{"id":40488,"date":"2026-08-18T09:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T05:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lagazette-mag.io\/lion-mountain-under-study\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T09:00:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T05:00:40","slug":"lion-mountain-under-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lagazette-mag.io\/en\/lion-mountain-under-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Lion Mountain Under Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Our Heritage Foundation (OHF) has launched a project to conserve the natural heritage of Montagne du Lion \u201cthrough community-based management.\u201d Following the same approach it has taken in Vieux Grand Port since 2021, this NGO relies heavily on the villagers and their expertise to fully involve them in its projects to promote natural and cultural heritage. <\/b> Dominique Bellier<\/em><\/p>\n

The living landscape of Montagne du Lion is a whole in which history, biodiversity, culture, and local communities are inseparable. This iconic feature of the Mauritian landscape serves as an ecological corridor linking the humid forests of the highlands to the drier forests below, as well as rivers, farmland, mangroves, lagoons, and reefs, overlooking the cradle of Mauritian history. Local residents gather medicinal herbs, construction wood, and all kinds of natural resources, but this connection to the mountain is being eroded by pressure from economic actors who restrict access, invasive species thatare encroaching on<\/span> the native forest, erosion, and climate change. <\/p>\n

The first botanical field trips, led by guide Jeff Seetamane, revealed that invasive species predominate over endemic ones such as applewood, green velvet tree, elderwood, and riverwood. The highland rainforest is home to a critically endangered treasure: the largest known population of Turraea dargentiana<\/i>, a shrub endemic to Mauritius, which Claudia Baider first described in 2016. The volunteers did not see any endemic lizards or snails, but they did come across an unwelcome iguana\u2026 OHF will, among other things, map the mountain, conduct an inventory of its fauna, its flora, and its habitat; identify sensitive areas and degraded sites in need of restoration; develop a biodiversity action plan and a sustainable visitor management plan; engage local volunteers; and increase community participation in its activities. What a great program!<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Our Heritage Foundation (OHF) has launched a project to conserve the natural heritage of Montagne du Lion \u201cthrough community-based management.\u201d Following the same approach it has taken in Vieux Grand Port since 2021, this NGO relies heavily on the villagers and their expertise to fully involve them in its projects to promote natural and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":40489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1763],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ecology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t