(Coordination: Sophie Cravatte (IRD), Catherine Sabinot (IRD), Guillaume Mitta (IFREMER))
Marine heatwaves are prolonged episodes of extreme ocean temperatures that can have devastating effects on marine ecosystems, such as massive coral bleaching, coastal species mortality, and toxic algal blooms. The intensity and frequency of marine heatwaves are expected to increase in the future, posing a growing threat to island societies that heavily rely on marine resources.
MaHeWa is an interdisciplinary project funded for four years (2024–2028) by the French National Research Agency (ANR) as part of the Priority Research Program “Ocean and Climate: An Ocean of Solutions.”
This project brings together a consortium of climatologists, oceanographers, biologists, anthropologists, and economists from France and overseas institutes and universities. These teams collaborate to make significant advances in understanding the characteristics and impacts of marine heatwaves on socio-ecological systems in Pacific Overseas Territories.
MaHeWa will study:
Throughout the project, MaHeWa will facilitate close collaboration between scientists and the project’s partner territorial managers responsible for health and marine resources.
As part of her fifth and final year at ISTOM, an engineering school in agro-development based in Angers, France, where she specialized in the TRAME advanced study program (Territories, Risks, Planning and Environment), Maile is completing a six-month end-of-studies internship within the MaHeWa project.
Marquisar is a Kali’na geographer whose work focuses on biocultural relationships between societies and coastal and maritime spaces, particularly on the Guiana Plateau. In her research, she adopts an interdisciplinary and systemic approach to address scientific questions while taking into account contemporary societal challenges.
Windmanagdé Thomas Sawadogo is an engineering student in data analysis and processing and will join the MaHeWa project as part of his Master’s internship starting on March 1, 2026. He is currently enrolled in a Master’s program in Economic Analysis of Environmental, Marine, and Energy Projects (APEME), with a strong interest in public decision-making, investment under uncertainty, and the economic evaluation of climate adaptation policies.
