MUA offers more than 3000 booklets to children to better protect the Mauritius Fody.
Do you want to know how to recognize the Mauritius Fody, find out where it lives, what it eats, understand what exactly is an endangered species? MUA has created an activity booklet that aims to make children aware of the conservation efforts led by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF). More than 3,000 copies of this booklet have been distributed in the 27 ZEP schools and given to partner NGOs. The Ti Cardinal de Moris booklet was launched on Friday 16 June at the Residence Vallijee Government School, in the presence of officials from the MUA Foundation, the MWF and the Ministry of Education.
“For more than ten years, MUA has contributed towards the restoration of Ile aux Aigrettes, one of the habitats of the Mauritius Fody. As “Gold Species Champion” of this endemic bird, the MUA Foundation supports the MWF financially but also through awareness-raising actions”, explains Vincent Noël, Marketing & Communication Manager. “It is in this context that the idea of this activity booklet took form. We are convinced that the protection of our natural heritage will be more effective if our children understand very early on that it is our collective responsibility. We are happy to support teachers in their task of raising awareness and to contribute, in a playful and modest way, to the immense work carried out around this species since 1998 by the MWF. »
The rehabilitation program of the Mauritius Fody has been a success, but it must be maintained over time. Although a little over 300 individuals have been surveyed on Ile aux Aigrettes, and only a thousand for the whole country, the species remains in danger. “We hope that this booklet will inspire our young generations to take up the torch of conservation in the years to come and that they will in turn become the protectors of our endemic species,” comments Vikash Tatayah, Conservation Director at the MWF. “Our teams of biologists and scientists will welcome them with open arms at our various sites, in Mauritius and Rodrigues,”. "Without the long-term support of companies such as MUA, the safeguarding of endangered endemic species could not be completed, as it requires so much effort, resources and attention", asserts Jean-Hugues Gardenne, Fundraising and Communication Manager at the MWF. “That is why we have introduced the Species Champion Program which allows companies to continuously sponsor the safeguarding of some of Mauritius’ most at-risk species. »
This project has been a success with the collaboration of officials from the Ministry of Education, Aneeta Ghoorah, Director Primary & Curriculum Development Evaluation, the unit responsible for validating the book, and Chantal Ladouceur, coordinator of ZEP schools. They are happy with this initiative which they describe as very relevant, to make the children more aware of our natural heritage. Georges Naigum, the headmaster at the Résidence Vallijee school, was proud that his students are the first to discover the booklet and that they will make good use of it.
Support for conservation efforts of endemic species in Mauritius is part of MUA's social responsibility and sustainability policy. The MUA Foundation’s mission is to support environmental and social projects through concrete actions and long-term collaborations, which go beyond simple sponsorship.
About the Mauritius Fody
The Mauritius Fody (Foudia rubra) is a small forest songbird, formerly present throughout the island, and possibly the islets. The population of this endemic bird of Mauritius experienced a drastic decline in the early 1970s, a period that coincided with the island's last large-scale deforestation. In 1998, the need for conservation became essential to reduce the risk of extinction of the species, whose habitat had been reduced to a small patch of forest in the Black River Gorges National Park. Predation being one of the most significant threats to the species, concrete actions have been implemented since 2002 by the MWF, the NPCS and the Forestry Service to protect the habitat of this bird. Part of these efforts include breeding the species in captivity and its reintroduction on Ile aux Aigrettes, a nature reserve sheltered from predators. Today, MWF continues to monitor the reintroduced population on the island to better understand the habitat needs of this species to guide possible future translocations to other protected sites. One of the best indicators of the success of the conservation project remains the down-listing in 2009 of the species from "Critically Endangered" to "Endangered" on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List.
About the MWF Species Champion Program
Launched by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, the Species Champion Program allows companies concerned about the environment and conservation efforts to become more involved in the safeguarding of endemic species by focusing their support on a specific endemic species, be it a plant, a bird or reptile. There are three sponsorship levels, the Gold, Silver and Bronze Champions, reflecting the respective level of contribution to the chosen species. Through this initiative the MWF aims to have ambassadors and champions for each species, to be able to reach a greater number of our fellow citizens and make them aware of the importance of our natural heritage.
