The aim of this project is to build a Melanesian observatory of forest response to global change and an international research network working on the ecology, biogeography, and conservation of these forests. The backbone of this observatory will be the creation and maintenance of a network of long-term permanent forest plots. This network will cover a latitudinal gradient between the equator and the tropic of Capricorn and a gradient of disturbance by tropical cyclones. It will allow to better understand how those forest respond to changes in climate and disturbances.