Bio-diversity

Rodrigues is an autonomous island within the Republic of Mauritius, situated within the Mascarene Archipelago, a recognised global biodiversity hotspot. Intensive fishing pressure in the lagoon over decades has resulted in drastic declines of both fin-fish and invertebrate landings and the degradation of lagoon habitats. This has resulted in a decline in earnings for fishers, who are one of the poorest communities on the island. As a result, many fishers are dependent on government subsidies and their standard of living is below the national average. In recognition of the need to improve the status of the island s marine resources, four Marine Reserves were identified by the local fishing community in the north of Rodrigues and legally gazetted by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly (RRA) in 2007. Between 2010 and 2012, a joint Management Plan was developed for the four Marine Reserves by a group of local stakeholders with the support of GEF SGP and ReCoMap. More recently, the RRA implemented its first island-wide seasonal closure of the octopus fishery, between August and October 2012, in an attempt to rehabilitate stocks. The closure reduced fishing pressure and resulted in increased catches and landing of larger individuals once the fishery was re-opened. Further closures are now planned in 2013. The primary objective of the proposed project is to support the improved management of the marine resources of Rodrigues through providing support for the second octopus fishery closure and implementation of priority actions detailed in the Marine Reserves Management Plan. The primary objective will be achieved through the following specific objectives: (1) develop and support alternative livelihoods to provide income to those fishers affected by the octopus closure and Marine Reserves; (2) train local community representatives to enable them to actively participate in the co-management of marine resources; (3) demarcate the Marine Reserves; (4) implement community based monitoring control and surveillance measures; and (5) develop and expand education and awareness-raising programmes within the local communities to support successful implementation of these initiatives. Alternative livelihoods for fishers will be developed through the establishment of a community forest and 5 community pasturages and 30 fishers will be trained in the required techniques, enabling them to sustain the activities in the long-term. Four Local Advisory Committees (LACs) will be established, comprising of representatives from the local communities, villages and businesses adjacent to each of the Marine Reserves and members will be provided with training to support their involvement in marine resource management. A more resilient system of demarcation buoys will be developed and installed around the Marine Reserves in order to support effective surveillance. Existing participatory monitoring programmes will be expanded to assess the effectiveness of the Marine Reserves and the temporary octopus fishery closures. The project will support the continuation of the participatory octopus fishery monitoring programme and the 14 Community Resource Observers (CROs) currently employed to collect these data island-wide (6 in the north and the 8 south). A further 6 CROs will be recruited from the local communities in the north and trained in monitoring, control and surveillance techniques. Options to secure the sustainable financing of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network will also be identified. Finally, current education materials for primary schools, young people and the fisher community will be revised and updated in order to better reflect current knowledge and new education programmes will be developed for tourists and tour operators. This project accords with the GEF focal area criteria, GEF-5 Strategic Objectives for Biodiversity and the GEF SGP Country Programme Strategy for Mauritius addressing SGP OP5 Immediate Objectives 1, 2, 5 and 10. The project also supports the national and local Government aims of strengthening management of protected areas and reducing fishing pressure in the lagoon. 1.2 Organisational Background and Capacity to Implement the Project 1.2.1 Shoals Rodrigues Association Shoals Rodrigues is a non-governmental organisation established in September 2001 (registration number 6717), in order to undertake marine research, education and training activities in Rodrigues. The objectives of the organisation are to: (1) Conduct research to evaluate and monitor the local marine ecosystems, fisheries and oceanographic processes; (2) Provide training in practical techniques to ensure local people have the capacity to safely study and monitor their shore, lagoon and reef habitats and populations; (3) Educate and promote environmental awareness amongst all sectors of the community, to increase understanding of the need for sustainable use of marine resources and; (4) Educate teachers and other trainers to ensure the long-term local sustainability of the aims of the organisation. The Association currently has 5 full-time members of local staff and 2 international scientific advisors. Shoals Rodrigues has over ten years of experience of managing projects to address the problems of biodiversity loss and the development of sustainable management for marine resources, working in collaboration with local stakeholders, in particular the fisher community. The Association has implemented over 20 different projects conducting lon

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