2025 Island Health & Sustainability Conference
Year: 2025
Type: other
Abstract: The second Island Health & Sustainability Conference will be held in-person at the Gump South Pacific Research Station (Moorea, French Polynesia) 17-21 November 2025. It brings together local research institutions (RESIPOL consortium) and international colleagues to focus on research needs and opportunities for/from French Polynesia’s Climate Plan and Innovation Strategy, including societal challenges in island food systems, energy, economy, land-sea resilience, and public health. Collaborative working sessions this year will address key scientific domains: (1) seaweed as a major feedstock for the blue bioeconomy (food/fertilizer, energy, medicines, cosmetics), (2) rori - sea cucumbers as an example of how indigenous biocultural heritage and advanced biotechnology can combine to benefit food, health, and environmental sectors, (3) mosquitoes as a tractable target for eliminating significant threats to human health and economic growth, (4) the carbon cycle as an indicator of ecological resilience and a potential source of financing (e.g., sustainable tourism carbon credits). Informed by these scientific domains, the conference will explore governance models and social-technological infrastructure (e.g., digital twins and AI) with local to planetary perspectives: how the research community can contribute to island-scale policy and management decisions, democratically engaging communities, and respecting the rights of nature. The conference will consider all of these topics through place-based use cases ranging in scale and complexity: Tetiaroa (Tetiaroa Society’s Conservation & Sustainable Use Plan), Moorea (e.g., the island’s Marine Management Plan), Tahiti (e.g., the federation of communes: Tereheamanu), and French Polynesia Exclusive Economic Zone (the world’s largest MPA ).
Source: iPlaces-Kotahi
Authors: Neil Davies, Hervé Bossin, Mayalen Zubia, Tamatoa Bambridge, Guillaume Mitta, Adrienne Correa, Simon Ducatez
Language: English
Subfield: Geography, Planning and Development
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7081274094