The project is organized into 5 interconnected Work Packages (WPs) and cross-cutting tasks (CCTs), which outline the transdisciplinary approaches for co-developing tools and solutions with managers.
WPs 1, 2, and 3 aim to assess socio-ecological risks. They focus on quantifying past and future thermal exposure for Pacific Overseas Territories (WP1), studying the sensitivity of coral reefs and iconic aquaculture species to extreme thermal stress (WP2), and evaluating the vulnerability of island societies (WP3). These three WPs involve close collaboration among oceanographers, climatologists, biologists, and environmental anthropologists to address these issues at shared sites in New Caledonia and French Polynesia.
The results from these studies will form the foundation for WPs 4, 5, and the cross-cutting tasks (CCTs), which will focus on designing solutions and defining pathways to enhance climate resilience in collaboration with territorial managers, local associations, and communities. WP4 will develop decision-support tools, such as marine heatwave (MHW) alert bulletins, long-term vulnerability maps, and real-time alert maps, in close cooperation with operational forecasting centers and data services to ensure the tools’ dissemination and sustainability. WP5 will test a range of innovative socio-ecological adaptation solutions to improve coral restoration success, enhance the thermal tolerance of aquaculture species, and prevent dramatic ecological shifts from coral to algal dominance.
Finally, the CCTs will involve sustainability science experts and marine and health managers co-designing these tools, testing solutions, identifying effective management options in the event of an MHW crisis, and integrating risk management into public policies.
