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PLASMA (Microplastic pollution in the Mayotte lagoon): participatory science to access closed investigation areas
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Researchers from the PLASMA project used participatory science with island school students to assess microplastic pollution in the rivers and lagoon of Mayotte, France, combining 'low tech' filter construction and river sampling by students with ethnographic surveys in underserved communities. The dual approach established a scientific baseline for microplastic contamination in rivers feeding the lagoon while revealing social relationships with waste management in areas otherwise inaccessible to researchers due to insecurity.
Since 2021, the Plasma project, led by IRD-MIO (Marseille), has aimed to better understand, on the one hand, the state of microplastic pollution in the Mayotte lagoon; on the other hand, the lagoon dynamics of this pollution (dispersion and accumulation zones, etc.), but also their origins (oceanic, terrestrial). In this context and in line with the philosophy of Natural Parks in general (information, awareness-raising) and that of Mayotte in particular (importance of the scale of the land-sea continuum), participatory science work was carried out with students from schools on the island, combining two types of approach:. one, in environmental science, relating to microplastic pollution in rivers: based on "low tech" tools built by the students themselves (microplastic filters), river samples were taken and counts made. A scientific state of the environment is thus established, by the students themselves and the link between river and lagoon clearly established.. the other modality, of an ethnographic nature, consists of conducting surveys, in the field, still by the students, in areas that are often inaccessible due to insecurity (shanty towns). This immersion, enabled by these "student-passers", reveals many lessons about social relationships with waste, water use and "small arrangements with the environment" built in the daily lives of these populations.A renewed way of advancing knowledge in environments under constraints and too little known.
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Plasma Project
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The PLASMA project is a multidisciplinary study of microplastic pollution in the Mayotte lagoon, one of the world's most biodiverse but increasingly threatened marine environments. Initial results characterize microplastic abundance, polymer types, and spatial distribution in the lagoon, providing a baseline for an ecosystem facing growing human population pressure.
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