Mondrain private reserve to double in size and open to the public. These two excellent pieces of news are part of a management plan drawn up in 2020 and the new agreement sealed at the end of August between the reserve’s manager, the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF). , and its owner, the Médine group.
Dominique Bellier
Located on a ridge of the Vacoas mountain, overlooking the Magenta valley, the Mondrain reserve was created in 1979 to preserve an endemic species found only here: the pink Hibiscus genevii. The restoration, plant reintroduction and maintenance work carried out since then has resulted in a density of 199 species of flowering plants (127 of which are introduced) and 24 pteridophytes (which reproduce without flowers or seeds), the majority of which are endemic.
Despite its small size – just 5 hectares – this typical dry ridge forest reserve today boasts an exceptionally dense biodiversity. There is, for example, a native orchid that looks just like large dead leaves… It contains a sponge wood, a nail wood and a coral wood that exist nowhere else. As other forests of this type are neither restored nor managed, Mondrain is a unique model for reforestation…
The MWF is seeking funding to add a further 5 hectares, currently under hunting, and to organize its opening to the public. Despite its age, the Mondrain reserve remains little known, even to the inhabitants of the nearby village of Henrietta. As with Ile aux Aigrettes, the MWF intends to use the reserve as a tool for educating the public and raising awareness of ecological issues.