Submitted by
nguyenda
on Thu, 02/01/2018 - 09:38
General Information
Resolution
46436
Period covered
Activities to implement this Resolution from Activity Reports
| Relevant operative para(s) of Res/Rec | Activities Overview | Description | Status | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convene stakeholders/Networking | 1. Net Benefits Initiative - August 2017. Stage 1 of the joint initiative “The people, bats and fruit industry of Mauritius: a process towards a common solution” A two-day stakeholder workshop on netting and management of fruit bat damage to orchards was held in August 2017. The meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security via its Food and Agricultural Research Extension Institute (FAREI) and participants were drawn from small orchard owners, commercial orchard managers, netting importers and distributors extension officers and research staff from Food and Agricultural Research Extension Institute (FAREI), researchers and staff of National Park and Conservation Service (NPCS) and Mauritius Wildlife Foundation (MWF), fruit exporters, and fruit traders. In addition to the Mauritian participants, five specialists from overseas participated: lychee farmers with successful experience in netting against bats in Australia, an expert in fruit bat ecology and bat damage prevention from Thailand, and human-wildlife conflict experts from the IUCN SSC Task Force on Human Wildlife Conflict, and Chester Zoo. The workshop comprised presentations, site visits and breakout sessions wherein working groups discussed key issues and strategies for reducing damage by bats and improving lychee productivity more generally. |
Completed | Full activity report | |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | Publication of a Science Perspective "Can we protect flying foxes" by Christian Vincenot, Vincent Florens, Tigga Kingston. Science 355(6332): 1368-1370. The paper highlighted the intensity of threats to flying foxes, with introductory emphasis on the consequences of the cull of Pteropus niger on Mauritius. The importance of flying foxes for island ecosystems was detailed and the need for integrative solutions emphasized. | Completed | Full activity report | |
| Education/Communication/Raising awareness | The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation is collaborating with Chester Zoo (UK) and National Park and Conservation Service (Mauritius) to try to understand the human-fruit bat conflict and take measures to address this conflict. These measures may range from education to practical mitigation measures. The education programme is also funded by Rufford Grant. The Ecosystem Restoration Alliance (ERA), Indian Ocean (Mauritiu) is conducting a 3-year educational program by which all the schools and community centers will be reached. Along with NPCS, ERA is testing organic repellents as well as sound systems to deter bats in orchards- non-lethal net free solution. | On-going | Full activity report | |
| Policy influencing/advocacy | In June 2017, a joint initiative “The people, bats and fruit industry of Mauritius: a process towards a common solution” was launched 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), in consultation with representatives of the fruit-growing industry, the IUCN SSC Bat Specialist Group, and members of the scientific community in Mauritius and overseas. The parties proposed an Action Plan that focused on a netting to manage fruit bat damage to orchards, development of a national research strategy, and mediated dialogues. | On-going | Full activity report | |
| Scientific/technical activities | The National Parks and Conservation Service of Mauritius have implemented two recent surveys of the Pteropus niger population of Mauritius (October 2016, 2017). The surveys followed a workshop and training event in April 2016 led by Dr Tammy Mildenstein of the Bat Specialist Group. The workshop equipped the NPCS to avoid use of disturbance counts and have greater confidence in counts derived from exit counts and roost urveys. | Completed | Full activity report | |
| Scientific/technical activities | The governement culls (late 2015, late 2016) of P. niger on Mauritius triggered a reassessment of the Red List Status of the species. This was completed in 2017 and is in final review by the Red List Unit. | Completed | Full activity report |
Actors involved from Activity Reports
| IUCN Members | IUCN Commissions | IUCN Secretariat | Other non-IUCN related organisations |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Challenges / lessons learned from Activity Reports
Report status
Published
I. IUCN Constituencies implementing this Resolution
IUCN Members
Bat Conservation International, Inc ( United States of America )
Mauritian Wildlife Foundation ( Mauritius )
Ministry of Agro Industry and Food Security ( Mauritius )
IUCN Commissions
F717E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623
IUCN Secretariat
Yes
II. Implementation
Activities carried out to implement this Resolution
Convene stakeholders/Networking
Education/Communication/Raising awareness
Policy influencing/advocacy
Describe the results/achievements of the activities
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.
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.
Challenges/obstacles encountered in the implementation of this Resolution and measures taken
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.
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.
Future actions / activities 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/activities planned?
Yes
III. Status of implementation
Implementation status of this Resolution
On-going: implementation consisting of repetitive, recurrent action (attending meetings, reporting, etc.)