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Ecosystem rehabilitation and species conservation
Coastal biodiversity at a dune site in southern Brittany
Rehabilitation of small French coastal islands
Restoration of the Essaouira lagoon system
Mangroves in French overseas territories
Rehabilitation of small French coastal islands
For their reproduction, seabirds must have nesting sites on land, close to the sea, and that need certain conditions. A number of seabird species had taken to nesting on small islands off the coast of Brittany that had been abandoned by their human inhabitants. Unfortunately, a number of these island sites had also been destabilised due either to natural factors or anthropic factors.
Two main problems had been identified during the initial studies for this project:
- on the one hand land laid fallow and become overgrown with grass,
- on the other hand invasive species such as rats have been introduced and have destroyed the nests.
Since 2002, the Foundation has joined forces with the Coastal Protection Agency on a project to restore seabird nesting sites on some of these islands. By improving the reproduction conditions and by reducing the numbers of predators it is hoped that greater numbers of birds will return to the islands.
To determine whether the species that have returned to these restored islands and nesting sites settle permanently, a follow-up program has been organized.
A report on the results achieved in Brittany was delivered at these minar entitled “Reciprocal contributions of scientific research and natural site management for the protection of seabirds” held in Perros-Guirec (Brittany) in October 2006.
Partner :
French Coastal Protection Agency