Paper short abstract:

Small islands are very vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change and the necessity to improve adaptation and resilience is a shared concern among scientists and local population. In heuristic fashion, this paper reflects on the potential of data science methods as a new “place” for discussion.

Paper long abstract:

Small islands are very vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change, which consequences impact marine and terrestrial biodiversity, human health, habitat and activities. Despite evidences of impacts in situ, epistemological tensions between scientists and local populations often slow down mitigation and adaptation processes.

Following an symmetrical anthropology approach drawing from Michel Callon (1986) the co-authors (a biologist and a human geographer) have observed that the necessity to improve adaptation and resilience of local socio-ecological systems is a shared concern among scientists and local population, who both care deeply about local biodiversity, environmental and cultural heritage, albeit not in the same way.

In an heuristic fashion, this paper wants to reflect on the potential of data science methods in environment modelisation as a new "place" both for preservation (of local and scientific knowledge), negotiation (of the different form of knowledge) and decision making (in a disaster mitigation perspective). The paper will focus on the ongoing development of two modelisation efforts conducted on and about the Polynesian Island of Moorea: 1. a proof of concept, coordinated through the new Moorea Ecostation Center for Advanced Studies to build a virtual representation of Moorea - the Moorea Island Digital Ecosystem Avatar. 2. The Ethnocode project which seeks to preserve biological and linguistic diversity by strengthening local capacities to transmit traditional knowledge in a common pedagogic framework.

Building on the concepts of epistemic cultures (Knorr Cetina, 2009) and attachment (Latour, 1999; Hache, 2011), we will discuss the opportunities, tensions and questions that arose from these projects.