A GIS Analysis of Environmental Security: Application to the French Territories of the South Pacific

Since the 1950s, surface maritime activities have continuously increased. However, these activities can also have an impact on the marine environment. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how the integration of AIS (Automatic Identification System) data, contextual data (related to both human and physical environments), and the representation of information using hexagonal spatial grids within a Geographic Information System (GIS) enables environmental analyses of maritime spaces. To achieve this, three case studies are developed, relating to maritime incidents, deballasting and IUU (undeclared and unregulated) fishing in New Caledonia and French Polynesia. Finally, the construction of a Maritime Environmental Vulnerability Index (MEVI) is presented.