France ratified the Nairobi Convention on 18 August 1989.[1]

Unless stated otherwise, the data quoted in this page are cited from publications by Nairobi Convention Secretariat and UNDP (see bottom of page for list).

There are several French island departments/regions in the Western Indian Ocean. Please note that the designations employed and the presentations of material on this page do not imply the expressions of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP/Nairobi Convention or contributory organisations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries or the designation of its name, frontiers or boundaries.

La Réunion

La Réunion is an island and region of France in the Western Indian Ocean, whose varied terrains and climates host tremendously diverse species and habitats. The island is made up of 2 volcanoes: le Piton des Neiges (3069 m), which is inactive and highly eroded, and Piton de la Fournaise (2631 m), which is active with ongoing eruptions and flows on the south-east border of the island.[2] The estimated population at the end of 2019 was 866,506 people.[3]

Mayotte

Mayotte is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean located in the biogeographical area of the Comoros Archipelago, at the heart of the Mozambique Channel and close to Madagascar. It consists of a main island, Grande-Terre (or Maore), a smaller island, Petite-Terre (or Pamanzi), and several islets around these two. Mayotte has an area of 374 km² and a coastline of length 185.2 km[4]. Its entire EEZ of 70 000 km² has been designated as an MPA[5]. The Mayotte archipelago is surrounded by a coral barrier reef, which shelters a lagoon and marine reserve that are popular diving destinations.

The lles Eparses

The lles Eparses are a collection of French overseas island territories in the Western Indian Ocean managed by the French Southern and Antarctic Lands since February 2007[6]. lles Eparses are composed of the following islands: Europa, Juan de Nova and Glorieuses archipelago (Grande Glorieuse, Roches Vertes and Ile du Lys) in the Mozambique Channel, Tromelin north of La Reunion and the barely emerged coral reef of Bassas da India. Bassas da India covers total land area of 80km²; Europa Island – 28km²; Glorioso Islands – 5 km²; Juan de Nova Island – 4.4 km² and Tromelin

Island a total 1 square kilometre[7] _. The associated territorial marine waters represent a total of more than 640,000 km² (approximately 6% of the French maritime territory). All islands except Juan de Nova were classified as nature reserves in 1975.

France has appointed a Focal Point to the Nairobi Convention to help coordinate efforts to protect, manage, and use the Western Indian Ocean at the national level.

* Please note that the designations employed and the presentations of material on this page do not imply the expressions of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP/Nairobi Convention or contributory organisations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries or the designation of its name, frontiers or boundaries

[1] UNEP/EAF (2012e). UNEP/(DEPI)/EAF/CP.7/3-En.: Report of The Executive Director. Presented at The Seventh Meeting Of Contracting Parties To The Convention For The Protection, Management, And Development Of The Marine And Coastal Environment Of The Western Indian Ocean Region. Maputo, Mozambique 10-14 December 2012.

[2] Iles Eparses Geography 2007 – Flags, Maps, Economy, Geography, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements,Population, Social Statistics, Political System. Theodora.com. (2020). Retrieved 8 April 2020, from https://theodora.com/wfbcurrent/iles_eparses/iles_eparses_geography.html.

[3]United Nations, 2019. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. [Online]
Available at: https://population.un.org/wpp/

[4] Schlüter, T. and Trauth, M., 2008. The Comoros. In: Geological Atlas of Africa. p.74.

[5] UNEP-Nairobi Convention and WIOMSA (2015). The Regional State of the Coast Report: Western Indian Ocean. UNEP and WIOMSA, Nairobi, Kenya, 78 pp.

[6] Quétel, C. & Marinesque, S. & Ringler, David & Fillinger, L. & Changeux, Thomas & Marteau, C. & Troussellier, Marc. (2016). Iles Eparses (SW Indian Ocean) as reference ecosystems for environmental research. Acta Oecologica. 72. 10.1016/j.actao.2015.12.012.

[7]David Obura, Mishal Gudka, Fouad Abdou Rabi, Suraj Bacha Gian, Jude Bijoux, Sarah Freed, Jean Maharavo, Jelvas Mwaura, Sean Porter, Erwan Sola, Julien Wickel, Saleh Yahya and Said Ahamada (2017) Coral reef status report for the Western Indian Ocean. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN)/International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). pp 144.