NATIONAL FOREST

By F.Mohit, forestry_mauritius

The Forests and Reserves Act of 1983 makes provision for the creation of National Forest.  According to section 4 of the Act, the Minister of Agro Industry & Food Security may, by regulations, declare any State Land which is a forest to be a National Forest, and specify the boundaries of every National Forest.  Any area declared to be a National Forest shall be inalienable and shall not be devoted to any other use than as forest land.  Unfortunately, there is still no National Forest in Mauritius.  Isn't it time to declare National Forest in the Republic of Mauritius?

Black River Gorges National Park

Mauritius has two National Parks on mainland, namely Black River Gorges National Park and Bras D'Eau National Park.  It also has eight Islet National Parks.  Moreover, there are fourteen Nature Reserves including islets.  National Parks and Nature Reserves constitute the bulk of the Protected Area Network (PAN).  

National Park and National Forest may appear to mean the same thing as both are public lands (state-owned).  However, the great difference between the two is the multiple-use mandate for National Forest.  The latter is managed for many purposes including timber production, recreation, grazing, wildlife, conservation, amongst others, while National Park is highly geared towards conservation.  Nature Reserves are strictly for preservation and conservation where public access is very limited.

Tamarind Falls Reservoir

At the beginning of the last decade, three state forest areas were identified by the late Conservator of Forests, Mr. S. Paupiah, to be declared National Forest.  Two of them are the strategically located upland forests in the Mare-aux-Vacoas region (Grand Bassin, Sophie, Parc-aux- Cerfs and Henrietta) and the Nouvelle Decouverte region (Eau-Bouillie, Thorel, Salazie and La Nicolière).  The third one is the lowland forest at Belle Vue (Daruty).  A preliminary survey was carried out, but the project was abandoned due to lack of political will.


 Land is a very limited and scarce resource on this small island.  In Mauritius, owing to rapid economic development, forest lands are the first to be sacrificed.  Consequently, they remain vulnerable to other land-based sectors.  However, it is widely recognised that forest lands should constitute at least one third of the land area of a country.  The present forest cover is about 25 % in Mauritius, which is already less than the desired amount.  Therefore, it is imperative that we conserve most of the remaining forests.  The upland forests at Mare-aux-Vacoas and Nouvelle Decouverte have multiple uses and functions.  These forests are managed for timber production, deer ranching, recreation, wildlife, fruit and fodder collection, conservation (soil, water and biodiversity), amongst others.  Thus they meet the definition of National Forest.   

The PAN consists of some 8,200 hectares of forest lands, representing about 4% of the land area.  Mauritius is one of the first countries that have signed the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), and has taken the commitment to increase the PAN up to 17% by 2025 (National Biodiversity Strategic and Action Plan 2017-2025 refers).  We have no alternative but to declare these forests National Forest in order to substantially increase the extent of PAN and meet our obligations under the UNCBD.  The soil and water conservation of the strategically located upland forests is of utmost importance for sustainable development in Mauritius, which warrant their protection for the benefits of present and future generations.