Due to their location (intertropical and hyperoceanic), the increase in human stakes (population, infrastructure, production systems) in low-lying coastal areas, and climate-dependent economies, tropical islands are highly exposed to weather-marine hazards and on the front line of the impacts of climate change (rising sea levels, intensification of intense rainfall events and intense cyclones, increase in extreme sea levels and the frequency of marine heat waves). Recent studies project a sharp increase in climate-related coastal risks in these territories during this century. However, there are significant knowledge gaps on the physical processes controlling hazards, on the impacts of weather-marine events, and on the effectiveness and viability of the adaptation solutions applied. FUTURISKS aims to fill these gaps by focusing on the tropical island territories of French Overseas Territories. This project contributes to improving understanding of (i) the processes that control coastal erosion and marine submersion, (ii) the cascading impacts and amplification phenomena at play in combined weather-marine events, and (iii) policies for reducing risks and adapting to climate change in these territories. It provides concrete support to public stakeholders in observing weather-marine phenomena and their impacts, and in designing, implementing and evaluating policies and actions for reducing risks and adapting to climate change.
