The island swallowed by the sea

The village of Le Prêcheur, whose coastline stretches not far from Mount Pelée, on the top of the Caribbean coast of Martinique, has already experienced it all: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mudslides, cyclones, huge waves engulfing fishermen's shelters... Today, its inhabitants are facing a more insidious threat. Their coastline is one of those that is eroding the fastest on the island. A phenomenon aggravated by the slow rise in sea level linked to global warming.

Faced with this unequal fight against the sea, the municipality has opted to move the most exposed inhabitants to higher ground, to shelter them sustainably. This visionary and ambitious rebuilding project could serve as a model for other French municipalities. Innovative, it plans in particular to create new circular economy sectors and to use bio-sourced materials, such as bagasse (sugar cane residue) or clay from the island's quarries, to no longer depend entirely on mainland France for construction materials and reduce the ecological footprint of housing for future climate displaced people from Martinique.

Text : Catherine Monnet