A CONSERVATION PROJECT ON MAURITIUS AND RODRIGUES - AN OVERVIEW AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

The development of a collaborative conservation project on Mauritius a nd Rodrigues (Mascarene islands, south-west Indian Ocean) is followed from its inception in 1972 to early 1995. The project has a tripartite structure, being run jointly by the Government of Mauritius, a local non-government organisation - the Mauritian Wildlife Fund, and interna tional organisations including the Wildlife Preservation Trusts. Work has focused on the endangered endemic birds, bats, reptiles and plants . Intensive management techniques, including in situ plant propagation , captive breeding, reintroductions of plants and animals, supplementa l feeding and manipulation of the nesting biology of the birds to incr ease productivity, have proved to be very successful. These, together with pest control and the protection of native habitat, resulted in th e increase of some of the rarest species and the restoration of small islands and areas of native vegetation. This work convinced the Govern ment to establish Mauritius' First National Park. The interface betwee n captive breeding and the management of wild populations is one that offers many possibilities. During the 1970s the future for many of the endemic species seemed hopeless; two decades later the long term cons ervation of many of the surviving endemic species is within our grasp. A bibliography of 447 titles of articles, papers and books that that directly influenced the project or have been generated or inspired by it, is included.