Call for Participants to a Workshop aimed at discussing “the biophysical, perceived and governance frontiers of mangrove socio-ecological systems”
Objectives:
The objectives are twofold:
– Discuss the theme of the frontiers of mangrove systems in order to improve our understanding of what mangrove systems embody for co-designing their future.
– Produce an interdisciplinary scientific article confronting the various approaches to this question.
Who:
International researchers with experience in diverse mangrove regions through a number of projects and expertise to significantly contribute to the subject based on personal research collection and analysis of data.
When and where:
The workshop will take place from Tuesday 5th afternoon (arrival day, lunch and dinner) to Tuesday 12th morning of October 2021 at the Hotel Case Rocher, Dzaoudzi (Mayotte) France.
Background, challenges and aims:
Mukherjee et al. (2014) clarified our understanding of “What is a mangrove ecosystem?” using expert knowledge. Their work gave rise to a consensual definition based on ecological criteria, including a list of mangrove species and common faunal groups. Moving beyond this ecosystem-oriented focus, the perspective of mangrove socio-ecological systems implies discussing what the biophysical, perceived and governance frontiers of mangrove systems are.
The objective of the workshop is to discuss concepts and notions regarding how mangroves are delimited.
What is at stake when these frontiers are defined by scientific disciplines or stakeholders (experts, managers, users)? What are the consequences of these different delimitations for conceiving and perceiving what mangroves are and how to govern them? These questions will be dealt with by exploring the following themes:
– Spatio-temporal issues, varying dynamics across regions
– The highly dynamic nature of some mangroves: is the boundary the forest or the muddy wetland where trees could (re)grow?
– Interface area, porous area, marginal area ;
– Ecotones, fluxes, connectivity ;
– Scientific knowledge versus local knowledge of the mangrove frontiers;
– Regulatory frontiers and governance, multi-layered regulations or absence thereof, competition between uses, tensions between values, trade-off between policies and mechanisms ;
– Future frontiers (climate change)
Workshop format:
The workshop will cover six full days’ worth of work (08:30-16:30) over eight days and will include an icebreaker on the first evening, one day off, and a closing dinner.
– Oct. 5th (starting at noon) :
o Presentation by participants of their expertise on mangroves
o Icebreaker at sunset over the lagoon.
– Oct. 6th : Fieldwork in two mangrove sites illustrating some of the issues at stake in Mayotte
– Oct. 7th : Plenary sessions discussing the various themes identified as central to the question of mangrove frontiers in different disciplines
– Oct. 8th: Visit to Mayotte lagoon (day off)
– Oct. 9th
– Oct. 11th : group work on the article and closing dinner- Oct. 12th (closing at noon) :
o organising distance work for article production by workshop participants
o departure
Workshop organizers:
Prof. Edward Anthony, Aix Marseille Univ., CEREGE laboratory; background in mangrove geomorphology and sediment dynamics, and their connectivity with the socio-ecological dimension. Field sites: West Africa, Amazon-influenced Guianas coast of South America, large tropical deltas in Asia (Mékong, Ayeyarwady), smaller African deltas (Volta, Rufiji, Senegal).
Dr Marie-Christine Cormier-Salem, IRD – PALOC laboratory; background in environmental history, human geography and political ecology; mangrove perception, use and governance; values of nature; local strategies to face global change; effects of public policies ; environmental justice; local knowledge with a gender lens. Field sites: West Africa, Vietnam
Dr Claire Golléty, Mayotte University – MARBEC laboratory; background in biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships of intertidal vegetated ecosystems, ecosystem services and intertidal invertebrate species distribution. Field sites: Mayotte, Europa Island, Ibo Island (Mozambique).
Dr Esméralda Longépée, Mayotte University – ESPACE DEV laboratory; background in human and environmental geography, relationships between people and mangrove ecosystems through their local ecological knowledge, uses and perceptions. Field sites: Mayotte
Dr Christophe Proisy, IRD – AMAP laboratory; background in remote sensing of mangrove forest. Field sites: French Guiana, Brazil, Indonesia and India.
Funding:
The workshop is financially supported by the Fondation de France and the Centre Universitaire de Formation et de Recherche de Mayotte. Further support is provided by the Conservatoire de l’espace littoral et des rivages lacustres and the Parc Naturel Marin de Mayotte.
Meals, field trip and lagoon outing:
Lunch meals, the mangrove field trips, the icebreaker and closing dinner will be free of charge. Dinners and the lagoon outing are at the expense of participants.
Travel and/or hotel accommodation (7 nights in two preferred choices) will be covered for a limited number of selected participants.
How to apply:
Please submit an application comprising two items:
– 1: Fill in the online form.
– 2: In addition to the online template, applicants must email (esmeralda.longepee@univ-mayotte.fr AND claire.gollety@univ-mayotte.fr) the following: full address/contact information, a short letter (up to one A4 page) explaining motivation for attending and envisaged contribution to the workshop, and a short CV (2 pages). If you require financial support, please add a short (up to half A4 page) justification.
Deadline for applications: 17th June 2021
Decision and notification: 23st June 2021
