“Ferney valley is just beyond this mountain skyline.” We are in Vallée de l’Est, a small estate on the eastern uphill slopes of Mount Camizard, in the upper Anse- Jonchée valley. Ferney’s forthcoming ecological tragedy is a stone’s throw away, so to speak. Yet, something less sad - something like a revival - is going on on this side of Bambou mountains. Owen Griffiths, zoologist and managing director of Bioculture (Mauritius) (BCM), is the man behind that.

“We are trying to undo on a small scale 200 years of native forest destruction,” says Owen, who has launched and financed the whole restoration project of 30 hectares of “endangered moist mid-altitude forest acquired by BCM in 2003 because of its high biodiversity value. It is a mix of mainly freehold and some leasehold land.” Accompanied by Jean-Claude Sevathian, rare plant coordinator-botanist at the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation (MWF), Gérard Harel, the manager of La Vallée de l’Est, guides a site visit of the estate.

<B>Jobs created</B>

Biodiversity here means a profusion of native flora and a perfect habitat for some of the last specimens of our indigenous fauna, like kestrels: “There are over 100 species of native and endemic plants. The forest is dominated by large native trees, including ebony and bois de natte.” As we progress, Owen shows species which bear familiar names and tell about people who knew the forest long ago: bois de ronde, bois cyclone, bois d’éponge, bois clou witness a unique imagery of natural patrimony. Yet Jean-Claude Sevathian emphasizes that “a dozen native plants, which are critically endangered,” have been found during the plant survey he carried out there.

“The forest is of good quality but is invaded by a number of introduced plants, including guava, privet, jamrosa and ravenala.” Beautiful or inoffensive as they may look, they are dreadful competitors to native plants, notably for soil nutrients and space and “could ultimately replace the native species”. Bioculture, with the help of the MWF, thus set up a conservation strategy. “The method of restoring the native forest is not complex but it is expensive and takes a large amount of manpower,” insist both Owen and Jean-Claude. Seven people are permanently employed for that purpose.Ecology thus creates jobs.

On the slopes of Mount Camizard, invasive weeds are uprooted or cut off and destroyed with herbicides. “Cut-down weeds are also placed in rows across the slope to stop erosion and are left to rot.” In most areas, once the weeds are removed, the forest recovers by itself. However, where there are very few remaining native trees, native seedlings are replanted in the gaps. It is there that the plant nursery that has been set up plays its part. “Seeds and small plants that would otherwise die are first collected in the forest. They are then put in small pots and replanted when they are 10cm high.” In parallel, two species of palm trees have been re-introduced to restore the original diversity.

In a country where only 1,5% of native forest remains, BCM’s initiative casts light on what is happening in Ferney. Owen considers the highway project as “crazy and absurd”, in relation with international conventions that Mauritius has signed. “It is of low priority in terms of infrastructural or regional development. It is not just Vallée de l’Est, but the whole Bambou mountains, which is high-value forest that should be preserved. And it is not just the task of NGOs to warn authorities about these issues. Governements are supposed to care for public welfare in any kind of project.”

<B>Same credo in nature</B>

“As breeders and exporters of monkeys for biomedical research, we believe it is also important to put an effort into protecting natural environment.” Owen Griffiths, managing director of Bioculture Mauritius (BCM), thus explains the aim of conserving endangered biodiversity. BCM set up a similar conservation project in Madagascar in 2001. The Mauritius Wildlife Foundation (MWF) is famous for having saved endemic bird species from extinction. In Vallée de l’Est, MWF has provided help for the cost-effective restoration of the estate, nursery managment and conservation metholodogy. The MWF team is at present preparing a guide to local rare plants.