Correspondence, Delphine BARRAIS.
He has just settled on an islet in the Tuamotus. Matthieu Juncker, biologist, plans to live there isolated from the world for eight months. Its objective is to observe nature and report “the testimony of an environment on borrowed time”.
The adventurous biologist Matthieu Juncker is doing well. His expedition called “Against the tide, Ki mua ki te kōpape” (in Paumotu, the language of the archipelago) has entered the practical phase. The first news has just arrived. It is in good port on an islet of a Tuamotu atoll. With a small team, he managed to rebuild the shelter delivered as a kit and install solar panels to power the desalinator and the batteries for the audiovisual equipment. He has a shelter and he will now be able to concentrate on insulating the roof of his shelter, and on the overall guying of the structure which must be able to resist the passage of a wave if it were to submerge the island. He must also install his desalinator.
Read also: What do the islands of Tuvalu look like, whose inhabitants will be able to request climate asylum?
Observe and witness
After spending more than twenty years studying the environment of the Pacific Islands in a conventional way (he studied and worked in Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna and New Caledonia), Matthieu Juncker felt the need to get out of beaten track.
The objective of his expedition is to live alone and without supplies for 8 months, far from everything. It is also “to observe nature and report the testimony of an environment on borrowed time”. Matthieu Juncker has a doctorate in ecology and is sensitive to changes experienced by the environment. In his own way, he is sounding the alarm.
Read also: In search of corals resistant to global warming in French Polynesia
By remaining alone on the motu for 240 consecutive days, Matthieu Juncker will be able to observe the wildlife while limiting disturbance. He will be particularly interested in a bird called titi or Tuamotu Knight (Prosobonia parvirostris) and the pressures that weigh on it. This land bird endemic to the Tuamotu is threatened with extinction, with only a few hundred individuals remaining in the world.
To collect data, Matthieu Juncker will go beyond direct observations; he will use sensors, drones, cameras and audio recorders. The state of the habitat will also be assessed: vegetation, beach, reef. He was asked to also monitor turtles and assess the presence of plastics. During his fishing trips, he will be able to observe the underwater diversity or the behavior of sharks.
Read also: In Polynesia, how the “rahui”, ancestral sanctuary of ecosystems, serves biodiversity
“Living on an atoll can be learned”
Matthieu Juncker has lived in New Caledonia for 20 years. He chose his host site based on geographic criteria and biodiversity. He prepared for months and carried out two on-site scouting missions. He contacted the municipal council of the island’s municipality and its landowners. He met scientists, doctors, rescuers, inhabitants of the atoll, members of associations or institutions…
Despite, or perhaps because of, his experience, he is fully aware of the risks. “Living on an atoll can be learned. » He also knows that he will have to face loneliness. “I would have to tame it by accepting moments of great difficulty and discouragement. » Everything has been carefully and patiently studied, nothing has been left to chance. “I doubled or tripled everything, there’s really no room for error. » In his luggage he has audiovisual equipment, but also medical equipment, fishing equipment, a sailing and pedal kayak, emergency food reserves, etc.
Read also: “I had time to think”: this 21-year-old Breton isolates himself on a desert island at the end of the world
Matthieu Juncker would like to draw scientific publications from his expedition. He announces a documentary, a book, an exhibition. A Facebook page entitled “Against the flow / Matthieu Juncker” has already been opened to follow his adventure live, or almost. Indeed, he has access to satellite communication, but he has promised to only use it as a last resort. Exchanges are therefore extremely limited.
Read also: Here are the most breathtaking underwater photographs of the year
The scientist, diver, photographer, underwater hunter, the passionate man, is now completely engaged. Shortly before leaving he hoped to be able “be up to the task”. Answer in December.
