Matthieu Juncker

For twenty years, Matthieu Juncker has been conducting field missions in the Pacific to study resources, marine ecosystems and the populations that depend on them. With a PhD in marine ecology (UNC) and ten years as director of the New Caledonia Environment Observatory (OEIL), he was the regional coordinator for coastal fishing and aquaculture for the PROTEGE project (CPS). Matthieu has dedicated his professional life to supporting decision-makers and local communities in the sustainable management of the environment and the rational exploitation of their natural resources. Author and co-author of some fifteen publications, Matthieu has published four scientific and educational books on the fauna and flora of the South Pacific. He co-founded and chaired the New Caledonian Audiovisual Commission (FFESSM). He was co-author and curator of the travelling exhibition "Pêcher pour exister" (Fishing for Survival) presented at the Tjibaou Cultural Centre in New Caledonia and Fiji (2017-2020). He has participated in various documentaries on underwater fauna and the ecological knowledge of fishermen, broadcast on local and national television channels.

I’m passionate about telling true stories grounded in science and experience. Using storytelling, images, and words to connect people emotionally to distant ecosystems and to transform scientific knowledge into shared understanding and responsibility.

Climate change is not only a scientific challenge; it is a human one. Numbers alone rarely change behaviors. What truly drives engagement is emotion, identification, and meaning. By sharing personal experiences from the field — living in exposed ecosystems, observing their transformations firsthand — science can become a bridge between knowledge and action. When science speaks to the heart, commitment follows.

My TED story began far from stages and screens. It started in remote atolls in the Pacific, where long periods of fieldwork taught me that understanding comes not only from data, but from presence. Living in vulnerable ecosystems, observing them day after day, I realized that science becomes powerful when it is experienced and shared as a human story.

People don’t know I’m good at translating complex scientific knowledge into stories that resonate with people who are not scientists. I enjoy finding the right words, images, and examples to make invisible processes visible and meaningful. This skill sits at the intersection of science, communication, and empathy, and it has become central to how I share my work.