Last updated: November 2021
Mauritius is a biodiversity hotspot, which has been declared by IUCN as a “Centre of Plant Diversity”. 39% of plants, 80% of non-marine birds, 80% of reptiles, and 40% of bat species on the islands are reported as endemic. (4) Nevertheless, human activity keeps threatening this endemicity in Port Louis, a port city and the capital of Mauritius. The city is surrounded by a semicircle of mountains on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other. In 2006 a local NGO started implementing an initiative that focused on restoring native vegetation to the hill that harbours the capital and it's also the place of an important historical heritage, the Fort Adelaide. (2)
https://foecitproject.wordpress.com/photos/
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Green space creation and/or management
- Environmental quality
- Soil quality improvement
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Environmental education
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
- Preservation of natural heritage
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Ecological restoration of degraded ecosystems, Knowledge creation and awareness raising
Project objectives
Deforestation and global warming are two of the main drivers of biodiversity loss in Mauritius. With less than 2% of its native vegetation surviving, Mauritius is one of the countries that sustained the greatest loss of biodiversity with the remnants counting among the most threatened in the World. At its own local scale, the proposed project aimed at contributing towards addressing these two most serious forms of environmental degradation by recreating a native woodland, while at the same time helping establish new populations of rare or threatened native and endemic plants and restoring damaged or lost ecosystem services. More precisely the project addressed the following:
1. To re-instate a native plant cover on the flanks of the Petite Montagne.
2. To reintroduce native plants, respecting the national historical heritage.
3. To create a public green metropolitan area in the heart of the capital city for leisure.
4. To help build awareness about Mauritius' unique biodiversity, notoriously one of the most threatened in the world.
5. To re-constitute populations of native and endemic species which once existed on the Petite Montagne but was destroyed by humans.
6. To reduce soil erosion (causing landslides), desertification as well as the direct risks posed to people and property by sporadic fires that sweep through the Petite Montagne slopes every year, by replacing a fire prone open savannah-like community of alien plants with a non-fire prone shady native grass or woodland. (1,2,5)
Implementation activities
The intervention was designed very early, in 2006 and was implemented in stages that depended heavily of funding capacities. The pilot project at La Citadelle was launched after a mini-study was undertaken on the site in order to trace a more or less faithful diagram of the original vegetation of the site. Between 2010 and 2012 the project was supported with a small grant from the UN. In 2017 the organisation with the help of volunteers was able to plant in 1 day 2444 plants. The organisers usually expect around 300 volunteers per year, from November to April, when implementing any action. Meetings were organised with the mayor of Port Louis and the representatives of the Lions Club of Curepipe and the Rotary Club Citadel to help with awareness activities and to involve the community, mainly local schools. (2,3)
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Implement measures that prevent/manage desertification, soil erosion and landslides
- Increase the use of climate-resilient plant species (resistant to drought, fire, and pests)
- Other
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity conservation:
- Protect and enhance urban habitats
- Create new habitats
- Protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect species
- Control and clean invasive alien species
- Means for conservation governance
- Manage biological resources for conservation and sustainable use
- Raise public awareness
- Public engagement
Biodiversity restoration:
- Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
- Restore native species
- Restore endangered species
- Clear and control invasive alien species
- Public engagement
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Non-government organisation/Civil Society
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Dissemination of information and education
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
Friends of the Environment is the only environmental organisation mainly focused on the restoration of very degraded landscapes in Mauritius. The NGO initiated and designed the plan of the intervention and it was aided in its efforts by the municipality of Port Louis and local volunteers, schools and some local businesses. (1,2)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
Yes
(One of the sources mentions that the Government of Mauritius in 2014 adopted a Smart City Scheme which emphasised on the development of a green economy and the importance of green components. The Municipality of Port Louis took part in the intervention and launched in 2016 a Smart City project that focuses on promoting port biodiversity and managing environmental risks. (7))
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(The Municipality of Port Louis took part in the intervention alongside the local NGO and launched in 2016 a Smart City project that focuses on promoting port biodiversity and managing environmental risks, however the intervention at the Citadel was not mentioned. Nevertheless the NGO published on the website that it had a pivotal role for the ‘Restoration and Valorisation of the Citadelle of Port-Louis’ which served as a platform for tourism, education and leisure purposes.(3,7))
Financing
Total cost
€100,000 - €500,000
Source(s) of funding
- Multilateral funds/international funding
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
- Provision of labour
- Provision of expertise
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
- Private sector (businesses, financial institution)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
- Environmental quality
- Improved soil quality
- Water management and blue areas
- Increased protection against flooding
- Green space and habitat
- Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Increased number of species present
Economic impacts
- More sustainable tourism
Socio-cultural impacts
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
- Education
- Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. SGP (Small Grants Program) (no date), Creating a Native Green Space at the Citadel of Port Louis, available at Source link (accessed 5-10-2021)
2. Source link (2019), RESTITUER À LA CITADELLE SA FLORE ENDÉMIQUE ET INDIGÈNE, available at Source link (accessed 5-10-2021)
3. Friends of the Environment' website, Intro, available at Source link, (accessed 5-10-2021)
4. Convention on Biological Diversity, Mauritius - Main Details, available at Source link (accessed 5-10-2021)
5. FOE, (no date), Citadelle Native Re-vegetation project, available at Source link (accessed 5-10-2021)
6. Afrik21 (2019), MAURITIUS: Smart city Port-Louis, first African city where life’s good, available at Source link (accessed 5-10-2021)
7. Economic Development Board of Mauritius (2015), Smart City Scheme, available at Source link (accessed 5-10-2021)
2. Source link (2019), RESTITUER À LA CITADELLE SA FLORE ENDÉMIQUE ET INDIGÈNE, available at Source link (accessed 5-10-2021)
3. Friends of the Environment' website, Intro, available at Source link, (accessed 5-10-2021)
4. Convention on Biological Diversity, Mauritius - Main Details, available at Source link (accessed 5-10-2021)
5. FOE, (no date), Citadelle Native Re-vegetation project, available at Source link (accessed 5-10-2021)
6. Afrik21 (2019), MAURITIUS: Smart city Port-Louis, first African city where life’s good, available at Source link (accessed 5-10-2021)
7. Economic Development Board of Mauritius (2015), Smart City Scheme, available at Source link (accessed 5-10-2021)
https://foecitproject.wordpress.com/photos/
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the UNA global extension project funded by the British Academy.