The Caribbean Coastal Human-Environment Observatory and the TRAFIC scientific program, a participatory research device on the port fact in Guadeloupe archipelago (French West Indies)

Résumé En

Our contribution intends to describe an example of collaborations between scientific actors and actors of the territory, within the framework of a so-called participatory research. With the so-called “citizen” and “community” science, participatory research is one of the forms of collaboration between the academic and non-academic spheres. It involves upstream and downstream of the scientific research process. The “Observatoires Hommes-Milieux” (Human-Environment Observatories), created by the CNRS (French National Science Research Center) in the mid-2000s, are scientific production systems based in the territories. They offer the possibility of a fruitful dialogue between fundamental science and territorial issues. The OHM Littoral Caraïbe, centered on the Guadeloupe archipelago, is partly interested in the interactions between the maritime and port world and the environment. The functioning of the OHM has enabled the construction of a partnership with numerous stakeholders from the territory, such as the Maritime and Port Union of Guadeloupe, the French Maritime Department (Direction de la Mer, DM), various local authorities and non-profit associations. These collaborations have led to the development of a research project, co-financed by the “Fondation de France”: TRAFIC, Maritime Transport, Port Visits and Environmental Inequalities in the Caribbean. This project which is based on AIS data processing, would like to address the question of port vulnerability and ecological transitions in the shipping sector.