Title/name of the Area: Iles Éparses (part of the Mozambique Channel)

in less than 150 words) The “Scattered islands” (literal translation of “les Iles Éparses”) stretch down the length of the Mozambique Channel, between the east coast of Africa and Madagascar. These islands are fairly remote and largely still intact, offering sites of high conservation value. Introduction The Iles Éparses are an administrative unit rather than a single geological unit, with the northern banks (Glorieuses and Geyser) likely being extensions of the Comoros archipelago, while the middle and southern islands are distinct geological features. Oceanographically, the islands are bathed by the variable eddies of the Mozambique channel with resulting enhanced productivity driven by the eddies and their interactions with the continental slopes and island slopes, but there is strong differentiation from north to south. In the north, the “Glorioso Front” was christened for its proximity to Glorieuses island, and may mark the transition from the SEC to the waters of the channel. Juan de Nova is at a point off the Madagascar west coast characterized by significant aggregations of marine mammals, an indicator of high productivity likely driven by interactions between eddies and the shallowest sections of the Davie ridge. Europa and Bassas de India, in the center of the southern Mozambique channel, experience mature eddy systems. While the individual islands are all small, as a group they cover a large geographic range across the whole of the Mozambique channel. The integrity of the serial/island group is very high as the islands are uninhabited and human pressure very low. All studies show that marine habitats are in good health despite recent climate change impacts, and the composition of the trophic chain, with abundance of top predators is a sign of good health. Nevertheless, each island has a distinctive character, and provided the productivity and dynamics of open sea areas that are critical for feeding and migration remain in good condition, each island has a high integrity.