The lost paradise :On the edge of fading___Souhail Arfaoui

Localized on the east of Mounastir, Archipelago Kuriat is ignored by the Tunisian government. With sandy shores; the island is characterized by a development of an extensive sandy cord. From north to south beaches acquire larger widths. North of both islands (Kuriat and Cogniliera) is a seabed with a slope with 5m-10m depth contour and is located 350 m to 800m from the coast.(1)

The underwater topography of this sector exhibits the same characteristics as the almost islands of Monastir. Moreover, these two areas are governed by the same hydrodynamic both characters are strongly affected by waves of East and Northeast areas.

Kuriate the islands are one of the main places of implantation of a race Turtle « Caouane » is already disappeared from several areas, this species is considered a species in extinction and is therefore protected in the Mediterranean. An action plan for the Mediterranean (PAM) summarizes the main threats to this species exposed.

For floras it is salt-tolerant vegetation (plants adapted to salty places), the psammophile adenoids (adenoids who grow in sandy soils), and woody vegetation (vegetation covering the land to cultivate) .The herbarium grows in wide ranging up Mounastir Kuriat islands, including the herbarium of "Posidonia Oceanica" representing the extended wider largest in Tunisia, for the moment there is not a study for characterization of this herbarium around Kuriat islands, though plenty remains on the beach and suggests a significant leaf density . This herbarium is very degraded and silted and has a regressive limit.

The use of this herbarium is manifested in:

-The Setting sediment and mitigation of waves and swells.

-The Production of oxygen and primary organic material at the base of the food web.

-Increasing of the surface available for attachment of the plants. One of the largest shellfish "The Great Pearl" which can exceed one meter in length and lives half buried in the sediment, this species is threatened by pollution more it is weakened by the decline of herbarium beds by anchors and trawls, but also by divers. Algae also experiencing very rapid and significant expansion in particular the case of "Caulerpa racemosa" which occupies the rocky part of the island, appeared at remote sites and suggests the existence of spread from

human vector: gear Boat mooring and shellfish farming (mollusk). The "Caulerpa racemosa" knows spatial and should be followed for preventive measures on the development of herbarium.