UTOPI – UMR CNRS 5311, Université Toulouse – Jean Jaurès, France.
Mountain tourism destinations are particularly exposed to the effects of climate change, including declining snow cover, glacier retreat, increasing risks of extreme events, growing pressure on water resources, wildfires, and changing patterns of tourism visitation.
In response to these challenges, mountain destinations are developing a wide range of adaptation strategies, including snowmaking, tourism diversification, infrastructure transformation, and visitor management.
However, these adaptations are neither socially nor spatially neutral. They can unevenly redistribute risks, costs, resources, opportunities, and access to mountain areas.
This PhD project will therefore investigate how successive climate change adaptation pathways reshape social and spatial inequalities in mountain tourism destinations. In particular, it will examine who benefits from adaptation, who bears its costs, who participates in decision-making, and whose needs, values, and knowledge are taken into account.
The research will be based on a comparison between France and Québec. Several types of case studies may be considered, including ski resorts facing declining snow reliability, natural sites or mountain lakes experiencing high visitor pressure, and territories affected by water scarcity or changing wildfire risks.
The research will combine the reconstruction of past adaptation pathways, analysis through the different dimensions of climate justice, and prospective work conducted with local stakeholders.
Key Information
- Discipline: Geography
- Host research unit: UTOPI – UMR CNRS 5311, Université Toulouse – Jean Jaurès, France
- Supervisor: Emmanuel Salim
- International co-supervisor: Dominic Lapointe, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
- Programme: BEST – Between Earth and Sky in Toulouse, MSCA COFUND
- Funding: Fully funded doctoral contract
- International dimension: Fieldwork in France and Québec, with the possibility of spending up to 12 months at UQAM
- PhD start date: September 2027
Candidate Profile
Applicants should hold a Master’s degree in geography, environmental studies, tourism, or a closely related discipline, with a strong interest in climate change adaptation, territorial transformations, and socio-spatial justice.
A good command of qualitative research methods is expected, particularly semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and case-study approaches. Experience with mixed methods, spatial analysis, or GIS would be an asset. Good proficiency in both French and English is required.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible, applicants must:
- hold a Master’s degree or equivalent qualification by the application deadline;
- not already hold a doctoral degree;
- comply with the MSCA mobility rule: applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity in France for more than 12 months during the 36 months immediately preceding the application deadline.
How to Apply
Application deadline: 23 November 2026 at 12:00 CET
Applications must be submitted through the BEST programme application platform.
General information about the BEST programme can be found here.
Contact: best-helpdesk@utoulouse.fr