Maëlle Calandra

the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD)

Tongoa was one of the worst-hit islands in Vanuatu when it was struck on 13 March 2015 by Cyclone Pam, the most severe climatic event recorded in the South Pacific for several decades. Nearly all of the buildings on Tongoa were damaged by winds and flooding. However, exceptional this cyclone might have been, such disruptive events are frequent and...

This introduction sets out some of the key themes addressed by the papers in the special issue on ‘Confronting the Naturalness of Disaster in the Pacific’. Disasters are now widely understood not as ‘natural’ phenomena but as events or processes that unfold at the intersection between natural or artificial hazards and human populations. We review s...

Based on the history of crops diversity in Tongoa Island (Central Vanuatu) which is regularly hit by “natural” disasters, as illustrated by tropical cyclone Pam in March 2015 and Harold in April 2020, this article seeks to highlight the singularity of the local horticulture. To this end, after recalling the geographical origin of the cultivated pla...

On March 13th–14th 2015, Cyclone Pam swept through the archipelago of Vanuatu with wind speeds exceeding those recorded anywhere in the South Pacific region since the 1980s. The Southern and central parts of the country were particularly affected. On Tongoa, one of the most afflicted islands, material damages were extensive though no death was repo...

Ce chapitre a pour ambition de mettre en évidence l’importance de la prise en considération des différents discours formulés par ceux qui ont été frappés par des catastrophes dites « climatiques ». Leur analyse met en lumière les différentes façons dont les événements destructeurs sont vécus et pensés localement et peut également suggérer des piste...

Cet article questionne l’influence des réseaux sociaux sur la réponse humanitaire lors de la crise éruptive du Manaro Voui, à Ambae (Vanuatu, Pacifique sud), entre 2017 et 2018. Il se fonde sur l’analyse des publications parues sur le groupe Facebook « Yumi toktok stret » et sur des données ethnographiques collectées en 2018, à Port-Vila, au sein d...

This paper presents a transdisciplinary study focusing on the socio-ecological mechanisms at play in the alteration of Moorea’s (French Polynesia) coastline. Building on a previous study synthesizing the results from monitoring efforts of the island’s coastline from 1977 to 2018, we offer a joint analysis of scientific and local perceptions of coas...

Our study highlights the effect of the macroalgae Asparagopsis taxiformis on the feeding behaviour of the tropical surgeonfish Acanthurus triostegus. The presence of A. taxiformis chemical cues reduced A. triostegus feeding, suggesting that the presence of this algae could affect not only the survival of fish in the post‐larval stage, but also alte...

While many monitoring programs on coral reefs (for lagoons and outer slopes) exist in the South Pacific, there are no observatories dedicated to monitoring the coastline, a small strip of land and sea upon which many environmental and economic issues coincide. The present study compares the extent of coastline modification at Moorea Island (French...

On Tongoa Island, a small island located in the central Shepherd’s archipelago in Vanuatu, the sea is considered as an extension of the land. Men own coastal plots (natasi) and allotments on the land (roara), on which they rely to feed their families. Our ethnographic research in Kurumampe village shows that sea plots are managed and perceived like...

Fondée sur dix-sept mois d’enquête ethnographique à Tongoa (entre 2013 et 2015), une île du Vanuatu, cette thèse et la réflexion qui la sous-tend portent sur les espaces travaillés, en mer comme sur terre. Elle prend comme fil conducteur les jardins de subsistance et met en évidence les relations qu’entretiennent les habitants de l’île, tant entre...

This paper would like to reflect on the contributions of picture drawing within the framework of ethnographic research about various aspects of nature. It uses a corpus of hundred of collected drawings during the years 2011 and 2012, on Tongoa and Tanna, two volcanic islands of Vanuatu. The villagers have accepted to draw their natural environment...