Restoring native mauritian forests for a sustainable island

Restoring native Mauritian forests for a sustainable island

Mauritius before People Arrived

From locations in

Mauritius emerged from the seabed about 8 million years ago in a series of volcanic eruptions

as an isolated lifeless volcanic island, miles from anywhere

Species colonised this lifeless rock by

WaterWind

Wing

Over many generations some of these new arrivals evolved into species found nowhere else on earthAnd interacted to form unique ecosystems with no species of mammals except bats

80% of native landbirds are unique to Mauritius

80% of native reptiles are unique to Mauritius

39% of native plants unique to Mauritius

37% of native insects are unique to Mauritius

The Heavy Hand of ManInvasive Alien Species

Introduced deliberately or accidently by people

MammalsCan eat native

species poorly

adapted to resist new predators

Crab-eating macaques(introduced

before 1606 )

Ship rats(swum ashore from

shipwrecksBefore 1598)

Indian mongooses(introduced in

1902)

PlantsCan

outcompete Mauritian

plants

Ravenal(from Madagascar

1751)

Chinese guava

(from South America 1763 or

before)

Liane cerf(from S & SE Asia 1785 or before)

Birds & ReptilesThat can

out-compete

their Mauritian relatives

Madagascarfody

Completes withMauritius fody

Indian ring necked parakeet

(Competes with native echo parakeet)

Indian house gecko

(Competes with native geckos)

Pests & Diseases

To which native

species have little resistance

Mass death of trees in 1800s

Cause unknown but likely to have been introduced pests or

diseases

TrichomonosisA major disease of pink pigeons

Beak & featherA major

disease of echo

parakeets

The Heavy Hand of ManPopulation

1950s: Malariabrought

under control

At 644 people per square kilometreMauritius is among the world’s top 10 most crowded countries

1850: Slaveryabolished and

growth inlabour coming

from India

1820 1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 20000

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

2013

Popu

latio

n of

the

isla

nd o

f Mau

ritius

Date

The Heavy Hand of ManHabitat Destruction

Native forest has disappeared over the years

Native forest

Other land uses(includingnon-native forest)

Caused by land clearance for:

17731835

1872

1935

1997

RESULTNative Species have gone Extinct

33% ofMauritianReptiles

The dodo As Dead As The dodo

46% ofMauritianLandbirds

SMALL MAURITIANFLYING FOX

RAVEN PARAKEET

SADDLE BACKTORTOISE

4% ofMauritian

Plants

GIANT SKINK

RESULTAnd Many Species have become very Rare

The Loneliest Palm(Hyophorbe amaricaulis)

Down to the last knownplant

Over 60% of Mauritius’s remaining 315 endemic plant species are threatened with extinction

Boucle d'Oreille(Trochetia Boutoniana )

Mauritius’s National Flower

found in only one location in the wild

Fighting BackSpecies Recovery

Intensive Carefor Rare Species

Breeding rare species

Feeding rare species

Controlling pests and diseases

Moving rare species to safe places

Protecting thePlaces in which rare species are found

Controlling invasive species

No native bird, bat or reptile has gone extinct from the Mauritian mainland for over 150 years but the threat of extinction remains

1974: The world’s rarest falcon4 known wild birds including

ONE BREEDING PAIR

2011-2012: 400 wild birds

1986: The world’s rarest parrot8-12 known wild birds

2011: 540 wild birds

1989: The world’s rarest pigeon 13 known wild birds

2014: 470 wild birds

Species RecoveryHall of Fame

Fighting BackEcosystem Restoration

From 1941 conservation workers have been removing introduced plants and planting native species to restore Mauritian native forest ecosystems (plants and animals living in their natural environment).

These managed locations are known as Conservation Management Areas or CMAs

AcknowledgmentsHow do we restore our forests?

1. Clear Introduced plants


2. Plant native plants if necessary


3. Control non-native animals if necessary


4. Introduce rare native animals and plants and species as necessary

Pink Pigeons

Mauritius Fody

Hurricane Palm

Telfair’s Skink


5. Introduce “Analogue Species” as necessary

Aldabran Giant Tortoise

The Aldabran tortoise is not a Mauritian native species but both Mauritian giant tortoise species went extinct many years ago.

The Aldabran tortoise looks like and acts like the extinct Mauritian species. In other words it is an “analogue” to the extinct species”. The Aldabran tortoise helps to restore our forest in two ways:1. By eating non-native plants (“weeding”) and;2. By eating the fruits of native plants and spreading the seeds in their dung. This helps the plants to spread.


5. Keep managing the restoration area over time and allow nature to do the rest

Fighting BackEcosystem Restoration

19411944

19471950

19531956

19591962

19651968

19711974

19771980

19831986

19891992

19951998

20012004

20072010

20130

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Year

Cum

ulati

ve a

rea

wee

ded

(in h

ecta

res)

Increasing Area of CMAs from 1941 - 2014

UNDP-GEF PAN

Project

First UNDP-GEF

Mauritius Project

Black River

Gorges National

Park created

IUCN-WWF plants projec

t

1st Forest conservation

plot1st experimental weeded plot

Note: A hectare is about the size of a football pitch

1941- 2010: Progress has being madeBut the pieces are not all in place

Many Mauritians are not very involved in the work

Conservation in Mauritius has sometimes been dominated by technical specialists and not accessible to everybody

Restoration plots are still too small and not joined up

SMALLOnly one CMA is bigger than 10 ha

Not joined upThere are several kilometresBetween each neighbouring CMA

1941- 2010: Progress has being madeBut the pieces are not all in place

CMAs are not found in lowland forests andPlaces outside southwestMauritius

Not all important native ecosystems are underformal and active conservation management

Locations of CMAS managed by the Government of Mauritius in 2010

Finance neededFor conservation

$$

$$$$

Finance availableFor conservation

MAIN SOURCES OF FUNDING• Government of Mauritius• Projects

Protected area managementis expensive

Protected Endemic Sanctuaries

In 2010 the Government of Mauritius through the Ministry of Agro-Industries Food Production and Security (MAIFS) received

money from a Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Project through The United National Development Programme (UNDP) to work with its partners in the Government, in business, among private

landowners, communities and non-governmental organisations to improve conservation in Mauritius through the development of

Protected Endemic Sanctuaries (PES) - locations of outstanding importance for the conservation of Mauritius's unique plants and

animals.

Protected Endemic Sanctuarieshelping to join up the pieces

A near 4 times increase in area weeded since 2012

Making restoration areas bigger and “joining up the dots”

2010-2014

1941-2010 CMAS are being connected by

“restoration corridors”

Involving all Mauritians

TV, Radio, Posters, Billboards

Conservation road shows

Government workingWith private landowners conserve native forests

Conservation work with Mauritian businesses and volunteers

Creating conservation areas in parts of Mauritius where before there were none

Costs are coming down and money is coming from new

sources like Mauritian companies

AcknowledgmentsValue of restored forest

Saving Mauritius’s National HeritageSaving World Heritage

Mauritian forests contain species found nowhere else on earth

Value of restored forest

Beauty


BeautyCompare a restored to a degraded forest

Restored Forest Degraded Forest


Recreation and health

Mauritian native forests are places of calm and peace. A trip to the forest is a wonderful escape from the stress of everyday life


Water Conservation

Mauritian trees help to protect the land against flooding, maintaining water that can be used in times of drought


Mauritian trees are not as badly affected by cyclones as most non-native trees so they reduce the effects of cyclones such as soil loss and flooding

Protection from Cyclones


Helping to Fight Climate Change

Many Mauritian trees have very hard wood which is made by removing carbon from the atmosphere so reducing CO2, the principal cause of climate change.

A slice through the trunk of a Mauritian ebony treeOne of the heaviest woods in the world

AcknowledgmentsAcknowledgements

PhotographsShip rat (H. Zell, courtesy of Wikimedia CC BY-SA)Indian mongoose (© Sugoto Roy)Chinese guava (ecos de pedra CC BY-NC-SA) from FlickrLiane cerf Shipher (士緯 ) Wu (吳 ) CC BY-NC-SA) from flickrIndian ring necked parakeet (Greg Tee CC BY-NC) from FlickrIndian house gecko (Bill and Mark Bell CC BY-NC-SA) from FlickrEcho parakeet with beak and feather disease (Vikash Tatayah)Pink pigeon with Trichomonosis (©Nancy Bunbury)Echo parakeet (©Lance Woolaver)Round Island (Pierre Argo)Other photographs by John Mauremootoo (CC BY-NC-SA), © Dennis Hansen and ©Christopher Kaiser

Private Sector PES Partners in 2014Ebony Forest Ltd, ChamarelLa Vallée de FerneyLa Vallée des Couleurs, ChamounyDomaine Saint Denis, Plaine Champagne Ramphul Estate, ChoisyBaie DU Cap Estate, Baie Du Cap

Paintings and MapsThe painting Mare aux Songes and paintings of four Mauritian extinct species reproduced by kind permission of Julian Pender Hume.Dodo painting (© NPCS)Maps of changes in indigenous forest cover in Mauritius adapted from Vaughan and Wiehe (1937)and Page and d’Argent (1997).

Date post:	09-Aug-2015
Category:	Environment
Upload:	panpes
View:	241 times
Download:	0 times