Îles Glorieuses

Îles Glorieuses
NASA image of the Îles Glorieuses
Waters	Indian Ocean
Geographical location	11 ° 35 ′  S , 47 ° 18 ′  E Coordinates: 11 ° 35 ′  S , 47 ° 18 ′  E
Number of islands	5
Main island	Grande Glorieuse
Land area	7 km²
Lagoon area	29.6 km²
Residents	15 (military)
Map of the Îles Glorieuses

The Îles Glorieuses (briefly also les Glorieuses ; also Glorioso Islands ; German  about "glorious islands" ) are an uninhabited tropical island group with a total area of ​​about 7 km² in the Indian Ocean , north of Madagascar at the northern end of the Mozambique Strait . Politically, they belong to the Îles Éparses , a district of the French overseas territory Terres australes et antarctiques françaises .

geography

The Îles Glorieuses are located in the western Indian Ocean, around 210 km northeast of Cap d'Ambre, the northern tip of Madagascar, and around 250 km northeast of Dzaoudzi on Mayotte . The archipelago consists of two islands, the lush Grande Glorieuse and the Île du Lys , as well as several rocky islands such as the two Roches Vertes or the Île aux Crabes . The islands, surrounded by an extensive coral reef, are flat, parts of the lagoon fall dry at low tide. The oval Grande Glorieuse, about 2.3 km in diameter, is composed mainly of sand and beach rock, with some limestone rocks on the south coast, which are interpreted as the remains of earlier coral reefs. The island is heavily forested, partly as a result of the abandoned coconut plantation, and continuously surrounded by a white sandy beach. The dunes in the north and northeast reach a height of 14  m . The Île du Lys has far less vegetation and consists mainly of limestone rocks. It is elongated, about 600 m long and surrounded by large sandbanks that are dry at low tide.

climate

The climate is tropical and shows only slight temperature fluctuations over the course of the year. From May to November the archipelago is subject to the influence of the southeast trade winds ; During this time the average temperatures are between 24.8 and 27.7 ° C, the relative humidity is 75–81%. During the dry season from September to November there is little rainfall. The northwest monsoon dominates from December to April ; With high humidity (81–84%) and average temperatures of around 28 ° C, there is considerable rainfall of around 100 to over 200 mm per month. During the warm season, the islands are occasionally hit by tropical cyclones.

Îles Glorieuses
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     217   31 25th     183   31 25th     167   31 25th     126   31 25th     73   30th 24     61   29 23     52   28 22nd     50   28 22nd     16   28 22nd     13   29 24     20th   30th 25th     132   31 25th Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: wetterkontor.de

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Îles Glorieuses Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 30.8 31.0 31.2 30.8 29.9 28.5 27.9 27.8 28.4 29.3 30.3 30.9 O 29.7 Min. Temperature (° C) 24.8 24.9 25.0 25.1 23.9 22.5 21.5 21.5 22.4 23.7 24.5 24.6 O 23.7 Precipitation ( mm ) 217 183 167 126 73 61 52 50 16 13 20th 132 Σ 1.110 Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 7.0 6.9 7.4 8.3 8.6 8.1 8.1 9.0 8.9 9.3 9.6 8.4 O 8.3 Rainy days ( d ) 12 11 11 7th 8th 6th 6th 6th 4th 4th 3 7th Σ 85 Humidity ( % ) 83 84 84 81 78 75 76 76 76 76 81 82 O 79.3 Source: wetterkontor.de

Flora and fauna

The flora and fauna of the islands have been greatly influenced by the human presence in the 19th and 20th centuries. The originally existing forest on the Grande Glorieuse had to give way to a coconut plantation in 1921. The mangrove populations of the genus Pemphis that previously existed on the Île du Lys, which was less affected by human activities, have also disappeared, with the exception of small remains. The vegetation there today is characterized by purslane , velvet leaf , ficus and portia tree .

The terrestrial fauna of the Îles Glorieuses consists of 58 species of arthropods (including 4 endemic ) and 4 types of reptiles (including one endemic). The endemic skinkart Flexiseps valhallae , which occurred earlier , now appears to be extinct. All species of mammals found on the islands ( house cats , house and brown rats and, since 2000, the Etruscan shrew ) have been introduced by humans and have contributed to the major change in the local avifauna . Today, sea birds no longer breed on the main island of Grande Glorieuse; the bird life there comprises 7 terrestrial species, 2 of which (the black-throated pigeon and black-throated chicken ) were introduced by humans. Only on the Île du Lys, sea birds still breed; 10 other bird species that were once native to the Îles Glorieuses have disappeared from there. The rats on the Île du Lys were exterminated in 2003.

The Îles Glorieuses are an important egg-laying place for the green turtle . The hawksbill sea turtle, which is threatened with extinction, is found here in significantly lower numbers .

The Île du Lys is home to a large colony of black tern . With 270,000 breeding pairs, it comprises around 9 percent of the total population of this species living in the Strait of Mozambique. Furthermore, 300 pairs of Noddis breed on the Île du Lys.

The coral reefs of the Îles Glorieuses have a diverse marine fauna. So far, 241 species of cnidarians (including 131 stony corals ), 95 types of bog animals , 54 types of echinoderms , 247 types of molluscs (including 219 types of snails ), 157 types of arthropods , 349 types of bony fish and 7 types of sharks and rays each have been counted . So far, humpback whales , dolphins and a specimen of the small sperm whale have been observed in marine mammals .

To preserve the biological diversity of this habitat, the Parc naturel marin des Glorieuses was set up on February 22, 2012 , which includes the Banc du Geyser as well as the Îles Glorieuses .

History, politics and administration

Beach on Grande Glorieuse

The islands were sighted by Europeans in the early 16th century on their way to India, but were only named in 1879 by the French Hippolyte Caltaux, who came here from Réunion in 1885 and built a coconut and corn plantation . Caltaux had guano mined on the Île du Lys .

On August 23, 1892, France officially took possession of the archipelago. Caltaux operated its businesses on the Glorieuses until 1907, after which the concession to exploit the islands was awarded to the Société Française des Îles Malgaches (SOFIM) in the Seychelles . The administration of the archipelago was carried out from Madagascar from 1908.

In 1921 there were 17 residents on the island, whose plantation at the time consisted of 6,000 coconut palms and produced 36 tons of copra and 60 tons of corn annually. Production was suspended during the Second World War, after which it was resumed until the concession expired in 1958. The plantation had been enlarged to 15,000 trees by 1954 and achieved an annual yield of 80 tons of copra with 22 workers.

In 1955 the weather station in the north of the Grande Glorieuse went into operation. This has been in continuous operation since 1960 and was moved to the south of the island in 1965 and named after the meteorologist Gérard Martin. The station is important for sea and air traffic on the routes to and from Madagascar, Djibouti , Kenya and Mauritius .

Today the archipelago is a nature reserve, the surrounding marine zone is part of the Glorieuses Marine Nature Park . Like the rest of the Îles Éparses , the Îles Glorieuses have been administered by the Prefect of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories since 2005 . Before that, they had been administered by the prefect of the overseas department of Réunion since 1960 without belonging to Réunion itself. By law of February 21, 2007, the Îles Glorieuses were incorporated together with the other Îles Éparses as the fifth district in the French Southern and Antarctic Territories.

On the Grande Glorieuse there is a small military base of the Foreign Legion with an unpaved runway for airplanes , an anchorage off the coast, the weather station and a radio station. The base also serves as the basis for scientific investigations. The crew consists of 14 soldiers and a gendarme .

Since Madagascar's independence in 1960, this former French colony has been making claims on the archipelago. The islands are particularly important because of the exclusive economic zone of 43,614 km², within which the Banc du Geyser is located, a reef that is claimed by the Comoros as well as Madagascar . The territorial dispute with the Seychelles, however, was settled in 2001 through the conclusion of a border agreement.

literature

• Jean-Louis Guébourg: Petites îles et archipels de l'océan India . Nouvelle édition revue et augmentée. Éditions Karthala, Paris 2006, ISBN 2-84586-823-5 (French).
• Administration des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (ed.): Livret de découverte des îles Eparses: Tromelin, Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, Europa et Bassas da India . Saint-Pierre (Réunion) 2016 (French, online [PDF; 5.6 MB ]).
• Mireille Guillaume: Report de la mission Auracéa 2003 aux îles Glorieuses . Report of the research expedition from November 18 to December 18, 2003 to the Îles Glorieuses. 2005 (French, online on the Daniel Jouvance company website [PDF; 12.7 MB ]).
• Conseil de gestion du Parc naturel marin: Plan de gestion du Parc naturel marin des Glorieuses - État initial . 2015 (in French, can be downloaded from the Agence des aires marines protegées website [PDF; 8.4 MB ]).

Web links

Commons : Îles Glorieuses  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Conseil de gestion du Parc naturel marin: Plan de gestion du Parc naturel marin des Glorieuses - Etat initial . 2015, Chapitre 2.2 - Contexte géomorphologique: Les Glorieuses, p. 26 (in French, can be downloaded from the Agence des aires marines protegées website [PDF; 8.4 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
2. ↑ Sarah Caceres: Etude préalable pour le classement de Réserve Naturelle des Iles Eparses. Mémoire de DESS Sciences et Gestion de l'Environnement Tropical de l'Université de la Réunion . Université de La Réunion , Saint-Denis 2002, p. 35–36 (French, available online through Joseph Poupin, École navale [PDF; 7.2 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
3. ↑ Administration des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (ed.): Livret de découverte des îles Eparses: Tromelin, Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, Europa et Bassas da India . Saint-Pierre (Réunion) 2016, Glorieuses, p. 27 (French, online [PDF; 5.6 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
4. ^ ^{A b} Sarah Caceres: Etude préalable pour le classement en Réserve Naturelle des Iles Eparses. Mémoire de DESS Sciences et Gestion de l'Environnement Tropical de l'Université de la Réunion . Université de La Réunion , Saint-Denis 2002, p. 52 (French, available online through Joseph Poupin, École navale [PDF; 7.2 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
5. ↑ Sarah Caceres: Etude préalable pour le classement de Réserve Naturelle des Iles Eparses. Mémoire de DESS Sciences et Gestion de l'Environnement Tropical de l'Université de la Réunion . Université de La Réunion , Saint-Denis 2002, p. 46 (French, available online through Joseph Poupin, École navale [PDF; 7.2 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
6. ↑ Sarah Caceres: Etude préalable pour le classement de Réserve Naturelle des Iles Eparses. Mémoire de DESS Sciences et Gestion de l'Environnement Tropical de l'Université de la Réunion . Université de La Réunion , Saint-Denis 2002, p. 55 (French, available online through Joseph Poupin, École navale [PDF; 7.2 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
7. ↑ Sarah Caceres: Etude préalable pour le classement de Réserve Naturelle des Iles Eparses. Mémoire de DESS Sciences et Gestion de l'Environnement Tropical de l'Université de la Réunion . Université de La Réunion , Saint-Denis 2002, p. 56–57 (French, available online through Joseph Poupin, École navale [PDF; 7.2 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
8. ↑ Sarah Caceres: Etude préalable pour le classement de Réserve Naturelle des Iles Eparses. Mémoire de DESS Sciences et Gestion de l'Environnement Tropical de l'Université de la Réunion . Université de La Réunion , Saint-Denis 2002, p. 96 (French, available online through Joseph Poupin, École navale [PDF; 7.2 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
9. ↑ Sarah Caceres: Etude préalable pour le classement de Réserve Naturelle des Iles Eparses. Mémoire de DESS Sciences et Gestion de l'Environnement Tropical de l'Université de la Réunion . Université de La Réunion , Saint-Denis 2002, p. 59 (French, available online through Joseph Poupin, École navale [PDF; 7.2 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
10. ↑ Sarah Caceres: Etude préalable pour le classement de Réserve Naturelle des Iles Eparses. Mémoire de DESS Sciences et Gestion de l'Environnement Tropical de l'Université de la Réunion . Université de La Réunion , Saint-Denis 2002, Annexe 7: L'avifaune - Tableau 5 (French, available online through Joseph Poupin, École navale [PDF; 7.2 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
11. ↑ Sarah Caceres: Etude préalable pour le classement de Réserve Naturelle des Iles Eparses. Mémoire de DESS Sciences et Gestion de l'Environnement Tropical de l'Université de la Réunion . Université de La Réunion , Saint-Denis 2002, p. 97 (French, available online through Joseph Poupin, École navale [PDF; 7.2 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
12. ↑ Conseil de gestion du Parc naturel marin: Plan de gestion du Parc naturel marin des Glorieuses - Etat initial . 2015, Chapitre 5.1 - Tortues marines, p. 66–68 (French, can be downloaded from the website of the Agence des aires marines protegées [PDF; 8.4 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
13. ↑ Conseil de gestion du Parc naturel marin: Plan de gestion du Parc naturel marin des Glorieuses - Etat initial . 2015, Chapitre 5.2 - Avifaune marine, p. 69–71 (French, can be downloaded from the Agence des aires marines protegées website [PDF; 8.4 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
14. ↑ Conseil de gestion du Parc naturel marin: Plan de gestion du Parc naturel marin des Glorieuses - Etat initial . 2015, Chapitre 3 - Patrimoine naturel marin associé aux récifs coralliens, p. 37–52 (French, can be downloaded from the Agence des aires marines protegées website [PDF; 8.4 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
15. ↑ Conseil de gestion du Parc naturel marin: Plan de gestion du Parc naturel marin des Glorieuses - Etat initial . 2015, Chapitre 3.3 - Faune marine: Les chordés - mammifères marins, p. 49–50 (in French, can be downloaded from the Agence des aires marines protegées website [PDF; 8.4 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
16. ↑ Le Parc naturel marin des Glorieuses - Presentation. In: Les parcs naturels marins. Agence des aires marines protégées, accessed on June 21, 2017 (French). 
17. ↑ ^{a b c d} Administration des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (ed.): Livret de découverte des îles Eparses: Tromelin, Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, Europa et Bassas da India . Saint-Pierre (Réunion) 2016, Glorieuses - Historique, p. 28–29 (French, online [PDF; 5.6 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
18. ↑ ^{a b} Mission Auracéa 2003 - Les Îles Glorieuses . Dossier de presse - announcement of the research expedition from November 18 to December 18, 2003 to the Îles Glorieuses. Section Rappel historique (French, online in the Wikiwix archive [PDF; 149 kB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
19. ↑ 5 - District des îles Eparses. In: taaf.fr. Administration des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (TAAF), accessed on June 21, 2017 (French). 
20. ↑ Administration des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (ed.): Livret de découverte des îles Eparses: Tromelin, Glorieuses, Juan de Nova, Europa et Bassas da India . Saint-Pierre (Réunion) 2016, L'administration - La cogestion de Tromelin, p. 4 (French, online [PDF; 5.6 MB ; accessed on June 21, 2017]).
21. ^ Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Republic of Seychelles concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary of the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf of France and of Seychelles. (PDF; 74 kB) Agreement of February 19, 2001. In: un.org. Retrieved June 21, 2017 (English).