by Yolande Fontaine

AREA The approximately 130 islands and islets of French Polynesia have a total land area of 3,521 sq.km, distributed over more than 4,198,000 sq.km of territorial seas. Tahiti, the largest island and centre of government and commerce, has an area of 1,042 sq.km.

POPULATION 188,814 according to the 1988 census (with over 50% on Tahiti).

French Polynesia is an Overseas Territory of France. It lies in the South Pacific between latitudes 7^o50' and 27^o36' South, and longitudes 134^o28' and 154^o40' West, and is made up of over 120 islands and atolls grouped into five archipelagos:

The Governor of French Polynesia also has authority for Clipperton Island, an isolated "near atoll" in the eastern Pacific some 5,200 km northeast of Tahiti, although this is not a part of French Polynesian Territory.

There are two main types of islands. Those referred to as "high" islands are of volcanic origin; they are mountainous with rugged and sometimes almost inaccessible interiors. These include Tahiti, Moorea, the Marquesas, the Gambiers and most of the Australs. Those referred to as "low" islands are coral formations resting on undersea plates, barely rising above the water. Most of these are in the Tuamotus.

The climate is humid tropical, greatly moderated by the trade winds. There are two seasons: a hot and humid season with torrential rains lasting for three months from December to February, and a cooler, drier season, from March to November. The driest months are July and August. Daily variation in temperature is noticeable, especially on Tahiti, where the presence of high mountains gives rise to land breezes that cool the air considerably at night. On Tahiti, the maximum temperature rarely exceeds 34^oC in January, the warmest month, and rarely falls below 28^oC in July, the coldest. The average maximum temperature is 30^oC. Night-time temperatures seldom fall below 22^o in the warm season or below 17-20^oC in the cool season. On the east coast of Tahiti, the heat is moderated by the trade winds. In the mountains, there is a one degree Centigrade drop for every 200 metres of change in elevation. Given their geographical locations, the Australs are more temperate and the Marquesas more equatorial. Atmospheric humidity is very high. The average relative humidity at Papeete (Tahiti) is 78%, with a daily range of 7%. In the Tuamotus it is 75%, with a less noticeable daily variation of 2%.

Dahl (1980, 1986) has given a brief account of the natural ecosystems of the islands, and has reviewed their importance for nature conservation. UNEP/IUCN (1988) provide a general account of the coral reef systems in each island group, and also give detailed information on ten of the most important islands and reef systems (Rapa Island in the Australs; Scilly Atoll and the Temae and Tiahura Reefs on Moorea in the Society Islands; and Mataiva, Moruroa, Rangiroa, Takapoto, Tikehau and Taiaro atolls in the Tuamotus).

Very little information is available on the wetlands of French Polynesia. Although marine ecosystems, and especially the coral reefs, have received a considerable amount of attention, very few studies have been carried out on the Territory's non-marine environments, and these environments, including the aquatic habitats, remain poorly understood.

There are rather few wetlands in French Polynesia, and most of these are very small in size. They include mountain streams and torrents (on several of the larger high islands), a freshwater lake (Lac Vaihiria on Tahiti), riverine forest and lowland rivers (on Tahiti only), a number of brackish to hypersaline lagoons (on several high islands and some atolls), and many tiny freshwater marshes generally under cultivation for taro (Colocasia esculenta and Cyrtosperma sp.). There are also some interesting brackish ponds with salinities in the range 10-20 p.p.t. on some of the atolls. The Marquesas are relatively dry islands, apparently lacking any significant freshwater or brackish wetlands. Similarly, there do not appear to be any significant wetland habitats in the Gambier Islands or in most of the Austral Islands, although there are large seabird colonies in each of these three island groups.

The tidal rise and fall throughout the islands is very low (generally less than 40 cm), and there is little exposed reef flat or mudflat at low tide. In contrast to many Pacific islands, there are no indigenous mangroves in French Polynesia, although Rhizophora stylosa was introduced to Tahiti, Moorea and Bora-Bora in the Society Islands in the 1970s (Taylor, 1979). The natural littoral vegetation of the high islands consists primarily of forests of "purau" (Hibiscus tiliaceus). This vegetation has now almost entirely disappeared because of coastal development. Similarly, most swampy areas in the coastal zone and many reef flats have been filled in to increase the area of land available for development. In Tahiti and Raiatea, for example, it is estimated that more than 50% of the coastline is now artificial. Pollution has also been a problem, at least locally. Mowbray (1988) reports on a kill of fish in rivers caused by detamethrin and other agricultural chemicals.

This extensive coastal development on many of the high islands has resulted in the loss of much of the former wetland habitat, and with it a decline in two species associated with this habitat, the Little Heron (Butorides striatus) and Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa). The endemic subspecies of the Little Heron, B. s. patruelis, is confined to Tahiti, and with the loss much of the littoral and riverine vegetation on this island, has now become very rare. The population of Black Ducks on Tahiti has also shown a serious decline in recent decades, and may now number only 200-300 individuals. Other resident species associated with wetlands in French Polynesia include the Pacific Reef Heron (Egretta sacra), Spotless Crake (Porzana tabuensis), Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii), Tahiti Kingfisher (Halcyon venerata) and Tuamotu Kingfisher (H. gambieri). The Swamp Harrier (Circus approximans) was introduced in the Society Islands around 1885, and is now common and widespread (Thibault & Rives, 1975).

Undoubtedly the most interesting waterbirds of French Polynesia, however, are the two endemic species of shorebirds, the Tahiti Sandpiper (Prosobonia (Aechmorhynchus) leucoptera) and Tuamotu Sandpiper (P. cancellatus). The Tahiti Sandpiper is known only from three specimens collected in 1773 and 1777 on Tahiti and Moorea in the Society Islands. Apparently a bird of stream sides, this small sandpiper was already very limited in its distribution at that time, and its extinction was very swift. Predation by introduced rats seems to be the most likely explanation for its rapid disappearance.

The Tuamotu Sandpiper was first described from a specimen collected on Christmas Island (Kiribati) in 1778. The species has never been found there again, but it was collected or reported from at least 16 atolls in the Tuamotu Archipelago in the 1920s. The species has disappeared from a number of inhabited atolls in recent decades, and it seems probable that the introduction of rats and cats has eliminated it from all but the least frequently visited islands. Hay (1985) and Collar and Andrew (1988) were aware of recent records from only six localities, Marutea du Sud, Maturei-Vavao, Tenararo, Pinaki and Nukutavake in the southern Tuamotus and Rangiroa in the northern Tuamotus. However, Collar and Andrew noted that 12 of the sites where the species was found in the 1920s had not been visited since then, and a further 24 atolls in the Tuamotus, some apparently suitable, had never been surveyed for birds. In April 1989, an ornithological expedition to seven atolls in the north-central part of the archipelago discovered good populations of Tuamotu Sandpipers on four uninhabited islets (motus) in Tahanea Atoll, and was informed that the species still occurred on some other atolls in the area, notably Hiti, Taunake and Tepoto in the Raevski Group (Lovegrove et al., 1989).

Only three species of migratory shorebirds occur regularly in French Polynesia, the Pacific Golden Plover (Pluvialis fulva), Bristle-thighed Curlew (Numenius tahitiensis) and Wandering Tattler (Heteroscelus incanus), but all three of these are widespread and fairly common. Lovegrove et al. (1989) estimated that at least 600 Bristle-thighed Curlews were present in the northern half of the Tuamotu Archipelago in early 1989. French Polynesia is probably the main wintering area for this threatened species. Very few other migratory waterbirds ever reach French Polynesia, although two species of ducks, the Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) and Northern Shoveler (A. clypeata), and at least four species of shorebirds have occurred as rare vagrants (Pratt et al., 1987).

Three species of Acrocephalus warbler, the Tahiti Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus caffra), Marquesas Reed Warbler (A. mendanae) and Tuamotu Reed Warbler (A. atypha) are endemic to French Polynesia, and one of these, the Tahiti Reed Warbler (confined to the islands of Tahiti and Moorea) is rare and local (Pratt et al., 1987). However, these are primarily birds of bamboo thickets, secondary growth and dense scrub, and have no special affinity for wetland habitats.

Very little research has been carried out on wetlands in French Polynesia, scientists on the whole being more interested in the reef systems. Nevertheless, some studies have been conducted under the auspices of ORSTOM and the École Pratique des Hautes Études at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. These have included a study of the hydrology and chemical and biological characteristics of the rivers of Tahiti, Lake Vaihiria and Maeva Lagoon. Maeva Lagoon, on the island of Huahine, has been particularly well studied from an archaeological point of view by a team of archaeologists led by Prof. Y.H. Sinoto of the Bishop Museum in Hawaii. Detailed soil surveys have been carried out, and ORSTOM has recently produced an atlas of natural resource systems in the Territory. A study of the avifauna of French Polynesian is currently being coordinated by the Delegation a l'Environnement.

The provisions of the statute for self-government, Law No.84-620 of 6 September 1984, grants the Territory of French Polynesia complete authority over its environmental protection policy. Regulatory power lies with the Territorial Assembly; executive power rests with the President of the Territorial Government and his Council of Ministers. Nevertheless, enforcement of regulations and legal proceedings remain in the hands of the French Government. France is represented in the Territory by the High Commissioner of the Republic.

There are no specific regulations concerning wetlands, nor any particular regulations governing the creation and management of parks, reserves and other protected areas. A text is, however, being drafted. Currently, measures for the protection of sites derive from the Planning Code of French Polynesia, and in particular from Title V of Book I: "on the natural and cultural heritage of the Territory, on the designation and protection of sites, monuments, objects and elements pertaining thereto." It is through this mechanism that seven islets and atolls have been designated as nature reserves, and a valley on Tahiti designated a territorial park (Parc Naturel Territorial). However, this Planning Code also provides for the draining of swampy land, in Book I, Title II: "general measures against the spread of mosquitos" (Article 0.320-2). Regulations covering water and forests contain provisions concerning the protection of the soil, vegetation and waterways. The hunting and destruction of all species of birds is prohibited by a decree enacted in 1967, but this is apparently seldom enforced (Hay, 1985).

At international level, France has ratified the Convention on the Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific (the Apia Convention), after consultation with the Territorial Assembly. France is also a party to the Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific (SPREP Convention), the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (the Ramsar Convention) and the World Heritage Convention, and has signed but not yet ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity.

At present, the protected areas network in French Polynesia includes a small reserve covering the lagoon area of Manuae (Scilly Atoll) in the Society Islands, four reserves comprising the volcanic islands of Eiao, Hatutaa, Motu-One and Mohotani in the Marquesas, a Strict Nature Reserve and Biosphere Reserve of 2,000 ha at Taiaro Atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago, and a Territorial Park of 750 ha in the Faaiti Valley in the Papenoo drainage on Tahiti (IUCN, 1991). None of these was established specifically to protect wetland habitat, although the Taiaro Atoll reserve includes an interesting enclosed saline lagoon, and the Faaiti Territorial Park includes some undisturbed mountain stream habitats. A proposal to designate Miti Rapa Lagoon, located on the island of Tahiti opposite the Isthmus of Taravao, is currently being studied. This proposal was put forward by the Societe d'Ornithologie de Polynesie (MANU), and is receiving the support of the Delegation a l'Environnement.

The body currently in charge of protected areas in French Polynesia is the Delegation a l'Environnement (Environmental Commission), which was created on 30 May 1985. This is an administrative service of the Territory, with a coordinating role in the formulation and application of an environmental policy. Its principal mission is to ensure the proper management of the environment and maintenance of the quality of life, as well as to define and recommend those elements necessary to formulate a coherent environmental policy. Within this framework of general responsibilities, the Delegation is instructed to give special attention to the following:

With its very limited staff (only 11 employees in 1991), the Delegation a l'Environnement has not as yet been able to put into place an effective policy for environmental protection or for the management of protected areas.

(a) Governmental bodies

(b) Academic institutions

(c) Non-governmental conservation bodies