientific mediation. Different viewpoints and testimonies were exchanged on the impacts of climate change on the territories of the South Pacific.

Pacific in transition evening, SPC auditorium, 03/26/2025, © Jean Michel Boré

 

Young voices committed to the climate

The evening started with a moving presentation on how young people in New Caledonia feel about climate change. Through drawings, CM2 pupils from the Marie Havet school in Ouémo, the Yvonne Lacourt school in La Foa and the Thio school group shared their vision of climate change. A video presenting the project was shown. This sequence highlighted an intergenerational perception that oscillates between hope and concern.

“It’s essential that we are involved in the decisions that affect our future. (…) We want to play an active part in devising solutions.” Dylan Leconte

Following this opening, two young people committed to defending their environmental heritage spoke eloquently. Their oratorical performances reflected a deep attachment to their territory. Georgina Sioremu, a Bachelor’s student in graphic and web design at the École du Design de Nouméa, and Dylan Leconte, a student in a preparatory class in economics and business at the Lycée Dick Ukeiwe, affirmed their desire to get involved in the dynamics of social and climatic transformation, and to be part of a movement of transmission and sharing.

“I can’t look away any longer, my mission is waiting for me. (…) We can all see the changes.” Georgina Sioremu

 

Georgina and Dylan in front of the event poster, SPC hall, 03/26/2025, © Maeva Tesan 

Relive their performance on video and read their text in the appendix to this article. 

 

Crossing disciplines to understand climate reality better

A panel of social science and climatology researchers then took the floor to share their work with CLIPSSA.

Through a rich dialogue, Dakéga Ragatoa, postdoctoral modeller of the impacts of climate change on agriculture and water at IRD, and Jérémy Guerbette, research engineer at Météo-France’s Direction interrégionale de Polynésie Française, highlighted their respective roles in CLIPSSA and their first results.

Climate simulations show possible future trends in several variables, such as temperature, wind, and precipitation. Modellers can then simulate the response of plants and crops to these changes.

Panelists at the evening event, SPC’s auditorium, 03/26/2025, © Jean Michel Boré 

 

Regarding the human and social sciences, Maya Leclercq, a post-doctoral anthropologist at IRD, and Samson Jean Marie, a doctoral student in anthropology and geography at EDP-UNC (Ecole doctorale du Pacifique de l’Université de Nouvelle-Calédonie) and IRD, presented the adaptation strategies developed by local communities in the four territories.

For example, some yam and taro growers in Futuna vary the distances between plantations each year to observe changes in yield. Similarly, on the southern island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu, farmers plant soft yam (a variety of yam) and sweet potato in the same field to protect themselves against cyclone damage. Anthropologists have discussed the limits of these strategies and the cultural and social resources mobilized to cope with the new climatic constraints.

The CLIPSSA project aims to pass on these scientific analyses to institutions, guiding public policy towards adaptation plans informed by realities on the ground.

 

In addition to interacting directly with the panellists in a question-and-answer session, the public shared their experiences of farming practices. Participants in the various surveys shared their experiences of weather-related hazards. At the end of the conference, the audience said they felt “inspired” and “hopeful”.

Screenshots and photographs of the evening polls, SPC’s auditorium, 03/26/2025, © Cléophée Montizon

 

The evening ended with a screening of extracts from the documentary Un paradis en péril, directed in 2022 by Jacques-Olivier TROMPAS (JADA Productions) in co-production with IRD. The CLIPSSA project team participated in the film by conducting interviews on the study of climate change impacts and the transmission of scientific results to public policies and communities.

 

Towards a shared future

Combining scientific insights and citizen testimonials, Pacifique en transition provided a better understanding of the region’s climate challenges. In addition to raising awareness, the event opened up prospects for dialogue and cooperation between researchers, citizens and institutions to build sustainable, resilient responses rooted in local realities.

Speakers and organizers in front of the event poster, SPC hall, 03/26/2025, © Maeva Tesan

 

You can relive the evening in its entirety in the video below.

 

Appendices :

 

What future climate for New Caledonia?

• Link to the conference recording 
• Powerpoint presentation of the conference 

Pacific in transition: perspectives on climate

• Link to the conference recording
• Powerpoint presentation of the conference
• Dylan Leconte’s text FR – ENG 
• Georgina Sioremu’s text FR – ENG 

 End-of-study internship carried out by Marie-Amélie RICHEZ

ISTOM – School of international agro-development
April – August 2024
Supervisors: Catherine Sabinot (IRD), Maya Leclercq (IRD)

 

She defended her final thesis on October 17, 2024 in front of the ISTOM jury team, students from the same school as well as her supervisors. Marie-Amélie also participated in the animation of 2 restitutions to the stakeholders (farmers and institutional actors) of the CLIPSSA project in Tahiti.

Memory summary

In a context of climate change, the Pacific islands, which include French Polynesia, are facing sometimes extreme atmospheric phenomena impacting various sectors, including agriculture. The CLIPSSA project, into which this dissertation is integrated, focuses on the one hand on the production of new scientific data on the future climate of the South Pacific, and on the other hand on the analysis of sectoral impacts, in order to support strategies adaptation to climate change carried out by public authorities.

The thesis focuses on the resources mobilized by farmers on the Taravao plateau in order to learn and/or transmit their agricultural knowledge and know-how in a context of climate change. The results show that there is a diversity of material and intangible resources mobilized by farmers.

The mobilization of these resources results in various learnings which, in certain cases, allow farmers to find solutions adapted to their constraints, including the impacts of extreme weather phenomena affecting the Taravao plateau. This “local knowledge” is essential resources on which to support current and future climate change adaptation strategies.

Context of the study

French Polynesia, located in the heart of the Pacific Ocean, faces significant socio-economic and environmental challenges, particularly in the tertiary sector. Its economy is partly dependent on financial transfers from the French state, and the agricultural sector, although modest in terms of its contribution to GDP, plays a crucial role for the territory’s food security. The cultivated area is small, only 9% of the land surface is cultivated, or around 40,000 ha of usable agricultural area (UAA) (Dubreu et al., 2024).

In addition to the low proportion of cultivable land, the decline of the agricultural workforce, as well as land complexity, particularly linked to the joint ownership of land and access to land, pose obstacles to the expansion of agriculture. local agriculture. In addition to the aforementioned socio-economic constraints, there are environmental constraints, including the impacts of climate change which weigh on agriculture.
In Taravao, a commune in Tahiti, farmers produce a diversity of vegetables, tubers and flowers.

Although market gardening is the majority, the study presented also focuses on the production of vanilla and taro, a tropical tuber, respectively for the sensitivity of vanilla flowers and the resistance of taro to certain phenomena punctuating or governing the daily newspaper on the island. To ensure the productivity of their fields, farmers implement practices, adapt and readjust them over time, constraints encountered, etc. This adaptation is fueled by a process of learning and transmission of local knowledge and know-how in which we are interested.

 

Main results

The meetings and exchanges with 22 farmers organized over two and a half months in the field allowed the collection of information regarding the learning resources and transmission of local agricultural knowledge and know-how that they mobilize. There are intangible and material resources.

– Intangible resources are vectors of information and therefore of knowledge and know-how. It is through these resources that the circulation of one or more information takes place. This includes the human network (family, professional and friendly), Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and other information media (magazines, thesis, etc.), specialized groups such as associations, etc. and diploma courses. Finally, empiricism, or practical experience, appears to be an essential resource for learning knowledge and know-how.

– Material resources are physical resources which allow the implementation of a change in practice as they make the application of a solution possible (e.g. the tractor and its accessories for mechanized tillage, system irrigation for water supply to crops, etc.). There are various inputs which depend on the activity carried out, such as agricultural equipment (e.g. greenhouses, tractors, irrigation systems, etc.), chemical and natural inputs, i.e. fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides. , etc. and finally the water resource.

The daily or occasional mobilization of these resources contributes to the implementation of new agricultural practices by the farmers met on the Taravao plateau. Among the practices put in place, several aim to partially overcome meteorological constraints. Indeed, the farmers we met say they have to deal with the impact of heavy rains, periods of low rainfall accompanied by intense heat felt or even the shift in seasons with a later arrival of the cool season.

What practices are put in place to overcome these constraints?

 

Example of greenhouses to minimize the impacts of heavy rain

Rain is among the atmospheric phenomena impacting crops most cited by farmers. These cause significant impacts, particularly on market gardening and vanilla crops due to their intensity or duration. In the market gardening sector, a prolonged rainy episode can sometimes partially or totally compromise harvests, depending on the sensitivity of the crops to excess water. The rains also represent a threat to the production of vanilla pods due to the fragility of their flowers. Under the influence of rain, the pollen melts and manual pollination of the flowers becomes impossible. Without pollination no vanilla pod will be produced. During the rains, as many pods are lost as unpollinated flowers. Finally, through the speeches of farmers, taro does not appear as a production particularly sensitive to rain in comparison with market garden vegetables and vanilla; although the sensitivity of taros to humidity differs depending on the variety.

The farmers and vanilla growers met in Taravao are implementing various adaptation solutions, including the installation of greenhouses. Greenhouses help protect crops from the direct impact of rain by providing a waterproof cover. By freeing themselves from the rain constraint, it is possible for market gardeners to extend the production period of certain crops, notably tomatoes, the cultivation of which is extended over the hot season, a rainy season (southern summer of November to April).

This then ensures financial income over this period: “Taravao is renowned for being a very rainfed area. It’s raining a lot, a lot. As a result, in the rainy season, we cannot grow vegetables because it rains too much. All those who are in open fields like that, when they have rain, they have more vegetables. So, we installed greenhouses to be able to fill this gap. And here we are, in the rainy season, we can still produce.” (Market gardener, 30-35 years old). Please note, however, that installing a greenhouse represents an investment that not everyone is able to cover. The financial capital available to the farmer in question can therefore act as a limiting condition for the implementation of such a solution.

 

Conclusion

In addition to the example presented above, the study carried out in Taravo made it possible to highlight resources that are a priori commonly mobilized such as the family or, for a minority of farmers, specialized groups. These resources sometimes allow the modification of agricultural practices to overcome various constraints.

For example, economic constraints push certain taro producers to abandon the cultivation practices of their ancestors (mobilization of the lunar calendar, use of mechanical tools) in favor of less energy-intensive and time-consuming methods, thus allowing the profitability of cultivation. . Economic constraints are not the only thing weighing on agriculture. Indeed, although extreme atmospheric phenomena are not at the heart of farmers’ discussions and concerns, their impacts are real and observed.

It is clear that farmers are implementing various strategies and tactics to compensate, or at least mitigate, certain impacts of extreme atmospheric phenomena. The adoption of new practices is, however, conditioned by various factors including the economic factor which slows down possible material investments. Finally, let us note that this is indeed all the practices of farmers which make it possible to mitigate the effects of atmospheric phenomena.

Analyzing the modalities of adaptation of these practices within the framework of this dissertation makes it possible to nourish the CLIPSSA project, which aims, in the following stages, to co-construct with local public policies strategies to support adaptation to the climate change, based both on current climate simulations and local knowledge.

 

 

 

Part-time internship by Ilona Da Cruz Gerngross

University of New Caledonia
April to June 2024
Supervisor: Fleur Vallet (IRD)

 

The aim of this internship was to analyse and propose ways of improving the inclusion of young people in the consultation and development processes for the country’s climate change adaptation strategy in New Caledonia.
The study began by examining the local context of climate change, the political context in this area, and the place of young people in climate issues and New Caledonian society.

Context

The issue of climate change now occupies a central place in global debates, prompting reflection on its multi-dimensional impact. Young people are still often excluded from public debates, perceived as lacking the knowledge, reflection, experience, or ideas needed to play a legitimate role in society. However, their inclusion is crucial, as young people are both the most exposed to future climate change and the leaders of tomorrow. They have diverse vulnerabilities and strengths that it is important to consider in order to support fair and relevant adaptation.

Within the international framework for adaptation to climate change, countries are developing strategies to respond in a targeted way to adaptation needs tailored to the local context. Located in the South Pacific, a region where vulnerabilities to climate change are exacerbated by geographical and socio-economic factors, New Caledonia is threatened by consequences that remain insufficiently understood in some respects, both by the general population and by the scientific community.

In the complex context of New Caledonia, the Government has decided to draw up a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy to guide adaptation actions at the territorial level. This strategy could be implemented through a climate change adaptation plan. This initiative requires coordination between government, scientists, the private sector, and citizens.

Involving young people in adapting to climate change in New Caledonia

For this study, it was necessary to carry out a literature review on a global scale, an inventory of the place of young people in New Caledonia and the identification of actors with relevant potential to support the integration of young people.

On the one hand, the literature review showed that in the Pacific, numerous actions  have enabled young people to participate in adaptation strategies, notably in the Marshall Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji, with educational, training and capacity-building projects, adaptation and awareness-raising initiatives, or the training of young people to become community leaders.
The Maldives, Madagascar, and Costa Rica are also establishing educational programmes and public consultations, beach clean-up campaigns, and youth participation in climate automation and gender equality efforts.

New Caledonia has already implemented several plans, notably the Youth Plan, which aims to structure youth policies, encourage young people’s autonomy and responsibility, and promote their social recognition.

In addition, it is important to identify the various key players in this field to ensure the successful integration of young people into the adaptation process: political players, civil society organisations, research centres, the private sector, international bodies, funding agencies, existing platforms and initiatives.

Case studies: students at the University of New Caledonia

A survey of students at the University of New Caledonia was carried out and supplemented by literature reviews. In summary, students‘ levels of knowledge and personal involvement in local climate issues varied greatly from one individual surveyed to another, demonstrating the heterogeneity of young people but also a lack of specific education and awareness-raising adapted to this level according to the students’ perceptions. Finally, this study is an initial exploratory approach to students’ relationship with climate change.

Suggestions for integrating young people into the development of the country’s climate change adaptation strategy:

Suggestions for the Adaptation Plan were formulated based on literature reviews, comments from students and personal observations in the field. The objectives and benefits of these recommendations and the conditions for success can be found here.
– Create a Youth Climate Council
– Create a network of players working with and for young people
– Strengthen climate education and awareness-raising among young people
– Create and/or expand attractive events on climate issues
– Develop opportunities for young people to get involved and take action (Integrate young people as proactive players in society, benefit from the energy and skills of young people to generate and create a synergy of commitment: the more young people there are, the more commitment there will be)
– Effective, targeted communication (making information available to young people and improving their ability to grasp the issues).
In conclusion, the participation of students at the University of New Caledonia and young people in general is vital to building a resilient future in the face of climate challenges in New Caledonia. Young people’s commitment, creativity, and innovative visions are invaluable assets in identifying effective solutions tailored to local realities.