Clipperton -Ile de la Passion : une aire française du Pacifique à protéger !

Résumé En

Thirty years ago, the Island of Passion, alias Clipperton — though it is the only atoll in the North-East Pacific — still offered an ecosystem that looked similar to those found in the other uninhabited Pacific atolls. Yet, the diversity of its fauna and flora was comparatively limited owing to its isolation and its small land extension (2 km2). Human occupation of the island has always been short-lived, except for the Mexicans who remained for some twenty years at the beginning of the 20th century. This occupation altered the ecosystem for decades to come and, directly or indirectly, favoured the growth of an almost continuous plant cover. During two recent scientific expeditions, the author noticed a high degree of desertification of the ring on which only coconut trees survive, while the lagoon, naturally closed for a hundred and fifty years and where water varies from fresh to brackish, is under an increasing process of eutrophication. This degradation is further enhanced by wild occupation, at the same time as marine resources are plundered by foreign vessels. This tiny French possession, which grants France sovereignty over 435, 612 km2 of a rich marine zone, raises the question of Frances interest in protecting its marine resources, as well as its land and reef ecosystems which are particularly threatened though highly valuable in scientific terms. Beyond this point, we may wonder whether French sovereignty over this much coveted area is not at stake.