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Mataiva Atoll, one of 84 in French Polynesia, is a small coral island at the western edge of the Tuamotu Archipelago. This atoll occupies a particular place among the French Polynesian atolls since the discovery beneath the lagoon sediments of deposits of phosphates soon to be exploited. In order to estimate the environmental effects of such exploitation and plan a management scheme, numerous studies have been carried out since 1978 by many scientific organizations: Antenne du Museum National et de l'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes en Polynesie Francaise, Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique d'Outre-Mer (ORSTOM), B.C. Research, Institut de Recherches Medicales Louis Malarde (IRMLM), Centre National pour l'Exploitation des Oceans (CNEXO) and Commissariat a I'Energie Atomique (CEA-LESE).