Located in the Indian Ocean, Moheli is the smallest island in the Comoros archipelago, with a total land area of 290 km2. It boasts an incredible mosaic of ecosystems, including primary rainforests and dry forests, coral reefs and mangroves, and is home to exceptional biodiversity!
The island is unique in that ¾ of its territory is classified as a national park. Thanks to the determination of its inhabitants and those involved in the protected area, the island will be classified as a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2021.
However, this unique place is now under threat from climate change and increasing human pressure on its natural areas. Forest ecosystems have not been spared: studies have shown that the average annual rate of deforestation is 1.65%, largely due to the expansion of agricultural land. Since January 2022, Noé has therefore been implementing a 5-year technical assistance project for the Moheli National Park to set up a project to combat deforestation and forest degradation.
CONTEXT AND AMBITIONS
The project to which Noé has committed the Mohéli National Park is in line with the Park's mandate to develop the area under its protection in a sustainable way, combining nature conservation, economic development and improving living conditions for local communities.
The project is structured around four main areas of intervention:
Strengthening the legal framework and monitoring resources of the Moheli National Park;
Involving local communities in forest protection issues;
Restoring degraded forest areas;
Developing sustainable farming practices and industries.
Crédits Axel Jumelin
PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND IMPACTS
To achieve its ambitious objectives, Noé is implementing a range of activities, including ongoing support for the surveillance department's strategic thinking. This, coupled with the provision of cutting-edge equipment, is helping to strengthen the monitoring capabilities of the Moheli National Park. We are working hand in hand with the park to identify forest areas under heavy pressure and secure them in the long term.
To support the regeneration of these new, degraded areas, or in certain zones that have been identified for longer, we are also supporting the park in drawing up and implementing its multi-year restoration and reforestation plan.
Crédits Axel Jumelin
As a category VI protected area according to the IUCN typology, community consultation is at the heart of each of our actions. Raising awareness is essential if the project is to be sustainable, which is why we have developed an approach based on the local context, for example by funding micro-projects aimed at more vulnerable beneficiaries who are not in a position to apply for large-scale projects.
It is also what led us to develop our own educational support to run school workshops for Mohelian children that deal directly with the issues they face, in the hope of creating a future generation that is more aware of the beauty but also the fragility of its island.
Finally, agriculture, which accounts for almost 57% of jobs in the Union of the Comoros, is the main threat to Moheli's forests. Noé supports the emergence and dissemination of innovative and sustainable agricultural practices among local farmers. By setting up "school fields", we aim to intensify production on plots located in the lower elevations of the island to ensure greater production and profitability for farmers, and to limit their use of the higher elevations of the forest. Ultimately, the project also aims to support the development of sustainable, pro-biodiversity agricultural sectors.
KEY PROJECT FIGURES
10 community reforestation projects supported by 2023, spread across the island of Mohéli
94 children monitored for 4 months in their classrooms to learn about the environment, specially designed for the island
AGIRabcd is an association of retired volunteers that helps people in difficulty. Its international missions are to contribute to economic, cultural, health and social development within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, by transferring skills to requesting organisations.
The Alliance française de Fomboni is a Franco-Comorian association whose main missions are to improve the living conditions of the population and preserve the environment.
The Moheli National Park is an IUCN category VI protected area co-managed with communities, whose primary role is the protection of ecosystems and the sustainable use of natural resources. Noé is working alongside the park as part of a project to combat deforestation and forest degradation.
CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION OF THE CALEDONIAN FOREST
For more than 10 years, the Caledonian Forest Conservation and Restoration programme has been working to restore the rainforest and mining scrubland, their ecological functions and continuity, and to safeguard endangered palms and conifers, the flagship of New Caledonia's natural and cultural heritage.
L'une des ambitions des Prairies de Noé est de restaurer des zones de refuge, de reproduction et d'alimentation en faveur des insectes pollinisateurs et de l'ensemble de la biodiversité prairiale. Ce programme répond aussi à fort besoin d'amélioration des connaissances sur les pollinisateurs sauvages.
The approach aims to involve all local and national players who have a role to play in the sectors identified, from collection and production to processing and marketing, as well as the management of areas and species.
L’Opération papillons est un observatoire de sciences participatives lancé en 2006 et porté par Noé et le Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle. Il propose à tout un chacun, néophytes comme naturalistes confirmés, de recenser et compter les papillons de jour de son jardin, balcon ou parc public en vue d'améliorer la connaissance et la recherche scientifiques.
