hugo.comes [at] uvsq.fr

I am a PhD candidate at the CEARC laboratory, Versailles Saint-Quentin University – Paris-Saclay University, under the supervision of Damien Serre and Charlotte Heinzelf. My doctoral research is part of the international RETRACE project (Resilience to Climate Risks, Lessons from Arctic and Pacific Communities), funded by the Belmont Forum and involving institutions from France, Norway, and the United States.

As part of this project, I engage in this research work with the inhabitants of the Marquesas Islands (Henua Enata), one of the five archipelagos of French Polynesia. My research focuses on the meaning and role of culture in the Marquesas, particularly how it shapes responses to change. More specifically, I am studying how local communities perceive and respond to environmental, economic, social, political and cultural transformations. To do this, I use narratives and representations as entry points to bring local perspectives into dialogue with climate science and resilience research. I also wish to work from key events that crystallise the various issues at stake, thus recognising the forms of resistance that exist, carried out by and for the inhabitants through these events.

Ultimately, my goal is to listen to residents, understand their perspectives, and bring their voices into dialogue with scientific work on resilience and climate change. By anchoring these discourses in the Marquesan context, this work aims to diversify understandings of resilience and climate change, highlight their plural forms, and contribute to more inclusive and context-sensitive approaches.