General information
Offer title : M/F Postdoc position “Potential and implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) in a highly urbanised coastal environment”” (H/F)
Reference : UMR7300-VALSAL-007
Number of position : 1
Workplace : AIX EN PROVENCE
Date of publication : 10 October 2024
Type of Contract : FTC Scientist
Contract Period : 24 months
Expected date of employment : 1 December 2024
Proportion of work : Full time
Remuneration : Around € 3,081 gross per month
Desired level of education : Niveau 8 – (Doctorat)
Experience required : Indifferent
Section(s) CN : Spaces, territories and societies
Missions
The MedCoast Living Lab of the SOLUBIOD national research programme (https://www.pepr-solubiod.fr/) aims to study and evaluate nature-based solutions (NBS) in a coastal context. It is part of the Human-Environment Mediterranean Coasts (OHM Littoral méditerranéen, an interdisciplinary research initiative of the CNRS Ecology and Environment, dedicated to the study of highly developed coastal socio-ecosystems on the French Mediterranean coast). In this context, the researcher will be tasked with testing the NBS concept in the specific context of the coastline of a large city, which is by definition highly artificialized and subject to strong pressures. The research will focus on specific coastal problems exacerbated by the urban environment, whether biophysical (erosion, submersion, rise in sea level, warming of coastal waters, etc.) and/or of anthropogenic origin (liquid and solid discharges at sea, biomass extraction, recreational use, invasive marine species, etc.). It will seek to identify and evaluate solutions that have been devised or already implemented to remedy the situation, based on living organisms and biodiversity. In particular, the research will involve 1) making an inventory of NBS or similar initiatives in the specific context of large coastal cities; 2) deconstructing the concept of NBS in this context with scientists from different disciplines; 3) questioning local public action in the case of Marseille; 4) experimenting and/or monitoring the testing of actions in the Marseille area.
Activities
The researcher will be responsible for :
1) Establishing a state of knowledge (state of the scientific art and state of experiments conducted in a highly urbanised coastal context). The aim will be to identify who is doing what and how, to deal with what problem, at what cost, by carrying out: i) a review of the scientific literature, and ii) a review of NBS experiments in the context of major cities, based on an internet search.
2) To carry out a survey at a local scale (on the Marseille coast) to understand the knowledge, practices and representations of NBS in a highly urbanised coastal environment (NBS, hybrid NBS, grey solutions). The approach may include: identifying initiatives that have already been carried out locally (background, initiator, issues addressed, resources used, evaluation); interviewing coastal environment managers and scientists in the fields of ecology, biology, geography, social psychology and environmental law.
3) To run a collective intelligence workshop bringing together managers, scientists, technical partners who design/promote solutions, and residents, at a site of interest on the Marseille coast, with a view to developing an action (or a set of actions) in the spirit of NBS to resolve a difficulty/problem. This last aspect (design and implementation) will be the subject of exchanges with two other researchers working on coastal NBS within the MedCoast Living Lab.
Skills
The candidate should hold a doctorate, preferably but not necessarily in the humanities and social sciences, which has focused on an environmental issue, ideally in a coastal environment. Knowledge of issues specific to the management and adaptation of coastal landscapes and territories will be a plus. He/she should have knowledge of or at least be familiar with:
– methodologies for designing, conducting and analysing social surveys using interviews and questionnaires;
– the theoretical framework of social representations;
– methods for observing and analysing participatory processes;
– spatial data management and analysis.
More generally, candidates must
– have a good aptitude for teamwork
– Be interested in multidisciplinary approaches;
– Have a good command of scientific report writing;
– Fluency in English, particularly in reading and writing scientific documents;
– Proficiency in interview data processing methods and software such as Nvivo, Sonal, IRaMuTeQ, Alceste, TXM, etc.
Previous project management experience would be a plus.
Work Context
The researcher will be based in the ESPACE laboratory (Étude des Structures, des Processus d’Adaptation et des Changements de l’Espace), a joint research unit of the CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, Avignon University and the UniversitĂ© CĂ´te d’Azur. ESPACE is a multi-disciplinary research unit whose main areas of research are space-nature-society interactions in environmental issues and urban systems, and the theories, models and methods of spatial analysis.
The person recruited will be based at the Aix-Marseille UniversitĂ© site of ESPACE, located at the TechnopĂ´le de l’environnement Arbois MĂ©diterranĂ©e – BP80 – 13545 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 4. He/she will work under the supervision of Samuel Robert, deputy director of ESPACE and co-manager of the OHM Littoral mĂ©diterranĂ©en, and Marie-Laure Apers-TrĂ©mĂ©lo, OHM data manager. He/she will interact closely with all the project members, within the MEDCOAST Living Lab and within the SOLUBIOD Living Lab network. He/she will take part in ESPACE scientific activities (seminars, conferences, etc.) and will benefit from the site’s facilities and services (IT equipment, on-site catering).
The position is located in a sector under the protection of scientific and technical potential (PPST), and therefore requires, in accordance with the regulations, that your arrival is authorized by the competent authority of the MESR.
Constraints and risks
Short trips within France are to be expected. Travel and accommodation costs for the duration of the assignments will be covered by the project.
