Participatory Science and Citizens, between Normative Communication and Local Adaptability
Résumé
This research is part of an EU funded RISE (Research and Innovation Staff Exchange) entitled FALAH (Family farming, Lifestyle, Agriculture and Health in the Pacific Islands), led by the University of New Caledonia. It contributes to the reflection on epistemological and methodological issues of major scientific projects. It aims to examine the place granted to indigenous peoples and private initiative in the production of actionable knowledge by major research programs on climate change issues. More specifically, the aim of this research is to revisit the usual modes of operation, which can be characterized as top-down, in order to adopt more participatory (bottom-up) approaches that give non-professionals in research - local populations in particular - a voice (empowerment). However, the very nature of interactive systems, the ways in which these systems are used to report scientific information to the public and the media coverage of climate change issues are crucial to help people understand or undertake action on climate change. Understanding the discrepancies between the normative communication of public policies and the media communicating on climate change on one side and the perceptions and representations of the different inhabitants of the territory on another side is one of the key points of this research in order to better understand the phenomena of resilience and adaptation of the inhabitants through appropriate behavior.