With 10% of the world's reefs, France has a great responsibility in the protection of these ecosystems. It is committed to protecting 100% of coral reefs by 2025.
To do this, it is based on a review of the state of health of coral reefs and associated ecosystems carried out every five years. The 2020 report, the result of collective work with all overseas coral reefs, shows that the state of health of French coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves is contrasted: great disparities exist between regions, territories and within the same territory.
• The reefs are rather preserved in large territories, with low population or uninhabited, whose coastal areas are subject to low or moderate pressure: in the Pacific (New Caledonia, French Polynesia - outside the Society Archipelago, Wallis and -Futuna), and the Scattered Islands (Indian Ocean): 70% of the stations monitored are in good condition.
• They are rather degraded, in territories of smaller surface area, subject to strong demographic pressure and highly anthropized: French Antilles (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy) and Indian Ocean (Mayotte, Reunion): 62 % of the stations monitored are degraded there.
The main recommendations relate to the reduction of “local” anthropogenic pressures (sanitation, reduction of erosion, management of coastal developments, etc.), the extension of strong marine protection areas, and innovation to strengthen the resilience of reefs. and their associated ecosystems in the face of the impacts of climate change.
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