In 2010, during my second year at the university
while doing my degree in Agriculture, I had the opportunity to do a three week
internship at the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food
Security.
I was posted at the Biodiversity Unit which
is located in Curepipe, and it was an opportunity to plunge in the native flora
of Mauritius. Names which were just in
my mind as recollections from book became real.
I met with endemic plant species that are unique to Mauritius; gifts
that were not brought from elsewhere but which grow only on our island.
It was also the first time in my life when
I got to realize how our biodiversity and native forests is interlinked to our
Agriculture. Less than 3% of our forests
are native forests, and this facet of the Mauritian biodiversity is much unknown.
Day 1 of Internship:
- Venue at the Forestry
Service at Curepipe
· - Learning about the different
functions of the forest and how to differentiate between social, economic and
environmental function.
Social functions of
forests include people visiting it for the purpose of leisure, jogging, hiking,
camping, bird watching and so on.
Forests provide us
with wood products, non wood products. There is the creation of employment and
the development of ecotourism.
Forests are the home
of a multitude of flora and fauna. They
are catchment areas for rivers and reservoirs, help in soil and water
conservation and deal with carbon sequestration.
· - Defining and differentiating
the terms “in-situ” conservation and “ex-situ” conservation.
- “In-situ” conservation
(on site conservation)
It is the process of
protecting an endangered species in its natural habitat itself. This can be done by fencing, carrying out
weeding, cleaning up the habitat and by defending the species against
predators.
 |
"Bouquet banane" (Ochna mauritiana) in Perrier Nature Reserve
|
Several nature reserves exist in Mauritius which are independently shared and looked after by the Forestry Services, National Park and Conservation Services (NPCS) and the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation (MWF). The picture above is taken in an on site nature reserve which is restricted to the general public; the Perrier Nature Reserve, a small native forest located in the southern part of the Central Plateau.
- “Ex-situ” conservation (off site conservation)
It is the process of
protecting an endangered species by removing it from its threatened habitat and
placing it under human care. Common methods include placing in botanical
gardens, zoos, arboretum, nurseries and plant propagation centers.
 |
| Native plant species propagated in the nursery of the Forestry Division (Curepipe) |
 |
| Indigenous fern species being taken care of in the Monvert Fernery (Forest-Side) |
· - Documentation on the status of forests and land use in the Mauritian context.
Of the total surface area of mainland Mauritius, 43.3% is devoted to Agriculture,
29.4% to Forest plantations, scrubs, grazing areas, inland water and degraded
lands (including plantations, deer farms, abandoned agricultural land) and
remaining 27.2% is either built upon or unusable.
Less
than 2% of our near pristine forests remain nowadays. This is occupied by State Forest
Lands (plantations,
nature reserves), Pas Geometriques or Privately Owned Forest Lands. 21528ha is under the occupancy of State
Forest Lands.
Invasive alien species constitute the major
threat for our forests nowadays. They invade coastal habitats, mountains and
other areas of terrestrial biodiversity.
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