Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

Comoros hosts the most important breeding area for marine turtles in the Indian Ocean [ ] 81 The Moheli Marine Park The Moheli Marine Park was the first site in the Comoros to be granted protection status. It includes 10 marine reserves and covers an area of approximately 40,000ha on the Moheli Island. Its mission is to be a sanctuary for biodiversity, a space co-managed by local communities, and a conservation tool for the envi- ronment and the sustainable use of marine resources. Marine reserves where fishing activity is prohibited have been identified in association with the communities. Elsewhere in the park, small-scale fishing using only non-destructive methods is allowed. A warden appointed by the Minister for the Environment directs day-to- day activities of the park with the support of eco-guards recruited from local villages. The guards benefit from training and supervision, and in return, ensure the dissemination of the learnings to village communities. They also have the power to establish violations of the park’s regulations. As a result of the efforts imple- mented within the park, there have been some remarkably encouraging outcomes of biodiversity restoration, with the rehabilitation of some 60 per cent of coral reefs in the park’s zone observed. Also, an increase in the number of marine turtles (5,000) was recorded, nesting on five beaches in the zone of Itsamia in Moheli alone, against 1,235 recorded in 2010, repre- senting an annual population growth rate of almost 25 per cent, never before observed in the global sphere. There has also been increased awareness among the population, and especially within the youth, of the importance of biodiversity con- servation. The park project has led several types of training with various participants, including training in participatory approach and co-man- agement, the training of eco-guards, and training for the members of the Ulanga associations of the villages surrounding the park. The regional services of the Ministry of the En- vironment and the governorate also participated in trainings in ecology and in environmental legislation. The Marine Parc’s 12 associations have been the most significant exam- ple of the social mobilization around biodiversity in the country. This has spurred the interest of numerous partners, such as the Decentral- ized Cooperation Programme; the Regional Project for the Sustainable Management of Coastal Resources; the Network of protected areas of the Indian Ocean Commission, funded by the EU; France Volontaires (from the Reunion Region); and Australia. Spider Comoros T he Union of the Comoros is an archipelago composed of four islands located at the northern entrance of the Mozambique Channel, between Madagascar and the east coast of Africa. The recent geological nature of the country, its geographical position and its multi-insularity have given it a rich diversity of landscapes and biodiversity. The country has four main ecosystems: coastal and marine with a variety of mangroves, coral reefs, beaches, and seagrass beds; savannah; primary rainforest; and lake. The country is one of the 20 islands or archipelagos characterized by a remarkable specific endemism on a global scale, and has been classified as a biodiversity hotspot. Chamara Irugalratne on flickr