Juan de Nova Island

Juan de Nova, about {{convert|6|km|mi|spell=in}} long and {{convert|1.6|km|mi|0}} at its widest, is a nature reserve surrounded by reefs which enclose an area—not a true lagoon like in an atoll—of roughly {{convert|40|km2|sqmi}}. Forests, mainly of Casuarinaceae, cover about half the island. Sea turtles nest on the beaches around the island.

File:Juan de Nova Island and reef land cover map-fr.jpg

Juan de Nova{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2006-04-24|title=Pays indépendants et capitales du monde : Entités géopolitiques dépendantes au 01.06.2006|url=http://www.ign.fr/adminV3/display/000/526/725/5267253.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110200441/http://www.ign.fr/adminV3/display/000/526/725/5267253.pdf|archive-date=2011-11-10|access-date=|website=Commission Nationale de Toponymie|language=fr}} is located in the Mozambique Canal, closer to the Madagascar side: {{convert|140|km|mi|abbr=}} from Tambohorano, {{convert|207|km|mi|abbr=}} west-southwest from {{Interlanguage link|Tanjona Vilanandro|lt=Tanjona Vilanandro|fr|Cap Saint-André (Madagascar)|WD=}} and {{convert|288|km|mi|abbr=}} from the African coast.

The island was created when an underwater promontory of a coral reef emerged when the reef was dismantled by ocean currents, producing a sandy island. The prevailing south-southwest winds form dunes on the island, which, at {{convert|10|meters|feet|abbr=}} tall, form the island's highest points.

Its southwest coast is bordered by a coral reef that prevents ships from landing, and the northeast coast consists of a lagoon that becomes sandy and impassable at low tide. There is a single pass that allows access to the island.

The difficult conditions for accessing the island has caused several shipwrecks, some of which remain on the Island, including that of the Tottenham (nicknamed the Charbonnier), which ran aground in 1911 on the island's southwest coast.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2015-08-22|title=SS Tottenham|url=https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?102100|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Wreck Site}}

The island is about {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=}} long from east to west, and {{convert|1.6|km|mi|abbr=}} wide, with an area of approximately {{convert|4.8|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}. The entire quasi-atoll is {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=}} in circumference, with an exclusive economic zone of {{convert|61,050|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=BEST Initiative - Indian Ocean|url=https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/biodiversity/best/regions/indianocean_en.htm|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-05|website=European Commission}}

File:TAAF JuanDeNova83.jpg

João da Nova, a Galician admiral in the service of Portugal, came across the uninhabited island in 1501 while he was crossing the Mozambique Channel during an expedition to India. He called it Galega or Agalega (the Galician) in reference to his nationality. The island then came to be named for him, with the Spanish spelling: on subsequent maps it was labeled Johan de Nova on a map by Salvatore de Pilestrina (1519), Joa de Nova (Mercator, 1569), San-Christophoro (Ortelius, 1570), Saint-Christophe (Lislet Geoffroy), before finally being dubbed Juan de Nova by the British explorer William Fitzwilliam Owen. Historically, the island was sometimes confused with the nearby island Bassas da India, which is completely covered at high tide.{{Cite web|last=Malick|first=M.|date=1976|title=Notes sur les îles françaises de l'océan Indien|url=https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_5/pt5/travaux_d/29301.pdf|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Biologie marine et exploitation des ressources de l’océan Indien occidental|language=fr}}

Although the island was located along the spice route, it was not of interest to the colonial powers because of its small size and little utility as a stopover. However, it is possible that it served as a refuge for pirates, such as Olivier Levasseur.

File:TAAF JuanDeNova89.jpg

The island had never been inhabited when it became a possession of France, alongside Europa Island and Bassas da India, in 1897.{{cite web|url=http://www.taaf.fr/spip/spip.php?article312 |title=TAAF |access-date=2011-12-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129220306/http://www.taaf.fr/spip/spip.php?article312 |archive-date=29 January 2012 }}

At the time, the only visitors to the island were Malagasy fishermen during sea turtles' nesting season. However, around 1900, the island was granted to a Frenchman for a 20-year lease. He initiated the exploitation of the island's guano deposits, which production reaching 53,000 tons in 1923. A coconut grove on the island also produced 12 tons of copra per year.

In 1921, France transferred the administration of Juan de Nova from Paris to Tananarive in its colony of Madagascar and Dependencies. Then, before the independence of Madagascar, France transferred the administration of the island to Saint-Pierre on Réunion. Madagascar became independent in 1960, and it has claimed sovereignty over the island since 1972.

An airstrip was built on the island in 1934. Guano exploitation continued for several decades, with a pause in activity during World War II. The island was abandoned during the war, and it was visited by German submariners. Installations, including a hangar, rail lines, houses and a jetty are in ruins.

File:TAAF JuanDeNova259.jpg

In 1952, a second concession was granted for 15 years to the Société française des îles Malgaches (SOFIM), led by Hector Patureau. This concession was renewed for 25 years in 1960, after Madagascar's independence. Structures were built throughout the island to support the phosphate mining operation, including warehouses, housing, a prison, and a cemetery.

The workers on the island came mainly from Mauritius and the Seychelles. Working conditions were extremely harsh, with rule-breaking punished by flogging or imprisonment, and each worker had to extract one metric ton of phosphate per day to earn 3.5 rupees. In 1968, Mauritian workers revolted, and the operation's management appealed to the prefect of Réunion for help. The revolt brought government and media attention to abusive practices on the island, including droit du seigneur being practiced by one of the foremen, and some members of the staff were fired by SOFIM's president.

In the 1960s, the price of phosphate collapsed, and the mining operation on the island ceased to be profitable. SOFIM was dissolved in 1968, and the last workers left the island in 1975. The French government retook control of the concession, paying 45 million CFA to Hector Patureau in compensation.

File:TAAF JuanDeNova60.jpg

In 1963, an auxiliary weather installation, called "la Goulette," was installed to carry out regular temperature and pressure readings. But on a visit to the island in 1971, a representative of the Weather Service found numerous irregularities in the readings, as well as poor security on the island, which was still under the responsibility of Patureau. Following the recommendations of the World Weather Watch, a basic, year-round weather station was built in 1973 in the southwest part of the island, at the end of the airstrip.

A project to create a Club Med tourist resort was proposed by Gilbert Trigano, which for a time brought a team of workers to the island under the supervision of Hector Patureau, but it was quickly abandoned.

In 1974, the French government decided to install military detachments across the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean that lay within the Mozambique Channel (Juan de Nova, Europa Island, and the Glorioso Islands). Its aim was primarily to respond to Madagascar's claims to those territories, which France considers protected within an exclusive economic zone.

Juan de Nova Island was assigned a small garrison of 14 soldiers from the 2nd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment, as well as a gendarme. They settled in housing that formerly hosted SOFIM workers.Xavier Capy and Alain Le Roy, "Juan de Nova. Mission aux îles Éparses avec l'Etom 50", Air Fan, no. 398, January 2012, p. 16-23. The troops receive supplies by air every 45 days.

Today, most of the installations from the mining days are in ruins, and only a few buildings are maintained for military use. Upkeep is also performed on the cemetery. The island has been converted into a nature preserve, which aims to protect biodiversity and particularly coral reefs.{{Cite web|title=Les récifs coralliens protégés de l'outre-mer français · Documentation Ifrecor|url=http://ifrecor-doc.fr/items/show/1265|access-date=2021-02-08|website=ifrecor-doc.fr}} It is closed to access, with temporary authorization granted to scientists on short-term missions.

The island lies on the sea route between South Africa and the northern tip of Madagascar. It is affected by strong currents and has become the site of numerous wrecks. Most visible are the remains of the {{SS|Tottenham|1901|6}} which ran onto the southern fringing reef in 1911.

The presence of a significant bird population on Juan de Nova Island led to a major guano deposit on the surface of the island. This became the first natural resource to be exploited on the island in the 20th century. This mining operation led to the establishment of the first structures on the island, and the workers also planted coconut trees, whose products were also exported. The exploitation of guano stopped around 1970, after the price of phosphates dropped.

In 2005, a government decree authorized preliminary exploration for liquid or gas hydrocarbons offshore. This authorization covers an area of approximately 62,000 square kilometers surrounding the island.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2005-05-23|title=Arrêté du 23 mai 2005 accordant une autorisation de prospections préalables d'hydrocarbures liquides ou gazeux portant sur le sous-sol de la mer|url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000000444701|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-08|website=Légifrance}} In 2008, a subsequent decree granted an exploration permit for the "Juan de Nova Est" field to the companies Nighthawk Energy Plc, Jupiter Petroleum Juan de Nova Ltd, and Osceola Hydrocarbons Ltd, as well as to Marex Inc. and Roc Oil Company Ltd for the "Juan de Nova Maritime Profond" field. The licensees had to commit to investing around $100 million over five years for mining and research. The eastern boundary of these exploration areas is in contention with Madagascar and its exclusive economic zone.

In 2015, the drilling authorization was renewed Sapetro and Marex Petroleum for a period of three years.{{Cite web|last=Sartre|first=Julien|title=L'embarrassant pétrole français des îles Eparses|url=https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/france/091215/l-embarrassant-petrole-francais-des-iles-eparses|access-date=2021-02-08|website=Mediapart|language=fr}}{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=2015-10-02|title=Pétrole : deux compagnies font plier Ségolène Royal à Juan de Nova|language=fr|work=Le Marin|url=https://lemarin.ouest-france.fr/secteurs-activites/oil-gas/23182-hydrocarbures-deux-petroliers-font-plier-segolene-royal-juan-de|access-date=}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2015-09-21|title=Arrêté du 21 septembre 2015 prolongeant le permis exclusif de recherches de mines d'hydrocarbures conventionnels liquides ou gazeux, dit « permis de Juan de Nova maritime profond » (Terres australes et antarctiques françaises), aux sociétés South Atlantic Petroleum JDN SAS et Marex Petroleum Corp, conjointes et solidaires|url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000031239694|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-02-08|website=Légifrance}}

However, these projects have been abandoned since 2019, when the island was classified as a nature reserve.

File:TAAF JuanDeNovaCimetière 09.jpg on Juan de Nova Island.]]

File:Juan de nova - récifs vues aériennes (26).jpg

Three or four times a year, scientists come to Juan de Nova Island to study its ecosystem. Despite the ongoing scientific efforts, an inventory of the island's biodiversity (particularly genetics) is only in its earliest stages. There is much to be studied.

Researchers from the University of Reunion Island's ECOMAR lab have worked to identify or observe seabirds around the island. In particular, they have worked to study the behavior of 2 million pairs of terns that have sought refuge on the island, forming the largest colony in the Indian Ocean.

Pascale Chabanet, of the Institut de recherche pour le développement, says based on their research on the island:

File:TAAF JuanDeNova28.jpg family on Juan de Nova Island.]]

"The reefs of these deserted and isolated islands like Juan de Nova Island are preserved from all pollution and anthropogenic influence. But they are affected by climate change."

The scientists are also observing and working to mitigate the impact of the presence of invasive species on the island, including mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti, Aedes fryeri, Culex sitiens, Culex tritaeniorhynchus, and Mansonia uniformis.Benedict MQ, Levine RS, Hawley WA & Lounibos LP – Spread of the Tiger: Global Risk of Invasion by the Mosquito Aedes albopictus . Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis, 2007, 7, 76-85 Aedes albopictus, an invasive Asian species that can carry pathogenic arbovirus, has also been seen on the island.{{Cite web|last=L. Bagny, M. Freulon, & H. Delatte|date=2009|title=Première mention d'Aedes albopictus, vecteur d'arbovirus, dans les îles Éparses du canal du Mozambique et actualisation de l'inventaire de la faune culicidienne.|url=http://www.pathexo.fr/documents/articles-bull/T102-3-3317-6p.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728054005/http://www.pathexo.fr/documents/articles-bull/T102-3-3317-6p.pdf|archive-date=2017-07-28|access-date=|website=ENTOMOLOGIE MÉDICALE|language=fr}}

The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports a very large colony of sooty terns, with up to 100,000 breeding pairs. It also has a much smaller colony of greater crested terns – with at least 50 breeding pairs recorded in 1994. Of at least seven species of land birds present, most are probably introduced.BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Juan de Nova. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-01-07.

The island exhibits a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw). A year on the island can be divided into two seasons: the cool season and the rainy season.

{{Weather box

|location = Juan de Nova Island

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 34

|Feb record high C = 33

|Mar record high C = 33

|Apr record high C = 33

|May record high C = 33

|Jun record high C = 33

|Jul record high C = 32

|Aug record high C = 33

|Sep record high C = 33

|Oct record high C = 32

|Nov record high C = 34

|Dec record high C = 35

|year record high C = 35

|Jan high C = 30.1

|Feb high C = 30.0

|Mar high C = 30.4

|Apr high C = 30.2

|May high C = 28.9

|Jun high C = 27.4

|Jul high C = 26.8

|Aug high C = 26.9

|Sep high C = 27.7

|Oct high C = 28.8

|Nov high C = 29.9

|Dec high C = 30.4

|year high C = 28.9

|Jan mean C = 28.3

|Feb mean C = 28.2

|Mar mean C = 28.6

|Apr mean C = 28.3

|May mean C = 27.2

|Jun mean C = 25.7

|Jul mean C = 24.9

|Aug mean C = 25.0

|Sep mean C = 25.6

|Oct mean C = 26.7

|Nov mean C = 27.8

|Dec mean C = 28.4

|year mean C = 27.1

|Jan low C = 26.6

|Feb low C = 26.5

|Mar low C = 26.8

|Apr low C = 26.8

|May low C = 25.8

|Jun low C = 24.3

|Jul low C = 23.4

|Aug low C = 23.3

|Sep low C = 23.7

|Oct low C = 24.7

|Nov low C = 25.8

|Dec low C = 26.4

|year low C = 25.3

|Jan record low C = 20

|Feb record low C = 16

|Mar record low C = 20

|Apr record low C = 21

|May record low C = 20

|Jun record low C = 19

|Jul record low C = 18

|Aug record low C = 17

|Sep record low C = 19

|Oct record low C = 19

|Nov record low C = 19

|Dec record low C = 22

|year record low C = 16

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 324

|Feb precipitation mm = 289

|Mar precipitation mm = 140

|Apr precipitation mm = 21

|May precipitation mm = 18

|Jun precipitation mm = 9

|Jul precipitation mm = 11

|Aug precipitation mm = 4

|Sep precipitation mm = 1

|Oct precipitation mm = 8

|Nov precipitation mm = 22

|Dec precipitation mm = 139

|year precipitation mm = 986

|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 13

|Feb precipitation days = 13

|Mar precipitation days = 9

|Apr precipitation days = 5

|May precipitation days = 3

|Jun precipitation days = 3

|Jul precipitation days = 2

|Aug precipitation days = 1

|Sep precipitation days = 1

|Oct precipitation days = 2

|Nov precipitation days = 3

|Dec precipitation days = 10

|year precipitation days = 65

|Jan humidity = 80

|Feb humidity = 81

|Mar humidity = 78

|Apr humidity = 74

|May humidity = 71

|Jun humidity = 70

|Jul humidity = 71

|Aug humidity = 72

|Sep humidity = 74

|Oct humidity = 75

|Nov humidity = 75

|Dec humidity = 77

|year humidity = 75

|Jan sun = 229.4

|Feb sun = 203.4

|Mar sun = 257.3

|Apr sun = 276.0

|May sun = 282.1

|Jun sun = 273.0

|Jul sun = 275.9

|Aug sun = 285.2

|Sep sun = 282.0

|Oct sun = 313.1

|Nov sun = 300.0

|Dec sun = 251.1

|year sun =

|Jand sun = 7.4

|Febd sun = 7.2

|Mard sun = 8.3

|Aprd sun = 9.2

|Mayd sun = 9.1

|Jund sun = 9.1

|Juld sun = 8.9

|Augd sun = 9.2

|Sepd sun = 9.4

|Octd sun = 10.1

|Novd sun = 10.0

|Decd sun = 8.1

|yeard sun = 8.8

|source 1 = {{lang|de|Deutscher Wetterdienst}}{{cite web|title = Klimatafel von Juan de Nova (Insel), Iles Desirades / Indischer Ozean / Frankreich|url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_619700_kt.pdf|work = Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world|publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst|language = de|access-date = 5 April 2017}}

}}

{{reflist}}

{{French overseas departments and territories}}

{{Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean}}

{{Outlying territories of European countries}}

{{Important Bird Areas of French Southern Territories}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Islands of Madagascar

Category:1897 establishments in the French colonial empire

Category:Former populated places in the Indian Ocean

Category:France–Madagascar relations

Category:Important Bird Areas of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean

Category:Islands of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Category:Territorial disputes of France

Category:Territorial disputes of Madagascar

Category:Seabird colonies