Experiments of plasma heating at the ion cyclotron resonance of a minority specie have shown that the heating efficiency degrades above a certain power threshold. It is found that this threshold is due to the destabilization of a branch of shear AlfvŽn waves which causes a diffusive loss of fast ions, the Energetic Particle Modes. These modes not only play a fundamental role in the transport of the fast ions, but appear closely related to the formation of the giant sawteeth.