Indicate which actions have been carried out to implement this Resolution :
Convene stakeholders/Networking
Education/Communication/Raising awareness
Policy influencing/advocacy
Describe the results/achievements of the actions taken:
This resolution has been implemented mainly by the IUCN SSC Bat Specialist Group. The activities carried out include:
Policy influencing/advocacy: from the side of IUCN Secretariat and the SSC, on 20 September 2016, IUCN Director General and the Chair of the SSC, sent a letter to His Excellency Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security of Mauritius, expressing IUCN’s concern for ongoing culling of Mauritius fruit bats (Pteropus niger) in response to crop losses. The letter urged the Government to consider non-lethal mitigation methods to avoid another planned cull in December 2016. However, the cull was carried out and a second letter was sent on 9 March 2017 where IUCN again appealed to the Mauritian government to seek non-lethal approaches to bat crop-damage mitigation, with assistance from the IUCN SSC Bat SG and the Task Force on Human-Wildlife Conflict. The two groups have been engaging with the government on finding a solution that addresses the needs of all the stakeholders involved.
Education/Communication/Raising awareness: One paper published highlighting the threats to flying foxes with emphasis on the consequences of the cull of Pteropus niger on Mauritius, highlighting the importance of flying foxes for island ecosystems and the need for integrated solutions.
Convene stakeholders/networking: A joint initiative “The people, bats and fruit industry of Mauritius: a process towards a common solution” was launched in 2017 by the IUCN SSC Task Force on Human-Wildlife Conflict with the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Government of Mauritius and the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF), and the IUCN SSC Bat Specialist Group and other stakeholders. An action plan was proposed focusing on netting to manage damage to orchards from fruit bats; development of a national research strategy and mediated dialogues. A two-day stakeholder workshop on netting and management of fruit bat damage to orchards was held in August 2017 for the local farmers with international experts on netting, human-wildlife conflict experts, net importers and other stakeholders such as fruit exporters and traders.
Scientific/technical activities: There was no culling of Pteropus niger on Mauritius in 2017, a possible indicator of success of the collaborative efforts to resolve the human-bat conflict on Mauritius.
What challenges/obstacles have been encountered in the implementation of this Resolution and how were they overcome :
The challenges encountered were the complexity of the motivations behind the culls of Pteropus niger on Mauritius in 2015 and 2016 and the polarized and entrenched perspectives of the general public towards the species.
Multiple approaches such as scientific research, outreach, policy influencing and advocacy, human wildlife conflict prevention through using netting over crops, Red List assessments have been used to over come the challenged faced.
Briefly describe what future actions are needed for the implementation of this Resolution:
Scientific /technical activities: Stage 2 of the joint initiative “The people, bats and fruit industry of Mauritius" is to develop a research strategy and action plan for Pteropus niger on Mauritius. A research strategy workshop is planned for May 2018 to assess the state of knowledge on the human-bat conflict and identify current knowledge gaps and future research opportunities.
Are these actions planned for yet:
