New Research Collaboration: TE MOANA – Environmental and Social Transformations in the Pacific

1 July 2026

Our team member Tamatoa Tepuhiarii joins the TE MOANA project as an Associate Researcher, contributing an anthropological perspective on the impacts of nuclear testing. The project analyzes the environmental and social transformations of the Pacific Ocean during the era of French nuclear testing in French Polynesia, together with the co-construction of knowledge produced about this environment. Conducted as part of the Océans program of the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, TE MOANA examines the links between ecological degradation, representations of the ocean, and sociopolitical dynamics since the establishment of the Pacific Experimentation Center (CEP).

While the environmental consequences of the CEP — damage to marine ecosystems, pollution, and associated infrastructure — have received growing attention, they are only now beginning to be studied from a systemic perspective. The project examines these transformations in their full diversity, in dialogue with Indigenous, activist, and scientific knowledge, against a backdrop of increasing concern over ocean conservation and climate change.

Moving beyond an analysis centered solely on radionuclides, TE MOANA adopts a broader approach to ocean degradation structured around three thematic areas: ciguatera and its impacts on the food chain, forms of intentional marine pollution across different spatial and temporal scales, and the sociocultural dimensions of marine species in Oceanic societies within the economic and scientific frameworks of the CEP. The project draws on field surveys, archival research, and an interdisciplinary approach spanning the social sciences, environmental sciences, physics, Earth sciences, and medical sciences, in collaboration with schools and organizations in French Polynesia.

The project is led by Dr. Benjamin Furst (UHA–CRESAT), specializing in environmental history and the transformations of the CEP in French Polynesia, and Manatea Taiairu (UPF – MSH-P), focusing on the geopolitics of the CEP and international relations. In addition to Tamatoa Tepuhiarii, Associate Researchers include Dr. Chris R. Hill (University of South Wales), who contributes sociohistorical analysis of the CEP and its actors. The project further benefits from contributions by Florence Mury, Daisaku Yamamoto, Marie Brualla-Challet, Teva Meyer, Mélanie Edeline, and other scientific partners.

TE MOANA includes a substantial outreach component, encompassing the development of educational resources, student engagement activities, a photography exhibition, and a short film, alongside the establishment of scientific and institutional collaborations with other initiatives addressing the legacy of the CEP. The program's operational launch is scheduled for January 2026, with an initial workshop planned for mid-year.