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-Natural substances Further to land-use regulations and sanctions imposed on apprehended poachers and pyromaniacs, the legal aspect of biodiversity exploitation is essential if New Caledonia is to benefit from the generated income outside its territory – especially concerning endemic plant natural substances. Since this question directly concerns the development, it has not yet been examined in depth. In the programme, particular attention will be paid to the application of the texts produced by the convention on biodiversity in order to prevent any plundering of natural substances in New Caledonia. Horticulture Market analysis for sclerophyll forest products, together with woody, non woody and ornamental plants production surveys will be undertaken for local and regional markets.
Nursery gardeners courses will be made available so as to facilitate the creation of nursery garden businesses.
Agronomy : land owners survey and rural development prospects In New Caledonia, the creation of pilot plots sets a precedent of private-owner involvement in the conservation of biodiversity. The social and economic measures attached to the protection and remediation objectives must be “tested” before they are replicated elsewhere. This is how the involvement of these participants and the acknowledged value (through the media and social recognition) of their actions will be decisive for the success of the programme. Within the framework of the project to defend identified and validated priority sites, an appropriate development strategy should be proposed (education, strict protection, scientific studies) on the basis of a development plan including all of the existing scenarios. This work concerns the appropriate medium- to long-term management of sclerophyll forest sites. |
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Raise awareness on fire control According to a report by Colonel Trohel in 1991, fires are often intentional. Raising awareness among the population through environment education campaigns on the one hand and the training of public and influential individuals (officials, teachers, and journalists) on the other could be envisaged through co-operation with cultural and educational associations. The Centre for Environmental Initiation (CIE) has already agreed to contribute to such a project. Educate cattle farmers in forest-grazing techniques The local rural development agencies must emphasise the agronomic value of the forest. The role of the forest is, indeed, fundamental to farming activities both because of the biomass that it produces and because of its capacity to retain and filter water. The destruction and removal of the forests by private land owners and animal herds is an agronomic heresy that deserves to be rectified.
It is important to consider sclerophyll forest protection globally integrated within agri-pastoral activities. Indeed, these ecosystems are imbricated within man-run ecosystems such as pastoral areas. It thus becomes essential to include sclerophyll forest degradation into the larger ecological processes governing pastoral areas vegetation dynamics: pastoral vegetation direct vicinity entails that pasture degradation by undesirable invasive species create favourable conditions for forest depredation (species flow, seed displacement by cattle, scattering corridors…). The suggested plan of action enables the identification of the theoretically ideal situation where pastoral, hunting and overall human activities would take place while allowing sustainable habitat conservation. Concrete practice of agri-environmental concepts will allow the study of herbivore impact on natural vegetation and the determining of a density level compatible with the maintaining of dry-forest continuity. This will, in turn, render possible the recommending of appropriate management of herbivores and habitats.
It is thus necessary to propose the conducting of a study focusing on the interaction between wild ungulates and insular natural habitats in New Caledonia in order to establish proper hunting regulations
Increase awareness and interest among land-owners The novel idea of taking biodiversity into consideration as a value-added resource, which should therefore be respected over time, must be developed by promoting existing markets and convincing the owners to behave responsibly. Contacts with the land-owners and tribes, in the field and during information sessions, are indispensable. To this end, we propose that a survey be carried out of how the owners view conservation and how they react to it. |
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