The MV Wakashio ran aground less than 2 km away from Ile aux Aigrettes (IAA), an island nature reserve par excellence managed by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (BirdLife Partner & IUCN member). 800 tons of oil spilled out in the lagoon, heavily impacting on the marine and land ecosystems. IAA is home to sub-populations of rare endemic plants and animals. MWF plant and animal biologists, apart from having to carry out the normal routine work now have to investigate the impact of the oil spill.
The oil spill has impacted the lagoons, coral reefs, mangrove forests and biodiversity with shorelines covered with black sludge. It is an environmental disaster, the first of its kind in our history. The economic impact is severe on local inhabitants who earn their living from fishing or tourism and this includes the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, which is heavily reliant on ecotourism on Ile aux Aigrettes to finance conservation work. Endangered plants and animals may have been impacted.
This project will provide us with financial resources enabling us to monitor the populations of plants, birds, reptiles and insects, identify any impact, monitor their health status and reproduction during a minimum of three breeding seasons to ascertain that the oil fumes have not affected these animals and take other actions if necessary. Pink Pigeons, Mauritius Olive White-eyes, Mauritius Fodies, Telfair Skinks and Guenther's geckos on Ile aux Aigrettes need this ecosystem to survive.
The project will restore the ecosystem of Ile aux Aigrettes, an island nature reserve, home to endangered endemic plants and animals. Every year the islet welcomes 4,000 school children on a Learning with Nature tour, and another 15,000 tourists and visitors, making it a well sought after, unique and true ecotour experience. Maintaining such plant and animal populations also protects these species from extinction. MWF's mission is to prevent Mauritian species to know the same fate as the dodo.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
