IntroductionEn Guyane fran çaise, les premiers explorateurs pensaient trouver une fabuleuse contrée où l’or abondait. Bien que l’existence de ce site mythique ne fut jamais prouvée, le premier gisement aurifère fut découvert en 1855 (Moullet et al., 2005). L’exploitation aurifère est aujourd’hui la seconde activité industrielle de la Guyane française (juste devant les filières pêche et bois), car elle représentait en 1999, 38,2 % du total des exportations, soit une valeur estimée à 40 millions..
During the past thirty years the surface of mangrove swamps in the Lesser Antilles has globally decreased over twenty percent. The phenomenon is worldwide spread but the Lesser Antilles' issues remain noteworthy because, due to the small size of these islands, prejudices on the mangrove swamps may have significant impacts. This paper starts to address some methodological remarks about statistics concerning mangroves (before the nineties, long-term data are incomplete and they impede a good estimate of the evolution of this ecosystem) and is mainly divided in two parts. In the first part, we briefly recall the importance of mangrove swamps in the Lesser Antilles. Despite the different physical characteristics of these islands, mangroves appear from several points of view as one of the common feature in these islands. Quantitatively, from 1980 to 2010, the area occupied by mangroves has regressed in the Lesser Antilles and in the world in general. Mangroves were soon disqualified owing to their inaccessibility and unhealthiness. Furthermore, deprived of their traditional functions, they have been progressively marginalized with economic development and rising living standards in small islands economies notwithstanding their positive role as an ecosystem. Highlighted since the 1980s, this role appears particularly evident in the field of marine resources and protection against hurricanes and tsunamis, but also to help restore the quality of coastal waters and biodiversity. In the second part of this paper, we wonder about the paradox faced by the inhabitants of the Lesser Antilles. On the one hand they really cannot prevent major natural threats on their wetlands like global climate change, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes or tsunamis. And on the other hand, due to their territorial and political scale, these small islands should be able to act against local anthropogenic threats i.e. deforestation, household effluents, agriculture, urbanization, tourism, etc. Indeed, the Lesser Antilles islands have adopted the principles of ecosystem protection and integrated development of coastal areas (including various international conventions in this area). The land use policy, the urban planning, the building on the coastline or next to the mangroves are theoretically under public control. But the paradox is that effective provisions and outcomes are often weak against direct anthropogenic threats even if local solutions do not seem to be out of reach. We give a few typical examples illustrating the damage to mangroves in these islands today whatever the political status or the administrative organization. We conclude by considering that the case of mangroves in the Lesser Antilles may be a good illustration of the economic problem posed by the management of the commons. Shortly, the protection granted to goods depends on the value of goods. As for us the continuous decrease of mangrove surfaces reflects the lack of recognition of their value at every sense of the word. Even outside the market system, the recovery and the...
IntroductionBien que les îles de la Caraïbe présentent des caractéristiques historiques, culturelles et économiques similaires, leur urbanisation et leur évolution démographique révèlent des discontinuités majeures. De façon générale, l’urbanisation est contrastée, ce qui conforte l’idée selon laquelle ces espaces insulaires sont des objets hétérogènes, en dépit de leurs critères historiques et culturels homogènes (Note de l’auteur).Les mutations socioéconomiques observées ont des incidences ..
International audienceThis study highlights the importance of tourism issues for the tropical islands. The singularity of the spaces is too often overlooked because of the strength of fantasized representations of the tropical island which is seen as a paradise, a place of accomplishment desires unlimited with an easy life, with its sunny shores, between coral reefs and white sandy beaches lined with coconut trees. These intangible wealth are based on real resources, abundant and vulnerable, like the emblematic image of coral reefs. Although the tropical island destinations are not supported the weight of the major touristic regions of the world but their flows should be reconsidered in the light of the characteristics of these territories (small size, load population, shortage of land, limits of resources) that require defining specific indicators. But the advent of mass tourism in these last frontiers, these "Pleasure Periphery" needs to question the sustainability of tourism development strategies.Cette étude souligne l’importance des enjeux touristiques pour les îles tropicales. La singularité des espaces est trop souvent négligée en raison de la vigueur des représentations fantasmées de l’île tropicale qui est perçue tel un lieu paradisiaque, un lieu d’accomplissement de désirs illimités où s’écoule une vie facile, avec ses rivages ensoleillés, entre récifs coralliens et plages de sable blanc bordées de cocotiers. Ces richesses immatérielles reposent sur des ressources bien réelles, abondantes et vulnérables, à l’image des emblématiques récifs coralliens. Certes les destinations insulaires tropicales ne connaissent pas les niveaux de fréquentation des grandes régions du monde, mais leurs flux doivent être reconsidérés au regard des caractéristiques de ces territoires (faible superficie, charge de population, rareté de la terre, limites des ressources) qui nécessitent la définition d’indications spécifiques. Mais l’avènement d’un tourisme de masse dans ces ultimes frontières, ces « Pleasure Periphery » nécessite de s’interroger sur la viabilité des stratégies de développement mises en œuvre autour du tourisme
International audienceThe history of international tourism of the last fifty years can be divided into three stages: 1 / decades from 1950 to 1980, characterized by a progressive democratization of tourism supported by an unparalleled economic growth, 2 / the last decade of the twentieth century, euphoria of a tourist who sees the borders open. The end of a bipolar world announcement many hopes naive. The scope of territories open to tourism continues to widen. 3 / The end of the century announces the age of maturity of tourism. After the euphoria, illusions and disillusions of a space tourist world without borders, facts, often dramatic raised awareness tourists to the complexity of a world where wars have never ceased. The global space tourism is articulated around three regional basins: more than 75% of international tourist flows, driven by the rich European cities, North American and Asian, are confined to their regional area of origin. The distribution of tourist flows draws an organization into three distinct basins: in order of importance, 1 / Euro-Mediterranean basin, focusing on the Mediterranean Sea, 2 / Basin East Asia-Pacific, around the shores of the Sea of China, 3 / basin North America-Caribbean, organized around the "American Mediterranean." Space discontinuities increase between peripheries unstable, extensions selective and margins forgotten or excluded. The climate of insecurity that affect certain touristic territories aimed at weakening the outskirts most sensitive and oblige the international space tourist to retract.L’histoire du tourisme international des cinquante dernières années peut être décomposée en trois temps : 1/ les décennies de 1950 à 1980, caractérisées par une démocratisation progressive du tourisme soutenue par une croissance économique inégalée ; 2/ la dernière décennie du vingtième siècle, celle d’une euphorie touristique qui voit les frontières s’ouvrir. La fin d’un monde bipolaire annonce bien des espoirs naïfs. Le champ des territoires ouverts au tourisme ne cesse de s’élargir. 3/ La fin du siècle annonce l’âge de maturité du tourisme. Après l’euphorie, les illusions et les désillusions d’un espace touristique mondial sans frontières, les faits, souvent dramatiques ont fait prendre conscience aux touristes la complexité d’un monde où les guerres n’ont jamais cessé. L’espace touristique mondial est articulé autour de trois bassins régionaux : plus de 75 % des flux touristiques internationaux, impulsés par les riches métropoles européennes, nord-américaines et asiatiques, se cantonnent à dans leur espace régional d’origine. La distribution des flux touristiques dessine une organisation en trois bassins distincts : par ordre d’importance, 1/ le bassin euro-méditerranéen, centré sur la Mer méditerranée, 2/ le bassin Asie orientale-Pacifique, autour des rivages de la mer de Chine, 3/ le bassin Amérique du Nord — Caraïbes, organisé autour de la « Méditerranée américaine ». Les discontinuités s’affirment entre des périphéries mal stabilisées, des prolongements très sélectifs, ...
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
334 Leonard St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.