Adaptive capacity in coastal zone: the case of Gulf du Morbihan, France

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C da Cunha and L Labeyrie

University of Versailles Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), France
Clim’actions Bretagne Sud, France

: Expert Opin Environ Biol

Abstract

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This paper is focussed on experimentation lead on the Gulf of Morbihan within the framework of the European project Co-cli-serv. We aim to develop and explore novel ways to transform state-of-the-art climate science into action-oriented place-based climate services that can be integrated with social understandings and practices of coping with change at the local scale in five representative case studies across NW Europe. On the Gulf of Morbihan case study, the hybrid site-governance group (scientists (environmental studies and climate modelling from UVSQ), local actors local partners (Clim’action Bretagne Sud and Gulf of Morbihan Regional National Park and artists) worked to structure and design an initial mapping of narratives for the Gulf of Morbihan, on climate change and related mitigation and adaptation strategies. We brought to a common pool a series of data from the local partners and a preliminary academic literature review focused on the Gulf of Morbihan, in order to pre-established narratives lines. Then, we conducted life stories with a range of major economic activities present in the Gulf and achieved a site exploration to understand past, present and future changes in the Gulf of Morbihan. By doing so, we wanted to look at the characteristics of the geographical site, to determine whether pre-established narratives lines were still relevant, and to identify community priorities and gaps to be filled. We developed narratives, which play a crucial role in connecting private and public realms, as well as scientific and local perceptions of the ‘weather worlds’ we commonly inhabit. In a second time, incremental and community-led visionbased scenarios will be developed to arrive at common framings of the climate and other changes affecting a place, and to identify the most credible, salient and legitimate climate information to support adaptation and planning.

Biography

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Charlotte Da Cunha is an Associate Professor in Economics at the UVSQ since 2012, and since 2016 she is Deputy Director of the OVSQ. She has a multidisciplinary academic curriculum guided by the recognition of interdisciplinarity as a necessary collaborative practice between disciplines and earned a doctorate in economics at UVSQ (November 2010). With a focus on participatory methods and practices, her scientific activity is centered on facilitating transdisciplinary dynamic, the development of co-construction governance processes and knowledge, and the evaluation of their effects, related to issues of adaptation in coastal and agricultural areas. She mobilizes qualitative research tools and methods (semi-structured interview, questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions, qualitative analysis software, etc.). Her application areas are adaptation of coastal community to impacts of climate change and the multifunctionality of agriculture in peri-urban areas.