On Monday, September 24, at a virtual assembly organized through UN headquarters in New York, 60 world leaders signed a “commitment of leaders to nature” to end biodiversity loss. Heads of state from countries such as France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands signed.
It should be noted that the besieged political leaders of Japan and Mauritius were not signatories.
The commitment to leadership in the New York component of a Primary United Nations summit to prevent the world from heading towards a primary era of biodiversity collapse, as planet Earth faces the highest extinction rates since homo sapiens has become a distinct species, in what has been called the sixth mass extinction. Instead of being caused by the collision of asteroids or other herbal phenomena, this new era of extinction is man-made.
The first lines of this extinction war are taking a position in Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, which is still dealing with the effects of a primary oil spill.
Two months after the main maritime incident in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius islanders are still recovering from its effects. Life is back to normal.
Japanese bulk giant Wakashio hit a primary coral reef in the southeast of the country and began pouring fuel for heavy shipping engines into the pristine coral lagoon and a network of historic and exclusive biodiversity sites.
In the lagoon, 125 square kilometres were closed, more than fifty whales and dolphins died (many others may be injured without being counted or dragged offshore), four members of a Mauritius tugboat’s team were lost in the rescue operation and thousands of fishermen and staff were unable to obtain a source of income for months.
As social, economic and political battles were fought for the cause and reaction of the Panamanian-flag Japanese ship, the Wakashio, an organization had already worked on stage to save Mauritius’ most rare species from extinction and climate pressures. Now they have faced their biggest impediment to date: a primary oil spill directly into the nature reserve of their coral atoll. This reserve housed some of the most exclusive and rare species on Earth and was located on a small coral island in the center. of the lagoon, available only by boat, which they said would ensure the protection of the animals.
The Mauritius Wildlife Foundation (MWF) is the leading terrestrial environmental NGO in Mauritius and has led some of the world’s most prestigious projects to revive some of the most endangered species.
Since its founding in 1984, the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation has brought species such as the pigeon, the Echo parakeet, the Mauritius kestle to the breaking point of extinction.
Only a dozen pink pigeons remained when MWF intervened in its destination after the Dodo.
However, on that fateful day August 6, 2020, the MWF was discovered in the middle of the storm. A small coral atoll called La Isla de las Águilas is home to some of the rarest species in the world, just 2,000 meters from a shipping with the equivalent of over a hundred heavy oil shipping service stations.
The conservation director of the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation, Vikash Tatayah, has spent nearly 25 years at the forefront of conservation in Mauritius. With its team of more than a hundred workers and subcontractors, the MWF had taken many species back to breaking point. He never expected to locate himself or the coral atoll of The Garcetas Island, which the MWF calls home, on the front line of a primary oil spill.
Here’s your account of what happened and the desperate war to save some of the latest species of plants, insects, birds and reptiles in the world on this previously volcanic tropical island.
Vikash Tatayah: I have to start by giving the context of Mauritius, so you can see why Egret Island is so special in this component of global biodiversity.
Mauritius has several features that make it incredibly exclusive in the world. Of course, there is the underwater marine environment, which is largely due to an influx of the deep ocean currents of the Indian Ocean that provides an exclusive set of nutrients for marine life around the island.
Second, Mauritius has a set of ancient high-altitude volcanic mountains where many plants and species have evolved. With sea point adjustments over the more than 100,000 years, many species have also survived on some of the 49 islands surrounding the main island of Mauritius, even making the biodiversity of those small islands
Mauritius is estimated to have 691 local plants and species, of which 273 have only been discovered in Mauritius and small islets, and that is what we have discovered so far on earth and it does not come with much of Mauritius’ vast ocean. area where they also expect exciting new discoveries.
At the heart of all this richness of biodiversity is the island of Las Garcetas.
The island of Aigrettes is an exclusive coral atoll located 800 meters off the coast of Mauritius, in the southeast of the country, covering 26 hectares and some of the rarest wild plants and animals on the planet.
In 1965, Ile aux Aigrettes was declared an area. In 1984, MWF took control of the island. MWF is also running on several other coral islets near Ile aux Aigrettes that are all components of a critical and interdependent network of spaces on which some of our rare species depend.
During centuries of European colonization, many endemic species, such as giant turtles, trees and wildlife, have disappeared. Mauritius is known for the disappearance of the Dodo.
However, thanks to the paintings of the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation for more than 3 decades, we have managed to reach the milestone and make the island the most productive example of re-experience in the world.
Rewilding is the term in which not only is the prestige quo sought, but also attempts to repair a habitat as it was. This technique is now being followed internationally and Mauritius is one of the greatest pioneers in this field.
The highest example of success in the whole country than the island of Las Garcetas. It is the jewel of reconstruction for the world.
It is estimated that there were a lot of exclusive species living on the island of Garcetas, and we are still making new discoveries every day.
Although the island is so well studied, in recent years we had recently discovered a cricket of the caves of the Island of Las Garcetas not in the past described that we were scientifically classified when we were affected by the oil spill. It was so humiliating that it shows everything we still want to be informed about nature.
We have scientists, researchers and visitors from all over the world who come to what we’ve built here. For more than thirty years, scientists from more than 40 nationalities have joined us and officially participate in detailed clinical studies.
We warmly welcome guests from all over the world and are very happy to see them notice our exclusive species. Specifically in Japan, given the concentration of the Japanese government’s involvement in the response to oil spills, there has been no formal compromise between Japanese scientists and The Mauritius Wildlife Foundation in clinical paintings with species unique to the region, we have had individual Japanese tourists from time to time in our ecotourism guest center.
I know the Japanese agency, JICA, funded the island’s guest center in 1998 and the island’s reserve center on the mainland in 2003.
The island of Aigrettes is not just an island, our staff lived on the island. We had aviaries, nurseries and laboratories from which we can monitor and analyze those unique creatures.
Vikash Tatayah: Oh, so much! It is one of the richest biodiversity areas in the country and even the Indian Ocean, here are some of the species that make atoll unique.
There are several endemic birds on the island, such as:
Maurice Olive White Eye (Zosterops chloronothos): there were 65 birds that existed on the island of Aigrettes after a reintroduction program; there are less than 250 on the mainland of Mauritius for the ultimate endangered bird in Mauritius.
Mauritius Fody (Foudia rubra): There are now more than 400 Americans living alone on the island of egrets, thanks to a successful reintroduction program. The Mauritius continent is home to fewer people than the island of Aigrettes.
Mauritius has dozens of local seabirds. While the larger hotels had had an effect on some of the coastal habitats, their vital nesting areas were discovered on some of the smaller islets along the coral lagoon such as Vacoas Island, Fouquet Island, Marianne . Isla, Isla Passe and the islands north of Mauritius.
Our program to repair seabird communities on the outlying islands, The Egrets Island has been identified worldwide for its ambition and success.
Some of the most notable local seabirds are:
Tropical white-tailed bird
Scientific name: here you can hear Phaethon lepturus and the singing of his birds.
Tropical red-tailed bird
Scientific name: Phaethon rubricauda and the song of its birds, this bird, known as Tail Straw, is the symbol of the national airline Air Mauritius.
Fuligious tern
Scientific name: Onychoprion fuscatus and his bird song can be heard here.
Wedge tail shearwater
Scientific name: Ardenna pacifica and the singing of its birds can be heard here.
Noddy minor
Here you can hear the clinical name, Anous tenuirostris, and its bird song.
Common Noddy
Called an anous stolidus scientist, this bird had a population around Mauritius and here you can hear its singing.
Plaguerel of the island
With a clinical call for Pterodroma Arminjoniana, they are classified as vulnerable through IUCN and there is a population of about 2,200 in the world. The population of Mauritius has become its exclusive genetic subset. Here you can hear the birds singing.
Crazy red-legged
Called Sula Sula’s scientist, this bird had a population around Mauritius, here you can hear its singing.
Mauritius is also a place for many migratory birds. Two of the top 8 migratory bird migration routes in the world pass over Mauritius. Mauritius is also a milestone for regional migratory birds that jump along the chain of exclusive islands across the Indian Ocean.
These migratory birds cross Mauritius at other times of the year and their feeding and nesting spaces are regularly discovered in the maximum portions of Mauritius herbs, making the southeastern islands vital because they have more endemic food sources, are larger and far from some of the most populous tourist spaces.
Unfortunately, those spaces were most affected by the oil spill.
The maximum number of non-unusual migratory birds that stop in Mauritius between October and April include:
These are some of the other birds observed around Egrets Island at the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation this year.
Mauritius has some of the rarest reptiles in the world, because in the last pleistocene era (which spanned the era of 3 million to the last 10,000 years), the oceans were between 80 and 100 meters below, meaning that animals could simply cross what the islands are today. With the emerging oceans, some of these populations have become isolated.
So for more than 10,000 years, they have evolved genetically into other pathways, meaning that even creatures that started with the same species first began to evolve differently on the southeastern islands of the northern islands as varied populations with their own unique genetic characteristics. it is the same era in which humans would have evolved from their Neanderthal cousins.
This means it’s just Eagle Island, but the 4 southeast island national parks around Pass Island, Vacoas Island, Fouquets Island (also called Lighthouse Island), Marianne Island. are islets that are the duty of 3 government departments: the Mauritius National Park and Conservation Service, the Mauritius Forest Service and the Ministry of Arts. The Mauritius Wildlife Foundation works heavily with these government departments. Mauritius Wildlife Foundation to work intensively on the conservation of the unique species of these islands.
In the 1990s, MWF studied the 70 outlying islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues and discovered that in those islets in the southeast of vacoas island, 3 endemic species of reptiles miraculously survived on those islets of two hectares or less. The 3 species were the Bojer slid, the small night gecko and the sly button.
For thousands of years, reptiles have been active on the islands off Mauritius, including:
Gecko ornamented from Mauritius. The Maurice Ornate Day Gecko is one of the smallest daytime geckos, reaching a duration of 12 cm. They can be discovered in trees and trees in the driest areas of Mauritius, adding the outlying islands, such as The Island of Egrets.
Bojer’s skink. We had to take the bojer skink populations and begin to break into other islets in the southeast, the Fouquets Island and the Paso Island.
Gecko night less. We took the town of Ilot Vacoas and re-introduced it to Marianne Island. Night species of geckos have developed a vision so that their vision of colors in low intensity is 350 times more delicate than the vision of human colors.
Button’s Skink. Se is some of the excessive islands and coastal spaces around Mauritius and Reunion, the Mascarene Islands, which have naturally recolonized the island of Fouquets.
Telfair Skink. Another rare reptile discovered on the outlying islands and bred on The Island of Egrets. The scientist named Leiolopsima Telfairii. The Telfair skink is similar to two now extinct species, the skinks of Mauritius and Reunion.
We have also done genetic research and have just learned how unique the organization of populations is for species.
Boa on the keel scale
The keel scale boa on the brink of extinction and survived for more than a century in just one of Mauritius’ outlying islands, covering a domain of only 2 km. Since the 1980s, habitat recovery and active control of this species have led to an immediate increase in the boa population and the status quo of an additional subpopulation on some other newly restored outdoor island in Mauritius. Before the oil spill, the world population reached 2,000 in 2018 and will increase, and the population is expected to increase further as new island recoveries are carried out.
Round Island Boa
The Round Island Boa (scientifically known as Casarea dussumieri) is an innocent snake of medium length with an average duration of 110 cm. Juveniles of both sexes are bright orange or brick red, continuously with slight adult markings and a black tail. Males are smaller, about two-thirds of the length of females, have a much larger head and body, but a relatively longer tail. Adults are more commonly terrestrial (living in the circle), although they instinctively climb palm trees to feed and take refuge. tree trees (living in trees) and using the lower branches of shrubs or palm leaves to escape predation through the island’s circular sling, Leiolopisma telfairii. They are more commonly nocturnal.
The island of Las Aguilas comprises an exclusive type of forest that has disappeared from the rest of the planet. The island is home to the world’s last lowland ebony population on Egret Island. This last coastal ebony forest, named after the island of Aigrettes (Diospyros Egrettarum) exists only on the island of Aigrettes. Coastal ebonys have evolved their own characteristics into the saltier and more underground surroundings.
There are also several other plants that lived on the island.
Woodenen yellow in a different form known as yellow woodenen (Ochrosia borbonica). There are only 4 plants left in Mauritius. Three are located in mountainous regions and only one in the lowlands. It’s on the island of Las Garcetas.
Beef wood (Polyscias maraisiana) is a type of sponge wood. The world’s population lives on the island of Las Garcetas.
Heterophilia – The Island of The Garcetas is also one of the last places in the world where you can observe the phenomenon of heterophilia in plants, this is where juveniles show other characteristics in leaf size, shape, older leaf patterns, a coevolution. with now extinct endemic turtles, which were killed through the first European settlers.
We have some of the rarest and most difficult endemic plants to grow in our nursery.
Black Catafaille Wood, a successful program to reintroduce this endemic tree, now reduced to two wild individuals
IronWood, a critically endangered plant, and The Island of Eagles are home to original trees.
Phyllanthus Mauritiana, a prostrate herb that has resisted turtles, growing low like a shrub. The island of Aigrettes has part of the world’s population of this critically endangered plant.
Erythroxylum sideroxyloides, is a plant endemic to Mauritius and Reunion, classified as vulnerable to extinction and medicinal!It is known in Mauritius as rolled wood and is used for the remedy of gallstones and throat infections. The bark of the stems is used as a decoction in the remedy of nephrotic colic. Stems and leaves are used effectively in the remedy of angina, either in decoction or in gargles. In Reunion, the leaves and bark are used as decoction or maceration against diarrhea, and there are many tactics to prepare this medicinal plant Some rallante the bark and drink it with salt and water for sore throats and kidney stones, while others boil the plant and use it in a bath for skin conditions.
And there are so many examples!
On outlying islands such as the island of Aigrettes, which we have just discovered, unique insects have evolved which are also a source of food for the few reptiles and bats that live on the island.
For example, there was a wrong coastal cave cricket that lives in caves and crevices and feeds on algae on the island of Aigrettes. Many rare slyings and geckos have these insects as food.
This coastal cave cricket had just been discovered as a new species and was being classified as a component of clinical studies on the exclusive species of Egrets Island.
There are 39 species of butterflies in Mauritius, seven of which are endemic to Mauritius and its outlying islands, such as the island of Aigrettes.
On the coast of The Egrets Island is the tip of Esny, a Worldwide Ramsar site known for its coastal mangroves, home to exclusive local butterflies. The two main vitals are Phalanta phalantha and Eurema floricola ceres.
Eagle Island also has exclusive local spiders such as Golden Orb spiders and banana spiders, called Nepila inaurata clinics. The Golden Orb spider is named after the color of its silk, it is idea that this color can be used for two purposes. : in sunlight, it will attract bees drawn through a bright yellow, while in the shade, it camouflages in the foliage thus catching the other insects. The spider should adjust the amount of pigment in the silk, thus converting the intensity of the color of the thread.
The genetic code of those spiders is incredibly valuable. A Silicon Valley artificial biology company Bolt Threads is priced at more than $700 million in Madagascar’s five-spider genetic code. It has been discovered that the silk of these specific species of spiders is priced at more than $700 million. homes more powerful than steel, who knows what price this exclusive species of Mauritius can have?
Although the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation focuses on the recovery of terrestrial species, many species have land-ocean interaction.
Even corals and marine life around Mauritius form a link in a chain of interconnected islands called the Mascarene Plateau, which UNESCO has identified as a high-potential domain of World Heritage marine sites in the western Indian Ocean. very different genetic characteristics and are components of a critical bond in this 1000-mile-long marine network.
Many eels and star stars basically live in the lagoon around the island of Las Garcetas, which can be seen in tidal basins include:
Crabs
Mauritius has many endemic species of crabs found along beaches and coasts, such as graspus Albolineatus.
Cauris (or sea snails)
The southeast coast of Mauritius is characterized by its giant populations of sea snails, or cauris, which is a mollusk, these populations have been well studied since the 1960s. Mauritius has its own species named after him, called Mauritia Mauritiana.
Vikash Tatayah: On the night of Saturday, July 25, I won a text message from one indicating that a shipment had run aground.
I did not click on the seriousness of the stage at the time, as it expired and I headed to bed. There is no description of the type of boat or its location.
The next morning I woke up and, with my wife, I saw him on all the news. It wasn’t until we saw the photographs we found out how big and serious it was.
Without delay we went to the beach of Pointe d’Esny. There were already thousands of Mauritians breaking into The Beach of Pointe d’Esny to see the boat. From the beach, it is transparent how close it is sent to Ile aux Aigrettes.
At that point, the ship points directly at the islet. If I hadn’t fallen on the coral reefs, I’d have crossed the islet!
In my wildest thoughts, I may never have imagined that such a giant boat could be so close to where we had spent many years gently worrying about some of the rarest birds and plants.
Vikash Tatayah: At the time, we expected the ship to get rid of the reefs.
Three days later, on July 29, we were summoned to the Department of the Environment, where the National Committee for the Response to Oil Spills met. The next day, the committee traveled by boat to reach Wakashio.
Although he recounted that the boat was plucked from the reef through the salvos, it became clear that on the occasion of a leak, the Wakashio (300 m in a half) just 2000 m from The Island of Egrets. a canal that begins where the Wakashio had run aground), the island of Aigrettes would be the first component of Mauritius to be hit by the oil spill.
Then I summoned my team to the MWF to talk about the implications. We never expected to face such a primary incident, but we learned that we had to start thinking about the unthinkable.
We asked the team to expand a plan and repeat that plan. We divide the plan by 3 points, depending on the severity of the oil spill: point 1 for a small spill and point 3 for the maximum severe.
The plan was finalized, but we hoped we’d never want to use it. Between July 25 and August 5, the government and rescuers told us there was unlikely to be an oil spill.
Then on August 5, when I saw pictures of the shipment on social media, I can see that something was wrong. The shipment was at an angle, the current was high, and the weight did not appear correct when shipped. There was no way to sink the stern of the ship and hope it wouldn’t break. We called the team and asked them to prepare.
I asked them all and asked them about the key species and what we would do with birds, reptiles, plants, as well as other people who paint with us as well as visitors.
Then it happened in the morning.
Vikash Tatayah: We were meeting in the center of the island on August 6th with the MWF control team, around 10 a. m. I started receiving incessant calls.
I picked up the phone, and it was the Department of the Environment. I was informed that there was a great threat of an imminent oil spill. Without delay, we hurried and headed south, calling our staff and seeking to get our contractors and ecotourist visitors to leave. the island.
Turns out the oil spill had already passed in the morning.
The first thing that caught our eye when we got the smell there, it’s like a state next to a fuel pump, the fumes were overwhelming. The winds propelled the stench of onshore fuel vapours, and we felt it all long before we started seeing the black oil tablecloth.
We had respirators and protective equipment for our staff, but they complained of many oil spill-like medical situations, particularly complaining of headaches, redness and itching in the eyes, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, shortness of breath. that is, involved in the fitness effects of our older workers, so we send them home.
The Greek Dubai-based teapot control company Polyeco had given us absorbent leaves from 60 cm to 30 cm to clean the oil a few days earlier. Transparent in just one hour that there is too much oil so that those absorbent leaves can be handled. .
We went straight to our response from point 3, given all the oil flowing towards us.
We took contractors and ecotourists off the island, and that’s just MWF’s main conservation team.
Plants
We have a plan in position to get some of the rare potted plants from our nursery.
These plants had been the hardest to grow, and if we could not go to the island, we feared that they would die, so we had to take them off the island from the egrets so they could stay in good condition.
We take those plants to our horticulturist’s lawn for continuous specialized care. We also moved about 4000 plants over the next few days to the nearby village of Mahebourg and placed them in the nursery of the Forest Service, which gave them space and was very useful.
POULTRY
At the same time, we’re in the birds.
It’s a vital dilemma for us. We had many rare birds on the island that were wild and putting them in a cage would be painful for them.
In the end, of the last remaining population of Maurice Olive White Eye’s last remaining 65 individual animals (critically endangered), we can only capture 12, we capture those birds on August 6, the day of the oil spill. known locally as Goggle Bird.
Of the 400 individual animals of Mauricio Fodies, known as the Cardinal of Mauritius (endangered), we only carry 6 birds in cages on August 6.
We knew that transporting these birds was a risk, as capturing and keeping them in cages caused significant distress. However, it is the last resort. We only did this to verify and maintain the genetic heritage and data of those species.
If the whole population collapses and is shutting down, at least we’d have the genetic code. Who knows what generation could imagine in the long run to bring them back to life from this genetic code.
We have an aviary with the Mauritius National Park and Conservation Service on the west coast of Mauritius, we take them to the Black River Gorges (about 50 kilometers from Egret Island), and those birds have been kept there for the last six weeks.
Three olive white eyes from Mauritius were unperturnable. All of these wild birds have been transferred in captivity from Eagle Island to gerald Durrell’s endemic sanctuary – GDEWS, also known as Black River aviaries, controlled in collaboration with the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation and the National Park and Conservation Service (NPCS) with the specialized assistance of foreign organizations such as the Jersey Zoo , Chester Zoo, London Zoo, Paignton Zoo and international zoo veterinary group. To satisfy the express desires of birds and their well-being, because they are wild birds and not accustomed to captivity, our team has also built, in a record era of time, special cages so that their transience remains as stressful as possible.
Mauritius National Park and Conservation Service has been fantastic at all times. Their staff was very helpful and without delay opened their services so that we can go and save as many species as you can imagine from this terrible tragedy. We are deeply grateful to them.
They returned to The Egrets Island on September 15, where they have a larger herb habitat.
So we were with rare birds.
reptiles
When it comes to rare reptiles, we had few options. We had raised small children in frequent eslizones from Telfair (Leiolopisma telfairi) so that they could be taken to the island of Las Garcetas.
We have worked on this program for years, with some of the world’s reptile specialists.
We had no choice. Bringing them to the mainland wouldn’t be a painting because we didn’t have the right amenities for them.
So we had to drop them on The Island of Egrets, they were much younger and smaller than they would have been with our program.
It’s the only way we can check to make sure of their survival while we were forced to evacuate the island, and they would survive, especially since we expected them to be adults enough.
We have not yet had the chance to see the effect of this release of telfair Skinks baby.
Reptiles on the peripheral islets
Shortly after the Wakashio oil spill, oil was detected on the islets of southeastern Passe Island, Vacoas Island, Lighthouse Island (Insane) and Marianne Island, the reptile team rushed to the rescue and collected 30 Bojer’s slids, 6 Button slids and 30 small night geckos. .
Populations of these remote and genetically distinct endemic slyons and geckos on the islets of the southeast and a small cohort of these reptiles has been maintained in a transitional biosecurity facility on the continent of Mauritius, waiting to be moved to a safer and more suitable facility at the Jersey Zoo on the Channel Islands.
The 66 reptiles have arrived at their new home safely. They get a life preserver at the Jersey Zoo headquarters, they get remedial and specialist care from leading herpetologists, and this population of safety nets will shape a breeding program from which animals, their young or long-term generations can eventually be released into the wild on the southeast island, once it is safe to do so.
However, it is difficult to shape reproductive systems with such a small population base because the threat of disease increases without sufficient genetic diversity.
Mauritius’ Flying Fox
Mauritius has its exclusive species of fruit bats, it is so giant that it is known as flying fox, they are in danger and very much through us.
There has been some controversy over a government policy to shoot bats at numbers, but the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation opposes this killing.
We had a small captive town on the Island of Egrets, we had to take this population and move it to the Ferney Valley, a nature reserve, where they were being cared for.
These are just some of the tactics our team has responded to this tragedy. I’m very proud of the way everyone gathered here. It was also amazing to see Mauritius’ total counterattack gathering around this oil spill and erecting barriers around the island of Aigrettes to see how to protect it. We’re very grateful.
I would also like to thank some of the government officials in the Environmental Decomposer, who insisted from the outset that Eagle Island deserves to be protected. The National Coast Guard and the Mauritius Special Mobile Force have also been formidable and forgotten heroes in concentrating efforts to ensure that we do everything we can to safeguard this valuable component of Mauritius’ herbal heritage.
The dramatic days ahead
The entire evacuation operation on the island of Les Aigrettes lasted six days, beginning with the oil spill that began on 6 August.
Day 1: The first day had to do with the evacuation of visitors, the rescue of the rarest plants and the breeding of turtles.
Days 2 and 3: The time and the third day were the rescue of the birds, and on the third day we rescued bats.
Days four – 6: We got rid of about four, 000 plants from the island nursery on days four, five and six, with the help of the volunteers who helped us.
We were also at several official daily meetings at the Blue Bay Fishing Center, which have become like the “Churchill War Rooms”. We were also inundated with media requests, not only from Mauritius, but from all over the world seeking to report on the tragedy. And we had to get about thirty or more interviews every day!
There are fears that an additional 3,000 tons of oil (nearly one million gallons in total) will also spill into the sea, and we continue to work with the government to verify to avoid this and be ready for additional action if that were the case. .
We also had the National Coast Guard and crews take a boat, two captains, and volunteers to help clean up the oil (which continues to this day!).
We have been concerned or assisted in many facets of the oil spill with the entire government, personal sector, local population, foreign experts and scientists, discussing the cleanliness of the oil spill, fitness and safety, the environmental impact on, having an effect on livelihoods, reptile rescue.
We continue to look at the plants and animals that were rescued from the islands.
Vikash Tatayah: It’s a delicate question. As all scientists will tell you, the effects of the oil spill are long-term. Most oil spills cause a variety of human and animal situations, such as cancer.
This is called “subletal doses”: doses of oil that kill an animal but interfere with its ability to reproduce, or a number of other complex organic failures.
The challenge is also that the oil spill has seriously disrupted our operations for more than two months. We had a complicated set of bird nest tracking and other clinical studies, which had to be interrupted by the oil spill. These are essential control equipment, to treat some of the rarest species on the planet.
It wasn’t just the Island of Eagles, MWF had surveillance systems on all the outlying islands, such as Lighthouse Island, Vacoas Island, Fouquet Island, and Marianne Island. Because the oil spill circled those islands, we were allowed to go back a few times to assess the damage and remove some decided on reptiles, some of which were shipped to Jersey in the UK.
Lately we’re developing an “integrated surveillance plan” for the island. With years of delight in working with these unique species, the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation has created an exclusive set of clinical knowledge and partnerships with leading scientists from around the world. Foreign wisdom and clinical associations place us in an exclusive position to perceive the complex habitats and behaviors that these unique species want to thrive.
We take this component of science lightly.
Already, in recent weeks since the oil spill, we have noticed even sharper effects as a direct result of the spill.
The disappearance of cricket from the caves of the island of Aigrettes
The species of cricket that is still scientifically known, but which we have dubbed the Aigrettes Island cave cricket, has disappeared.
It spread in the cave of the island of Las Garcetas, as well as in the nooks and crannies of the island, but since the oil spill we cannot see them, we know that this species of cricket lived algae around the island. the algae are now soaked in oil.
The explanation for why this spill is fearsome is that many rare birds and reptiles, such as slyons, rely heavily on insects such as crickets to feed.
We are closely following the stage and hope that the loss of some basic species will not lead to a turning point and a series of cascading collapses of other critical and rare biological populations.
Concern about nesting sites for seabirds and reptiles on the outlying islands
We are only concerned about the Island of Garcetas, but the islets of the Southeast that make up the Island of Fouquets (Faro Island) around the lighthouse.
We’re involved with those islands because they were also on the front line of the oil spill. We had species that evolved over thousands of years and were also habitats for seabirds to have their nests.
It will probably take us several months and years to fully perceive the effect of this oil on local animals.
sea life
Although marine life is not our focus, we may see many local Mauritius coastal and marine species in oil and dying.
Then, of course, there is the tragic death of turtles and more than 50 whales and dolphins in Mauritius’ coral lagoons in August.
Plants
We had to ship our plants in emergency conditions.
Now, we had to be very careful to transplant many plants that we had transported from Ile aux Aigrettes so that they could make the trip.
This is the purpose of our horticulture team (rare plants).
Vikash Tatayah: MWF is a terrestrial organization (i. e. terrestrial animals and birds), however, we are desperately involved in making sure there is a colorful ocean around us.
Many of the species we care for on Eagle Island have the ocean, such as low-altitude ebony and some reptiles from the southeastern islets, such as the Button Skink, which has species discovered in the tidal basins. Eagle Island and those that breed on other islets in the southeast also want a healthy marine environment to survive.
We have exclusive corals, turtles, whales and dolphins in the region, and we are just how the fitness of our oceans affects our planet’s fitness.
Blue Bay Marine Park is a globally protected Ramsar site identified by its exceptional underwater seascape and unique coral lawn with a wonderful diversity of coral species. According to government reports, there are about 38 coral species representing 28 genera and 15 families and some 72 species of fish have been recorded. There are individual species of coral, sponges, crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters, conch shells, cone snails, starfish, sea cucumbers, sea urchins and exclusive local algae. A government report describes this domain with a colorful network of coral reefs “with a lush coral expansion of around four hectares and the only place where the convoluted Montipora aequituberculata has been recorded”. The dense expansion of table corals, cactus corals, deer horn corals and chimney corals alternate and coexist. It is also the site of the oldest brain coral in the Indian Ocean, which is over 1000 years old. It is a true access point to global biodiversity, with many whales, dolphins, sharks and rays reproducing on the outskirts of Mauritius.
Pointe d’Esny mangrove forests include many unique mangrove forests, insects and microbes that have not been discovered anywhere else in the world. The government describes the Pointe d’Esny wetland (21. 5 ha) as one of the few and largest wetlands left in Mauritius. in the southeast of the village of Mahébourg and was designated as the third ramsar site of foreign importance in Mauritius on September 16, 2011. The site is characterized by being an herbal coastal wetland that houses rich mangrove forests (mangrove species Rhizophora mucronata and Bruguiera gymnorhiza), Vaughan Zornia, critically endangered, coastal fish, crustaceans , migratory birds and T-shirts and supplies for local flood relief functions. The Ramsar site in Pointe d’Esny presented sustainable ecotourism to locals and tourists.
With more biodiversity discovered in the ocean than on earth, being able to take advantage of these resources is essential. At the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation, we have focused on terrestrial and island ecosystems, but we fully recognize and see the desire to also deploy an equally vital ion effort for mauritius’ oceans.
As a component of the lagoon rehabilitation strategy, it is to mobilize local and foreign experts in these areas. This is one of the classes on why the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation has been so successful in restoring species in Mauritius and Rodrigues.
Vikash Tatayah: Mauricio has made significant progress in the last 30 years. Of the 22 existing projects that MWF is wearing down with a lot of plant and animal species, MWF has helped oppose the trajectory and save the extinction of at least a hundred species the most prominent is the Mauritian kestrel, the pink pigeon. , Echo Parakeet, Rodrigues Warbler, Rodrigues Fody, Round Island Petrel, Round Island boa, Ile aux Aigrettes ebony, Rodrigues Array brown brown hibiscus, Rodrigues Hibiscus, Great Cricket Mountain, to call a few.
This oil spill far went through Mauritius’ biggest ecological crisis.
However, Mauritius’ vision was to make the island of Las Garcetas the style of a new national biodiversity and conservation strategy that the Mauritius Park and Conservation Service was spearheading to sign several conservation corridors around the mainland and the outlying islands of Mauritius. This assignment was called “Rays of Hope” and developed through local authorities, with the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation being a key catalyst for this work.
We have been the incubator to start launching and rebuilding Mauritius with species that have thrived on the island for thousands of years.
For this strategy to work, we want five things:
This would allow species to enter and migrate through these safe zones. These conservation corridors should be free of pollutants from industry and agriculture, and out of control of urban growth. These endangered species want a house beyond eagle island. a number of herbal corridors around Mauritius to allow reintroduced species to locate safe havens around the island.
Mauritius’ mountains and highlands are all national parks and, by offering solid protection, become refuges for species to be repopulating and return to exclusive life to those places.
Stricter legislation and application on the types of products used in Mauritius is required to reduce the effect on human and ecological fitness in Mauritius Products such as fertilizers, insecticides and even plastics should be monitored much more strictly, and strict implementation through It would be useful to have a sound policy and legal framework against contamination.
Mauritians love nature. However, there will have to be a more effective program to teach and involve all Mauritians about why the nature type in Mauritius is so unique. Much of the Mauritian literature has been superseded and is less interesting. There are so many new technologies that can help life the unique nature of Mauritius for a new generation of young Mauritians. It would also help fight habitat destruction, waste disposal, and ensure harmonious dating in nature.
As in the world, there is a lot of communication about sustainability and biodiversity loss, but very little action. Only a handful of Mauritius business leaders are concerned about this issue. Having a strict Mauritius Biodiversity Affairs Council that can protect the movements that the personal sector can take to repair biodiversity loss in Mauritius would be very difficult. It is the action of corporations and their leaders that can help Mauritius eliminate many of the invasive species that have been brought to the island. Industrial processes such as lax aviation and navigation controls have allowed these invasive species to damage Mauritius’ local wildlife.
Restoring endangered species requires a lot of care and paint.
Much of these paintings were interrupted by the oil spill.
After this disaster, we hope that there will be a way for us to better rebuild and be informed of the experience to know where they believe these island nations can play that role.
I am an economist of progression focused on innovation, sustainability and moral economic growth. Lately I’ve been working with the leading generation corporations in Silicon Valley in
I am an economist of progression oriented to innovation, sustainability and moral economic expansion. Lately I’ve been working with leading generation corporations in Silicon Valley on opportunities for sustainable expansion, i. e. targeting low-income countries. I chair the LSE Ocean Finance Initiative, I am a member of the WEF Global Network of Experts and a member of the CCICED China Council. My e-book on sustainability in the fourth industrial revolution, Soul of the Sea in the Age of the Algorithm, focuses on a revival of oceans and climate and is based on me as an advisor to the economics and innovation of Fortune 500’s global governments and CEOs. I have a degree in progressive economics from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and the University of Cambridge.