ENHANCEMENT OF THE BADAMIERS MUDFLAT OF PETITE-TERRE IN MAYOTTE
Five Mauritian youth from different backgrounds, united to act
This enhancement project has brought together five young people from the community of Petite Terre for whom the preservation of our natural heritage is a priority and who must bring about concrete commitments to the field. In fact, Petite Terre is a refuge for a number of endemic, rare, and threatened species. However, the community is under strong pressure from anthropic activities, especially in coastal spaces.
Although from different backgrounds, they decided to combine their skills, their sensitivities, and their visions of what should be the commitment of the young generation in favor of the preservation of island biodiversity.
What were the objectives of the project?
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To put together a collaboration with marine professionals in order to commit themselves, at our side, to the fight against waste in the oceans and on the shores, especially on the site of the Badamiers Mudflat.
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In addition, as a second objective, we wanted to give an educational aspect to the project: to sensitize schoolchildren to the preservation of coastal ecosystems by field trips to the Badamiers Mudflat to bring awareness to the wealth of biodiversity and the stakes of preservation.
A field project: acting to preserve the natural site of the Badamiers Mudflat of Petite Terre
For Mauritian youth, preserving the biodiversity present on the island and improving knowledge of this rich natural heritage are essential on the one hand to understand pressures that human activities exert on these ecosystems, and on the other hand to nurture the will of the young generation to act to preserve this natural heritage.
The Choice of the Badamiers Mudflat: The Badamiers Mudflat in the community of Petite Terre is a local ecosystem, rich in biodiversity, accessible and familiar to the local population (locals and sea workers). The Badamiers Mudflat is also a development and feeding site for green and hawksbill turtles that feed on the seaweed beds. However, this natural space suffers from the scourge of waste left in illegal dumping by users of this natural space. These illegal deposits affect not only the landscape but also the soil, in the case of invasive deposits, and the flora and fauna of this wetland.
A project of awareness
The implementation of actions to raise awareness and promote biodiversity aims to:
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Mobilize the maximum number people (residents, schools, associations, etc.) around the knowledge of the biodiversity of our territory;
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Demonstrate that our environment and nature provide us with many ecosystem services (benefits), and that we need to strengthen our ties with nature to better protect it;
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Demonstrate that the population is fully involved in the improvement of our living environment, alongside the technical operators. It is together that we will make our territory clean and pleasant to live in and keep it that way;
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Create or recreate a social link between residents, make them aware of climate change, and inculcate the adoption of good practices.
Moreover, making the population, schoolchildren, and marine professionals aware is an essential pedagogy. To be effective, awareness is articulated in multiple different formats including:
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Training courses on environmental themes and waste prevention for marine professionals
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Activities for schools (competitions, field trips to natural sites, and the creation of a fun trail in the Badamiers Mudflat
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The organization of a day to discover the Badamiers Mudflat for the general public
The involvement of elected officials, agents, marine professionals, schools, and the local population in this approach was essential to the success of the project. It is in this approach that the innovative character of our project resided: to set up a collaboration with marine professionals so that they commit themselves in the fight against sea waste and waste on the shore. Moreover, embodying the new generation, we are directly concerned with the problems of environmental protection of which we are the legitimate heirs. We will have to pass it onto the generations that follow us. This is why it is essential to educate schoolchildren from a very young age on the protection of our environment and to improve the link between human beings and nature, which provides us with numerous ecosystem services. The easiest way for citizens to act is on the local scale. It is therefore relevant to address the protection of biodiversity as opportunity that would allow us to concretize our actions.
Participating of the Mauritian Young Ambassadors at the IUCN World Youth Summit
Continuing their willingness to share their actions and discover the field commitments of other young people to preserve local ecosystems, the young people took part in the IUCN World Youth Summit that happened digitally from April 5-16, 2021.
As part of the IUCN World Youth Summit, the French Committee of the IUCN invited young people to a workshop on “Mobilizing Youth for Biodiversity.” The workshop brought together the President of the IUCN French Committee, Maud Lelièvre, the patron of the Young Ambassadors of the Environment and the French Ambassador for the Environment, Yann Wherling, and the Secretary of State to the Minister of Education in charge of Youth and Engagement, Sarah El Haïry.
The voice of the Young Ambassadors was heard and exchanges and took place between various actors working in the field from the ages of 18-30 to mobilize young people toward concrete projects aimed at preserving local biodiversity.
In addition, at the invitation of the French Committee of the IUCN, the youth spoke on September 9th from 4-5 pm at the conference “One Nature, One Future - French-Speaking Youth in Action (#YouthAct),” organized at the Pavilion of the French Committee of the IUCN. The theme of the workshop was “How to Mobilize Youth for Biodiversity,” or how to encourage more youth to participate in nature conservation.
