Comoro Islands
Encyclopedia
The Comoros Islands form an archipelago
of volcanic islands situated off the south-east coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique
and north-west of Madagascar
. They are divided between the sovereign state of Comoros
and the French overseas department of Mayotte
. The islet of Banc du Geyser
and the Glorioso Islands
are sometimes included as part of the archipelago.
Two islets, have been considered part of this archipelago, by various sources, and at different times:
In addition, between Madagascar and Mayotte, there is the Banc du Leven, a former island which is submerged these days.
"The affinity between the Comorian flora and the Madagascan flora is certain. The presence of the Banc du Leven, along about one hundred kilometres to the extreme north-west of Madagascar between the Montagne d'Ambre and the archipelago could partly explain this affinity. In fact, this bank with a tabular appearance presents coralligenous sediments which can be attributed to the presence of a coral reef
during the Würm glaciation."
— Callmander, M.W. 2002. Biogéographie et systématique des Pandanaceae de l’Océan Indien occidental. Doctoral Thesis, University of Neuchâtel, 253 p.
Politically
, the islands are currently divided into two entities:
The Union of the Comoros
is recognized as including the three northernmost islands. Anjouan
and Mohéli
declared their independence in 1997, however these unilateral declarations of independence received no international recognition and were later rescinded.
Grande Comore is the youngest of the islands, and has a massive active volcano on it, which scientists predict is likely to erupt in the near future.
, Indonesian
, Arab
, Portuguese
, French
and Indian
origin. Islam arrived here in the 10th Century. These islands formed with Zanzibar
, Pemba, Lamu
, and the towns along the Kenyan and Tanzanian coast a united and prosperous area with Swahili culture
, living by trading slaves, ivory and other African goods destined for markets in the Middle East and India. During this period, power was in the hands of a number of local rulers. During their explorations of all this region, the Portuguese discovered and landed on the Islands of the Moon (qamar in Arabic means "moon") in 1505.
Between 1841 and 1912, the French subdued the islands in a series of a number of incredible moves (???) mixing, just like in Madagascar
, acts of war, treachery and love stories (???). They succeeded in establishing protectorates and then a colony administered by the Governor General of Madagascar. The European powers recognised the French influence over the islands after the Berlin conference of 1884-85 which divided up Africa. The islands were constituted as a French colony in 1908 but attached to Madagascar in 1912.
Since the workforce on Réunion
was becoming increasingly more expensive, the Comoro Islands, forgotten by the central administration, offered the colonists and colonial societies (like la Bambao) various perspectives and a workforce in plantations of aromatic plants and vanilla
. In 1946, the islands were no longer administratively attached to Madagascar and formed a united and recognized administrative entity, an Overseas Territory of France (Territoire d'outre-mer or TOM).
In 1974, France organized a referendum for self-determination in the archipelago in which the population voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence. However, following the unilateral declaration of independence in 1975, France refused to recognise Comorian sovereignty over Mayotte, where a majority had voted no in the referendum. The three remaining islands formed the Etat Comorian, which later became the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoro Islands.
In 1997, demands for increased autonomy on the islands of Nzwani (Anjouan) and Mwali (Moheli) led to the breakup of the Federal Islamic Republic. The government reformed under a new constitution in 2001 as the Union of the Comoros. The new constitution gave each of the three islands more autonomy than had been enjoyed previously. However, national authority over the islands was confirmed following the refusal of the President of Anjouan to hold free elections in 2008, and he was forced to flee by military intervention by troops of the Comorian Union and the African Union. The island continues its present form of confederal government albeit with minor changes approved in a 2009 referendum.
Mayotte, which had voted to retain French suzerainty in the 1975 referendum, expressed a wish to accede to the status of a département d'outre-mer (DOM) (Overseas Department) following another referendum
held on the island on the 29 March 2009. Mayotte officially became France's 101st department on 31 March 2011.
On 30 June 2009, Yemenia Flight 626
crashed off the Comoros Islands. Out of 153 people, one survived.
There are two seasons in the Comoros: the hot and humid season flowing in from the north-west from November to April and the dry season from May to October. The climate on Mayotte is, nevertheless, noticeably warmer and drier. The climate is also characterized by important local variations in temperature and precipitation according to altitude, relief and the degree of exposure to the elements. Annual precipitation therefore varies in the region of 1000 to 6000 mm (39.4 to 236.2 in) and the absolute minimum of 0 °C (32 °F) is reached on the summit of Karthala.
The hot, dry season is caused by a vast low pressure area which extends over a large part of the Indian Ocean and Central Africa. This low pressure favours gusty winds and cyclone
s. The last cyclone was "Gafilo" which passed close to the Comoros on the 5th of March 2004 causing great material damage. During the hot and humid season it can rain as much as 200 mm (7.9 in) in twenty-four hours.
The dry season is calmer. The low pressure moves towards the continent of Asia (this is the Monsoon
, the wind blowing from the south-east) and an anticyclone
forms below the Comoros. This still does not prevent the islands from having a few gusts of wind, but their intensity is a lot less than during the hot season.
The two winds that bring the two different seasons are called the Kashkasi (in November) and the Kusi.
in 1863, previously abundant, has now been reduced to a population of about 1200 specimens, restricted to Anjouan and Moheli. A British preservation group sent an expedition to the Comoros in 1992, with the object of transporting some specimens to Great Britain, in order to form a reproducing colony.
Twenty-two species of birds are endemic to the archipelago, and seventeen of them only live on territories controlled by the Union; especially notable examples of these are the Karthala Scops-Owl, the Anjouan Scops-Owl and the Moucherolle of Humblot.
Partly as a result of international pressure during the 1990s, the government of the Union has begun to take greater care of the environment. Measures have been taken not only to preserve the rare fauna, but also to check the destruction of the environment, especially on Anjouan, which is densely populated. More precisely, in order to minimize the felling of trees for fuel, kerosene has been subsidized, and efforts are underway to replace the lost forest cover caused by the distillation of Ylang-ylang
for perfume. The Fund for the Support of Community Development, sponsored by the International Development Association (IDA, a subsidiary of the World Bank
) and the Comorian government, is applying itself to improving the water supply on the islands.
No large African animals (elephants, giraffes, lions, crocodiles, zebras or antelopes) are found on the Comoros, despite the islands being relatively close to the Mainland.
s that are primarily dependent on the altitude. There you can find many kinds of tropical plants, large numbers of which are endemic. Like most islands, the diversity of the local flora suffers from two pressures, on the one hand the reduction of available space caused by the reduction of biotope
s due to the invasion of humans in what used to be the wildest areas and on the other hand the invasion of exotic plant species such as guava
trees. The flora has only been poorly studied, France has however been made attempts on Mayotte to fill in the gaps. Efforts to preserve species are still not enough to save the richest zones, and disturbances of biotopes are expected to take place for many years to come.
The United Nations General Assembly continued to condemn the French presence in Mayotte until 1994. France, however, used its power of veto in the UN to prevent the Security Council from passing a resolution condemning France.
The African Union judged the French presence on Mayotte to be illegal.
Mayotte forms a part of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union
. It should become a Special Member State Territory at the moment that it is made a French Department.
The Comoros underwent a political crisis that started off in 1997 with the separatism on Anjouan.
The political authorities on the island had turned the population of the island against the central government, advocating at first reunification with France, and later a greater autonomy bordering on independence.
Since 2006, the President of the Union of the Comoros Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, originally from the island of Anjouan has been in open conflict with the authorities of Anjouan, a conflict which ended in a military landing of the National Army of Development in order to re-establish the authority of the Union on the island.
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
of volcanic islands situated off the south-east coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
and north-west of Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
. They are divided between the sovereign state of Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
and the French overseas department of Mayotte
Mayotte
Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...
. The islet of Banc du Geyser
Banc du Geyser
Banc du Geyser is a mostly submerged reef in the Mozambique Channel's northeastern part, 125 km northeast from Mayotte, 112 km southwest of the Îles Glorieuses, and 200 km off the northwestern coast of Madagascar, at .The Banc is a dangerous oval-shaped reef 8 km long and...
and the Glorioso Islands
Glorioso Islands
The Glorieuses or Glorioso Islands are a group of French islands and rocks totalling , at , in the northern Mozambique channel, about northwest of Madagascar. The Glorieuses have an Exclusive Economic Zone of...
are sometimes included as part of the archipelago.
Geography
The Comoros are located in the Mozambique Channel to the north-west of Madagascar and facing Mozambique. These four volcanic islands, covering a total area of 2034 km², are:- Ngazidja (or Grande Comore): the largest island, with the capital of the Union of the Comoros, Moroni
- Ndzwani (or Anjouan)
- Mwali (or Mohéli)
- Maore (or Mayotte): under French administration, and including
- PamanziPamanziPamanzi, known as Petite-Terre in French, is an island just off Mayotte, and is the second largest island after Mayotte itself. It was once the most important island, with Mayotte's only airport and the capital Dzaoudzi, until 1977 when Mamoudzou was chosen as the new capital. The communes of...
(or Petite Terre) Mayotte's second-largest island. Supports Mayotte's only airport in DzaoudziDzaoudziDzaoudzi is a commune in the French overseas department of Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean. The commune of Dzaoudzi , made up of the twin towns of Dzaoudzi and Labattoir, is located on the small island of Petite-Terre... - Banc VailheuBanc VailheuBanc Vailheu is a submerged volcano in the Comoro Islands group. It is located 12 knots west of Grand Comoro and extends for nine miles underwater. Banc Vailheu is a wall diving location....
, or Raya, lies 20 km west of Grande Comore, is within 7 m of the surface at low tide.
Two islets, have been considered part of this archipelago, by various sources, and at different times:
- The Banc du GeyserBanc du GeyserBanc du Geyser is a mostly submerged reef in the Mozambique Channel's northeastern part, 125 km northeast from Mayotte, 112 km southwest of the Îles Glorieuses, and 200 km off the northwestern coast of Madagascar, at .The Banc is a dangerous oval-shaped reef 8 km long and...
, a reef measuring 8 by 5 km in area, some parts of which are emergent, situated 130 km Northe North-East of Mayotte. It is claimed by Comoros, France and Madagascar. - The Glorioso IslandsGlorioso IslandsThe Glorieuses or Glorioso Islands are a group of French islands and rocks totalling , at , in the northern Mozambique channel, about northwest of Madagascar. The Glorieuses have an Exclusive Economic Zone of...
(French Îles Glorieuses) were administratively attached to the archipelago before 1975, and, geologically speaking, form a part of the archipelago.
In addition, between Madagascar and Mayotte, there is the Banc du Leven, a former island which is submerged these days.
"The affinity between the Comorian flora and the Madagascan flora is certain. The presence of the Banc du Leven, along about one hundred kilometres to the extreme north-west of Madagascar between the Montagne d'Ambre and the archipelago could partly explain this affinity. In fact, this bank with a tabular appearance presents coralligenous sediments which can be attributed to the presence of a coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
during the Würm glaciation."
— Callmander, M.W. 2002. Biogéographie et systématique des Pandanaceae de l’Océan Indien occidental. Doctoral Thesis, University of Neuchâtel, 253 p.
Politically
Political geography
Political geography is the field of human geography that is concerned with the study of both the spatially uneven outcomes of political processes and the ways in which political processes are themselves affected by spatial structures...
, the islands are currently divided into two entities:
- The Comoros, a sovereignSovereigntySovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
stateSovereign stateA sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither... - MayotteMayotteMayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...
, an overseas department of France
The Union of the Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
is recognized as including the three northernmost islands. Anjouan
Anjouan
Anjouan is an autonomous island, part of the Union of Comoros. The island is located in the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Mutsamudu and its population as of 2006 is about 277,500. The total area of the island is 424 sq. kilometers Anjouan (also known as Ndzuwani or Nzwani) is an autonomous island,...
and Mohéli
Mohéli
Mohéli, also known as Mwali, is one of the three islands which make up the nation of Comoros. Mohéli is located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is by far the smallest of the Comoros islands. Its population, as of 2006, is about 38,000. Its capital city is Fomboni...
declared their independence in 1997, however these unilateral declarations of independence received no international recognition and were later rescinded.
Grande Comore is the youngest of the islands, and has a massive active volcano on it, which scientists predict is likely to erupt in the near future.
History
The first traces of inhabitation date back to the 6th century. Since then, numerous ethnicities have crossed over and mixed, among which are populations of Bantu, MalagasyMalagasy people
The Malagasy ethnic group forms nearly the entire population of Madagascar. They are divided into two subgroups: the "Highlander" Merina, Sihanaka and Betsileo of the central plateau around Antananarivo, Alaotra and Fianarantsoa, and the côtiers elsewhere in the country. This division has its...
, Indonesian
Demographics of Indonesia
The population of Indonesia according to the 2010 national census is 237.6 million, with 58% living on the island of Java, the world's most populous island....
, Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
, Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
, French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
and Indian
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
origin. Islam arrived here in the 10th Century. These islands formed with Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
, Pemba, Lamu
Lamu
-Threats to Lamu:In a 2010 report titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage, Global Heritage Fund identified Lamu as one of 12 worldwide sites most "On the Verge" of irreparable loss and damage, citing insufficient management and development pressure as primary causes.- See also :* Juma and the Magic...
, and the towns along the Kenyan and Tanzanian coast a united and prosperous area with Swahili culture
Swahili culture
Swahili culture is the culture of the Swahili people living on the east coast of Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique as well as on the islands in the area, from Zanzibar to Comoros, who speak Swahili as their native language....
, living by trading slaves, ivory and other African goods destined for markets in the Middle East and India. During this period, power was in the hands of a number of local rulers. During their explorations of all this region, the Portuguese discovered and landed on the Islands of the Moon (qamar in Arabic means "moon") in 1505.
Between 1841 and 1912, the French subdued the islands in a series of a number of incredible moves (???) mixing, just like in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, acts of war, treachery and love stories (???). They succeeded in establishing protectorates and then a colony administered by the Governor General of Madagascar. The European powers recognised the French influence over the islands after the Berlin conference of 1884-85 which divided up Africa. The islands were constituted as a French colony in 1908 but attached to Madagascar in 1912.
Since the workforce on Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
was becoming increasingly more expensive, the Comoro Islands, forgotten by the central administration, offered the colonists and colonial societies (like la Bambao) various perspectives and a workforce in plantations of aromatic plants and vanilla
Vanilla
Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...
. In 1946, the islands were no longer administratively attached to Madagascar and formed a united and recognized administrative entity, an Overseas Territory of France (Territoire d'outre-mer or TOM).
In 1974, France organized a referendum for self-determination in the archipelago in which the population voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence. However, following the unilateral declaration of independence in 1975, France refused to recognise Comorian sovereignty over Mayotte, where a majority had voted no in the referendum. The three remaining islands formed the Etat Comorian, which later became the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoro Islands.
In 1997, demands for increased autonomy on the islands of Nzwani (Anjouan) and Mwali (Moheli) led to the breakup of the Federal Islamic Republic. The government reformed under a new constitution in 2001 as the Union of the Comoros. The new constitution gave each of the three islands more autonomy than had been enjoyed previously. However, national authority over the islands was confirmed following the refusal of the President of Anjouan to hold free elections in 2008, and he was forced to flee by military intervention by troops of the Comorian Union and the African Union. The island continues its present form of confederal government albeit with minor changes approved in a 2009 referendum.
Mayotte, which had voted to retain French suzerainty in the 1975 referendum, expressed a wish to accede to the status of a département d'outre-mer (DOM) (Overseas Department) following another referendum
Mahoran status referendum, 2009
A referendum on becoming an overseas department of France was held in Mayotte on 29 March 2009. Mayotte had been an overseas collectivity of France since 2003...
held on the island on the 29 March 2009. Mayotte officially became France's 101st department on 31 March 2011.
On 30 June 2009, Yemenia Flight 626
Yemenia Flight 626
Yemenia Flight 626 was an Airbus A310-324 twin-engine jet airliner, operated by Yemenia, operating as a scheduled international flight from Sana'a, Yemen, to Moroni, Comoros, that crashed on 30 June 2009 at around 1:50 a.m. local time while on approach to Prince Said Ibrahim International...
crashed off the Comoros Islands. Out of 153 people, one survived.
Geology
The Comoro Archipelago consists of volcanic islands. These volcanic islands like some of the high mountains in the north of Madagascar were formed in the Tertiary and Quaternary Eras. The island of Mayotte is the oldest one still above sea level and underwent three volcanic phases between 15 million and 500,000 years ago. The ages progressively decrease from east to west. The most recent island is that of Grande Comore, and its volcano, Karthala, is still active. The summit caldera is quite large, being approximately 3 x 4 km (1.9 x 2.5 miles) in size at the rim (2007).Climate
The Comoro Archipelago enjoys a tropical maritime climate, characterized by slight daytime temperature variations throughout the year of around 26 °C (78.8 °F) at sea-level and by abundant precipitation: 2679 mm (105.5 in) a year. The average temperature of the sea water is 25 °C (77 °F).There are two seasons in the Comoros: the hot and humid season flowing in from the north-west from November to April and the dry season from May to October. The climate on Mayotte is, nevertheless, noticeably warmer and drier. The climate is also characterized by important local variations in temperature and precipitation according to altitude, relief and the degree of exposure to the elements. Annual precipitation therefore varies in the region of 1000 to 6000 mm (39.4 to 236.2 in) and the absolute minimum of 0 °C (32 °F) is reached on the summit of Karthala.
The hot, dry season is caused by a vast low pressure area which extends over a large part of the Indian Ocean and Central Africa. This low pressure favours gusty winds and cyclone
Cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
s. The last cyclone was "Gafilo" which passed close to the Comoros on the 5th of March 2004 causing great material damage. During the hot and humid season it can rain as much as 200 mm (7.9 in) in twenty-four hours.
The dry season is calmer. The low pressure moves towards the continent of Asia (this is the Monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
, the wind blowing from the south-east) and an anticyclone
Anticyclone
An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined by the United States' National Weather Service's glossary as "[a] large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere"...
forms below the Comoros. This still does not prevent the islands from having a few gusts of wind, but their intensity is a lot less than during the hot season.
The two winds that bring the two different seasons are called the Kashkasi (in November) and the Kusi.
Flora and fauna
Several mammals are endemic to the islands. The Maki of Mayotte, a type of lemur which is only found on this island, is protected by French law, and by local tradition. A species of bat discovered by David LivingstoneDavid Livingstone
David Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
in 1863, previously abundant, has now been reduced to a population of about 1200 specimens, restricted to Anjouan and Moheli. A British preservation group sent an expedition to the Comoros in 1992, with the object of transporting some specimens to Great Britain, in order to form a reproducing colony.
Twenty-two species of birds are endemic to the archipelago, and seventeen of them only live on territories controlled by the Union; especially notable examples of these are the Karthala Scops-Owl, the Anjouan Scops-Owl and the Moucherolle of Humblot.
Partly as a result of international pressure during the 1990s, the government of the Union has begun to take greater care of the environment. Measures have been taken not only to preserve the rare fauna, but also to check the destruction of the environment, especially on Anjouan, which is densely populated. More precisely, in order to minimize the felling of trees for fuel, kerosene has been subsidized, and efforts are underway to replace the lost forest cover caused by the distillation of Ylang-ylang
Ylang-ylang
Cananga odorata, commonly called Ylang-ylang , cananga tree, ilang-ilang, kenanga , fragrant cananga, Macassar-oil plant or perfume tree),is a tree valued for its perfume...
for perfume. The Fund for the Support of Community Development, sponsored by the International Development Association (IDA, a subsidiary of the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
) and the Comorian government, is applying itself to improving the water supply on the islands.
Fauna
Like other islands in the region, these islands possess numerous endemic species; here are some of the most notable species:- Livingstone's Fruit BatLivingstone's Fruit BatLivingstone's Fruit Bat Livingstone's Fruit Bat Livingstone's Fruit Bat (or Livingstone's Flying Fox; (Pteropus livingstonii) is a megabat in the genus Pteropus. It is found only on two islands in the Comoros. It is the largest bat of all Comorian species. Its preferred habitat is montane forest,...
: a very large endemic daytime bat, which eats fruit. - The MakiRing-tailed LemurThe ring-tailed lemur is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families. It is the only member of the Lemur genus. Like all lemurs it is endemic to the island of Madagascar...
: a type of small lemurLemurLemurs are a clade of strepsirrhine primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. They are named after the lemures of Roman mythology due to the ghostly vocalizations, reflective eyes, and the nocturnal habits of some species...
(Kima in Shikomori) - ScolopendraScolopendraScolopendra is a genus of centipedes of the family Scolopendridae.-Description:In temperate climates, only relatively small species occur, but species from the tropics may exceed .-Ecology and venom:...
: venomous centipedes that can reach up to 25 centimetres long. - The Cœlacanth: a bony fish, known from fossils over 300 million years old.
- The GeckoGeckoGeckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 cm to 60 cm....
: a small lizard that feeds off insects, and is often found spotted on the ceilings of houses. - The Beaked Dolphin : one colony is visible, most mornings, from the beach at Itsandra, close to Moroni, but there are also many others.
- The Green Turtle : Above all on Mohéli and Mayotte where they still come to lay eggs.
- The Tail-Less Tenrec : similar to a hedgehog but belonging to a different family of insectivores, the Tenrecidae, whose main stronghold is Madagascar.
No large African animals (elephants, giraffes, lions, crocodiles, zebras or antelopes) are found on the Comoros, despite the islands being relatively close to the Mainland.
Flora
On the Comoros there are numerous tropical ecosystemEcosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s that are primarily dependent on the altitude. There you can find many kinds of tropical plants, large numbers of which are endemic. Like most islands, the diversity of the local flora suffers from two pressures, on the one hand the reduction of available space caused by the reduction of biotope
Biotope
Biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. Biotope is almost synonymous with the term habitat, but while the subject of a habitat is a species or a population, the subject of a biotope is a biological community.It...
s due to the invasion of humans in what used to be the wildest areas and on the other hand the invasion of exotic plant species such as guava
Guava
Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...
trees. The flora has only been poorly studied, France has however been made attempts on Mayotte to fill in the gaps. Efforts to preserve species are still not enough to save the richest zones, and disturbances of biotopes are expected to take place for many years to come.
Politics
The Comoro Archipelago is divided between:- The Union of the Comoros, a sovereign nation formed by the three islands of Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli
- Mayotte is a French Departmental Community and will become an Overseas Department of the French Republic (département d'outre-mer) in 2011. This island is claimed by the Union of the Comoros (which considers it to form part of its territoryIrredentismIrredentism is any position advocating annexation of territories administered by another state on the grounds of common ethnicity or prior historical possession, actual or alleged. Some of these movements are also called pan-nationalist movements. It is a feature of identity politics and cultural...
according to Article 1 of its Constitution), but it has chosen to remain French in numerous referenda that France has held to decide its position.
The United Nations General Assembly continued to condemn the French presence in Mayotte until 1994. France, however, used its power of veto in the UN to prevent the Security Council from passing a resolution condemning France.
The African Union judged the French presence on Mayotte to be illegal.
Mayotte forms a part of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. It should become a Special Member State Territory at the moment that it is made a French Department.
The Comoros underwent a political crisis that started off in 1997 with the separatism on Anjouan.
The political authorities on the island had turned the population of the island against the central government, advocating at first reunification with France, and later a greater autonomy bordering on independence.
Since 2006, the President of the Union of the Comoros Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, originally from the island of Anjouan has been in open conflict with the authorities of Anjouan, a conflict which ended in a military landing of the National Army of Development in order to re-establish the authority of the Union on the island.