Analysis of the organization in place to manage flood resilience in Tahiti urban area (French Polynesia), as a framework for risk observatory

There are real needs to innovate in risk management approaches to address issues of vulnerable territories such as French overseas territories identified as particularly exposed to natural hazards. This communication focusses on the Tahiti urban environment in French Polynesia, a dense urban area, subject to coastal and river flooding hazards. French Polynesia is a semi-autonomous territory with a specific institutional context. The distribution of competences, the main development perspectives, or the management plans are specific to this territory. In addition, significant gaps and weaknesses in risk management have been identified in a governmental report in 2018 (isolation, lack of management plans). Our objective is to define the conditions for a resilient territorial organization for flood risk management, to highlight structure, issues and weaknesses.

The method is based on a qualitative analysis of the current organization for the management of flood in Tahiti. For this purpose, we interviewed fifteen local actors in charge of flood risk management on the urban area (semi-directive interviews of about 45min). These actors belong to the different territorial levels (municipality, country and state). The aim was to collect information about their intervention capacity, the spatial inequalities of these interventions, but also the processes of communication and exchange between actors as well as questions inherent to competences share and local governance autonomy.

The results highlight more precisely the gaps in risk management, better identify the specificities of the actions articulations, and finally to suggest ways of fostering the resilience of organizations. More precisely, they highlight the concentration of resources for crisis management phases, while other activities, such as prevention and urban planning, remain largely undeveloped. This research also emphasizes the adaptation capacities of the territory by solidarity processes and the existence of a significant risk culture. Furthermore, this study makes it possible to establish a framework, identify strengths and weaknesses as well as the role and methods of each stakeholder. Taking into consideration the bicephalous dimension of local governance (between French Polynesia and the French state) is a major issue implying the improvement of coordination and consultation processes.

This approach provides a comprehensive view of the territory's organization to flood management and allows us to frame the operational conditions for the implementation of a resilience observatory helping long-term thinking and collaboration and, consequently, improving the effectiveness of the processes in place. This observatory will facilitate sharing and co-construction of data, cooperation, and also communication with decision makers.