Overseas Territory of France
This article is about the French overseas territory. For the former French colony in Brazil, see
France Antarctique
.
Overseas territory in France
The
French Southern and Antarctic Lands
[6]
(
French
:
Terres australes et antarctiques francaises
,
TAAF
) is an
overseas territory
(
French
:
Territoire d'outre-mer
or
TOM
) of
France
. It consists of:
- Adelie Land
(
Terre Adelie
), the French claim on the continent of
Antarctica
.
- Crozet Islands
(
Iles Crozet
), a group in the southern Indian Ocean, south of Madagascar.
- Kerguelen Islands
(
Archipel des Kerguelen
), a group of
volcanic islands
in the southern
Indian Ocean
, southeast of
Africa
.
- Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands
(
Iles Saint Paul et Amsterdam
), a group to the north of the Kerguelen Islands.
- Scattered Islands
(
Iles Eparses
), a dispersed group of islands around the coast of
Madagascar
.
The territory is sometimes referred to as the
French Southern Lands
(
French
:
Terres australes francaises
) or the
French Southern Territories
,
[7]
usually to emphasize non-recognition of French
sovereignty
over
Adelie Land
as part of the
Antarctic Treaty System
.
[5]
The entire territory has no known permanently settled inhabitants. Approximately 150 (in the winter) to 310 (in the summer) people are usually present in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands at any time, but they are mainly made up of military personnel, officials, scientific researchers and support staff.
[8]
On 5 July 2019, the
Crozet Islands
, the
Kerguelen Islands
, and the
Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands
were inscribed as a
UNESCO
World Heritage Site
as the "French Austral Lands and Seas" because of their pristine wilderness, biodiversity, and enormous bird colonies.
[9]
History
[
edit
]
| This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
September 2022
)
|
Discovery
[
edit
]
The islands began to be discovered in the 16th century, when the Spanish discovered
Amsterdam Island
on 18 March 1522, which was later claimed and named by the Dutch.
[10]
Saint Paul Island
was discovered in 1559 by the Portuguese.
[10]
The
Crozet islands
were discovered on 24 January 1772 by French explorer
Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne
during an expedition.
[11]
Adelie Land
was the last to be discovered, in 1840 by the French during an expedition led by
Jules Dumont d'Urville
, who would later have
a research station
on the island named after him.
[12]
[13]
The islands were officially recognized by law on 6 August 1956. This overruled the law passed in 1924 that tied the territory with the Government General of France in Madagascar
Administration
[
edit
]
The French Southern and Antarctic Lands have formed a
territoire d'outre-mer
(an overseas territory) of
France
since 1955. Formerly, they were administered from
Paris
by an
administrateur superieur
assisted by a secretary-general; since December 2004, however, their administrator has been a
prefet
, currently
Florence Jeanblanc-Risler
,
[14]
[15]
with headquarters in
Saint Pierre
on
Reunion
Island.
The TAAF administration, the French Polar Institute Paul-Emile Victor (IPEV) and the
French Navy
jointly operate the icebreaker
Astrolabe
which is based out of Reunion. The vessel is used both to bring personnel and supplies to the
Dumont d'Urville Station
and for research and patrol duties.
[16]
The
French armed forces
also maintain small troop contingents on some of the Scalttered Islands in order to protect the French territorial claim.
[17]
The territory is divided into five districts:
District
|
Administrative centre
|
Population
|
Area
|
EEZ
|
Winter
|
Summer
|
(km
2
)
|
Adelie Land
|
Dumont d'Urville Station
|
30
|
110
|
432,000
|
?
|
Crozet Islands
|
Alfred Faure
|
25
|
45
|
352
|
567,475
|
Kerguelen Islands
|
Port-aux-Francais
|
70
|
110
|
7,215
|
563,869
|
Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands
|
Martin-de-Vivies
|
25
|
45
|
61
|
502,533
|
Scattered Islands
a
|
Saint Pierre
b
,
Reunion
|
56
|
56
|
38.4
|
640,400
|
TAAF
|
Saint Pierre
c
,
Reunion
|
206
|
366
|
439,666.4
|
2,274,277
|
a
According to new law 2007-224 of February 21, 2007, the Scattered Islands constitute the TAAF's fifth district.
[18]
The TAAF website does not mention their population. The data are not included in the totals.
b
The
Iles Eparses
principal station is on
Tromelin Island
. The headquarters of the district chief lies beyond the TAAF, in
Saint Pierre
on
Reunion
Island.
c
The Territory's principal station is
Martin-de-Vivies
on
Amsterdam Island
. The capital and headquarters of the territorial administrator lies beyond the TAAF, in Saint Pierre on Reunion Island.
Each district is headed by a district chief, who has powers similar to those of a French mayor (including recording births and deaths and being an
officer of judicial police
).
Because there is no permanent population, there is no elected assembly, nor does the territory send representatives to the national parliament.
Geography
[
edit
]
The territory includes the
Crozet Islands
, the
Kerguelen Islands
, and the
Saint Paul and Amsterdam Islands
in the southern
Indian Ocean
near 43°S, 67°E, along with
Adelie Land
, the sector of
Antarctica
claimed by France
, named by the French explorer
Jules Dumont d'Urville
after his wife.
[12]
Adelie Land (about 432,000 km
2
or 167,000 sq mi) and the islands, totaling 7,781 km
2
(3,004 sq mi), have no indigenous inhabitants, though in 1997 there were about 100 researchers whose numbers varied from winter (July) to summer (January).
Amsterdam Island
and
Saint Paul Island
are extinct
volcanoes
and have been delineated as the
Amsterdam and Saint-Paul Islands temperate grasslands
ecoregion
.
[19]
[10]
The highest point in the territory is Mont Ross on Kerguelen Island at 1,850 m (6,070 ft). There are very few airstrips on the islands, only existing on islands with weather stations, and the 1,232 km (766 mi) of coastline have no ports or harbors, only offshore anchorages.
[10]
The islands in the Indian Ocean are supplied by the special ship
Marion Dufresne
sailing out of
Le Port
in
Reunion Island
. Terre Adelie is supplied by
L'Astrolabe
sailing out of
Hobart
in
Tasmania
.
[20]
However, the territory has a
merchant marine fleet
totaling (in 1999) 2,892,911
GRT
/5,165,713 tonnes
deadweight
(DWT), including seven bulk carriers, five cargo ships, ten chemical tankers, nine container ships, six liquefied gas carriers, 24 petroleum tankers, one refrigerated cargo ship, and ten
roll-on/roll-off
(RORO) carriers. This fleet is maintained as a subset of the French register that allows French-owned ships to operate under more liberal taxation and manning regulations than permissible under the main French register. This register, however, is to vanish,
[
when?
]
replaced by the International French Register (
Registre International Francais
, RIF).
Flora and fauna
[
edit
]
Designations
|
---|
|
Official name
| French Austral Lands and Seas
|
---|
Criteria
| Natural: (vii), (ix), (x)
|
---|
Designated
| 2019
(43rd
session
)
|
---|
Reference no.
| 1603
|
---|
Region
| Western Europe
|
---|
|
---|
|
Official name
| Reserve Naturelle Nationale des Terres Australes Francaises
|
---|
Designated
| 15 September 2008
|
---|
Reference no.
| 1837
[21]
|
---|
|
---|
Due to their isolation, the French islands in the southern Indian Ocean comprise one of the last remaining large wilderness areas on Earth.
[22]
Furthermore, the islands are positioned along the
Antarctic Convergence
, where
upwelling
creates nutrient-rich waters.
[23]
As a result, birds and marine mammals gather on the islands in great abundance. More than 50 million birds of 47 species breed on the islands, including more than half the breeding population of 16 different species.
[22]
The largest populations of
king penguins
and the endangered
Indian yellow-nosed albatross
on Earth are found on the Crozet Islands and Amsterdam Island, respectively.
[23]
Other threatened bird species with important populations on the islands include
Eaton's pintail
,
MacGillivray's prion
, and the
Amsterdam albatross
, which is one of four bird species
endemic
to the island group.
[23]
The French Southern Lands also hold the second largest population of
southern elephant seals
on Earth, numbering roughly 200,000, and the third largest population of the
Antarctic fur seal
.
Because of their isolation and subpolar location, the French Southern Lands are relatively
depauperate
of vegetation, with both Saint-Paul and Crozet having no native tree or shrub species.
[24]
However, eight of the 36 higher plant species are endemic.
[25]
Some species of endemic invertebrates have also been recorded on the islands, including moths and flies which have lost their wings in the absence of predators.
[23]
Economy
[
edit
]
The territory's natural resources are limited to fish and crustaceans. Economic activity is limited to servicing
meteorological
and
geophysical
research stations and French and other fishing fleets.
[26]
The main fish resources are
Patagonian toothfish
and
spiny lobster
. Both are poached by foreign fleets; because of this, the
French Navy
, and occasionally other services, patrol the zone and arrest poaching vessels.
[27]
[28]
Such arrests can result in heavy fines and/or the seizure of the ship.
France previously sold licenses to foreign fisheries to fish the Patagonian toothfish; because of overfishing, it is now restricted to a small number of fisheries from
Reunion Island
.
[29]
The territory takes in revenues of about
€
16 million a year.
Locations and Scientific Stations
[
edit
]
In the territory there is no permanent population but there are some areas that contain research stations.
Ile Amsterdam
has
a meteorological station
.
[30]
Iles Crozet
contains the Alfred Faure research station that contains about 20-30 people. One of the most populous research stations is the
Iles Kerguelen
which contains 50-100 researchers at Port-aux-Francais. The
Iles Eparses
contains a French military garrison and is a spot for meteorology. The
Dumont d’Urville station
is a vital area for studying wildlife, the atmosphere and the ice caps.
Codes
[
edit
]
The French Southern Territories (i.e. the TAAF excluding Adelie Land) have been given the following
country codes
: FS (
FIPS
) and
TF
(
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
).
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Government of the French Republic (6 August 1955).
"Loi n° 55-1052 du 6 aout 1955 conferant l'autonomie administrative et financiere aux Terres australes et antarctiques francaises"
.
legifrance.gouv.fr
(in French)
. Retrieved
19 October
2019
.
- ^
French Southern and Antarctic Lands
in
Geonames.org (cc-by)
- ^
Government of the French Republic (6 March 2020).
"Arrete du 6 mars 2020 portant nomination du secretaire general des Terres australes et antarctiques francaises"
.
legifrance.gouv.fr
(in French)
. Retrieved
6 April
2020
.
- ^
TAAF Collectivity.
"Presentation des territoires"
.
taaf.fr
(in French)
. Retrieved
19 October
2019
.
- ^
a
b
"Antarctica :: French Southern and Antarctic Lands"
.
CIA.gov/Library/Publications/The-World-Factbook
.
CIA
. 20 May 2020
. Retrieved
10 October
2018
.
- ^
"List of countries, territories and currencies"
.
Interinstitutional style guide
. Publications Office. 12 June 2008
. Retrieved
29 June
2008
.
- ^
"French Southern Territories"
.
ISO.org
.
ISO
. 26 November 2018
. Retrieved
12 July
2020
.
- ^
"The TAAF do not have any permanent population."
"The French Southern and Antarctic Lands"
. French Southern and Antarctic Lands administration. Archived from
the original
on 26 May 2017
. Retrieved
31 May
2016
.
- ^
"Five sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List"
.
UNESCO
. 5 July 2019.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Early History of Amsterdam and St Paul Islands, South Indian Ocean"
. 23 October 2012. Archived from
the original
on 23 October 2012
. Retrieved
23 January
2024
.
- ^
Mills, William J. (2003).
Exploring polar frontiers: a historical encyclopedia
. Santa Barbara, California Denver, Colorado , Oxford, England: ABC Clio.
ISBN
978-1-57607-422-0
.
- ^
a
b
Dunmore, John (2007).
From Venus to Antarctica: the life of Dumont D'Urville
. Auckland: Exisle Publ.
ISBN
978-0-908988-71-6
.
- ^
"French Southern and Antarctic Lands - 2022 World Factbook Archive"
.
www.cia.gov
. Retrieved
23 January
2024
.
- ^
Government of the French Republic (16 September 2020).
"Decret du 16 septembre 2020 portant nomination du prefet, administrateur superieur des Terres australes et antarctiques francaises - M. GIUSTI (Charles)"
.
legifrance.gouv.fr
(in French)
. Retrieved
28 August
2021
.
- ^
"Florence Jeanblanc-Risler nouvelle prefete des Taaf"
.
Le Marin
(in French). 6 October 2022.
- ^
French Navy receives icebreaker and patrol vessel L'Astrolabe
. Naval Today, 13 July 2017.
Retrieved 2017-07-16
.
- ^
"Le Champlain : un soutien logistique pour les iles Eparses"
(in French). Ministere des Armees. 23 August 2023
. Retrieved
30 August
2023
.
- ^
"Les iles Eparses"
. Archived from the original on 2 May 2007
. Retrieved
3 March
2007
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
)
- ^
"Amsterdam Island"
.
www.volcanodiscovery.com
. Retrieved
24 January
2024
.
- ^
"Marion Dufresne"
.
Institut Polaire
(in French)
. Retrieved
24 January
2024
.
- ^
"Reserve Naturelle Nationale des Terres Australes Francaises"
.
Ramsar
Sites Information Service
. Retrieved
25 April
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"French Austral Lands and Seas"
.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
. Retrieved
22 January
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
French Austral Lands and Seas
(Report). IUCN. April 2019
. Retrieved
22 January
2022
.
- ^
Larrue, Sebastien; Chadeyron, Julien; Faucon, Frederic (19 January 2018).
"Quelles origines a l'asylvatisme des iles volcaniques australes Crozet et Saint-Paul (Terres Australes et Antarctiques Francaises, ocean Indien) ?"
.
Cybergeo
.
doi
:
10.4000/cybergeo.28917
.
- ^
Timana, Martin E.; Lebouvier, Marc; Rouhan, Germinal (11 February 2019).
"Sagina hookeri Timana, sp. nov. (Caryophyllaceae), a new endemic species for the flora of Ile Amsterdam (French Southern and Antarctic Lands)"
.
Adansonia
.
41
(1): 17.
doi
:
10.5252/adansonia2019v41a2
.
S2CID
91871485
.
- ^
"Saint Pierre and Miquelon (SPM) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners"
.
OEC
. Observatory of Economic Complexity
. Retrieved
7 July
2023
.
- ^
"L'Astrolabe"
.
Terres australes et antarctiques francaises
(in French)
. Retrieved
25 January
2024
.
- ^
"Lutte contre la peche illicite"
.
Terres australes et antarctiques francaises
(in French)
. Retrieved
25 January
2024
.
- ^
"Proteger: des iles sentinelles La gestion de la peche dans les Terres australes francaises"
(PDF)
.
taaf.fr
(in French)
. Retrieved
12 April
2024
.
- ^
"Stations"
.
EPB
. Retrieved
25 January
2024
.
External links
[
edit
]
Articles related to French Southern and Antarctic Lands
|
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Outlying territories of European countries
|
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France
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Norway
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Portugal
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Spain
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United Kingdom
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Proposed claims
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| | |
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part of non-African states
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| |
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Italy
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