Juan de Nova
| Juan de Nova | |
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| Waters | Strait of Mozambique |
| Geographical location | 17 ° 3 '20 " S , 42 ° 43' 52" O |
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| length | 6 km |
| width | 1.6 km |
| surface | 4.8 km² |
| Highest elevation | 12 m |
| Residents | 15 (military) 3.1 inhabitants / km² |
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Juan de Nova is a 4.8 km² large tropical island in the Mozambique Strait , between Madagascar and Mozambique at 17 ° 3 ′ south latitude and 42 ° 43 ′ east longitude . Politically, it belongs to the Îles Éparses , a district of the French overseas territory Terres australes et antarctiques françaises .
geography
The island of Juan de Nova is located in the Strait of Mozambique, which belongs to the Indian Ocean , about 175 km northwest of Maintirano in Madagascar and 310 km east-southeast of the Mozambican city of Angoche . It has a length of about 6 km and a width of 1600 m and is surrounded by an extensive coral reef. The appearance of the island, which is mainly made up of beach rock and up to 12 m high sand dunes, has been greatly changed by human activities, in particular the mining of guano , in the 20th century.
The island does not have a port , but has an anchorage off the coast, as well as an approximately 1300 m long, unpaved runway for aircraft .
climate
The climate is tropical and shows only slight temperature fluctuations over the course of the year. The rainy season lasts from December to March; At high humidity (around 80%) and average temperatures of more than 28 ° C, there is considerable rainfall of around 100 to over 300 mm per month. From April to November the island is subject to the influence of south to south-westerly winds; During this time the temperatures are somewhat cooler, the relative humidity is 70–75% and there is only little rainfall.
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Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Juan de Nova
Source: wetterkontor.de
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Flora and fauna
Of all the Îles Éparses, Juan de Nova has the most biodiverse flora. Among other things, nine species native to Madagascar and six species endemic to Madagascar were found in addition to one Hypoestes species, which only occurs on this island .
In addition to three species of land birds and one species of heron , black terns and common terns also breed on the island . With around 450,000 breeding pairs (2013), the sooty tern colony is one of the largest in the Indian Ocean.
The extensive reef around the island is home to a rich marine fauna. In addition to around 300 species of fish native to the reef, there are twelve types of shark and five types of rays in the surrounding waters . The island is the green turtle and the endangered hawksbill turtle as a nesting site.
All of the mammal species found on the island ( house cats , house rats and house mice ) were introduced by humans and cause considerable damage to native species. Since the cats endanger the survival of the tern colony, a program to eradicate them was started in 2015.
History, politics and administration
The island was discovered in 1501 by the Galician navigator in the Portuguese service João da Nova , who named it Galega or Agalega after his homeland . From 1519 the island appears on maps under changing names, including different versions of the name of its discoverer. It was not given its final name until 1825 by the British naval officer William Owen .
On October 31, 1897, the seizure was officially announced by France “in execution of the law of August 6, 1896”.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the island's economic resources began to be exploited. A 3.5 hectare plantation with fruit trees and coconut palms was created, and the deposits of the guano converted to phosphorite were mined on an industrial scale, for which a processing plant was built. Production reached 53,000 tons of phosphorite in 1923. The remnants of the narrow-gauge railway laid out to transport the excavated rock were dismantled in 2009.
In 1911 the SS Tottenham ran aground south of the island ( 17 ° 5 ′ S , 42 ° 43 ′ E ). The wreck is still visible today, including on satellite images.
During the Second World War all activities on the island ceased; several facilities were destroyed so that they could not be used by the opposing war party. After the end of the war, a new concession to mine the phosphates was awarded to SOFIM (Société Française des Iles Malgaches). This mining period ended as a result of a mine workers' strike and the fall in phosphate prices in 1968. In 1965/66 the first lighthouse was built on Juan de Nova, and in 1973 a permanent weather station was set up.
Like the other Îles Éparses, the island has been administered by the prefect and chief administrator of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands since 2005 . Before that, it 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, Juan de Nova was incorporated into the French Southern and Antarctic Territories, together with the other Îles Éparses, as the fifth district.
The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extends over an area of 61,050 km².
A small military base has been located on Juan de Nova since 1973 . The crew consists of 14 soldiers and a gendarme .
Madagascar has been claiming the island since its independence in 1960.
literature
- 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 ]).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 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, Juan de Nova, p. 30 (French, online [PDF; 5.6 MB ; accessed on June 27, 2017]).
- ↑ 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, Juan de Nova - Ecologie, p. 30–31 (French, online [PDF; 5.6 MB ; accessed on June 27, 2017]).
- ↑ Hypoestes juanensis Benoist. In: Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden , accessed June 27, 2017 .
- ^ A b c 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, Juan de Nova - Historique, p. 31–33 (French, online [PDF; 5.6 MB ; accessed on June 27, 2017]).
- ^ Note from the Ministère des Colonies. In: Journal officiel de la République française . Official Journal of the Republic of France. Volume 29, No. 296. Paris October 31, 1897, p. 6390, column 3 (French, accessed June 27, 2017).
- ↑ 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. 37 (French, available online through Joseph Poupin, École navale [PDF; 7.2 MB ; accessed on June 27, 2017]).
- ^ Juan de Nova (voie étroite en TAAF). In: Les Forums de Passions Métrique et Etroite !! Retrieved June 27, 2017 (French).
- ↑ 5 - District des îles Eparses. In: taaf.fr. Administration des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises (TAAF), accessed on June 27, 2017 (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, L'administration, p. 4 (French, online [PDF; 5.6 MB ; accessed on June 27, 2017]).
