Abstract
Since they are very abundant and very often come into contact with human populations, seabirds have always been exploited or used. Egg collecting, hunting, guano mining, localization of fish schools are all ecosystem services provided by seabird colonies. More recently, ecotourism and biomonitoring have been developed and bring on a new economic value to seabirds. But non-regulated exploitation and destruction of breeding habitats have brought about decline or maybe even local extinction of numerous populations. In tropical zones seabird colonies are even more vulnerable because many islands are totally inaccessible to man. The objective of our research proposal is to determine the status of preservation and the ecosystem services provided by seabirds in three countries in the Indian Ocean: Madagascar, the Seychelles and France (scattered islands). These three countries regroup between them more than 99% of the seabirds in the Western Indian Ocean (6.4 million couples, 24 species) for which the preservation statutes and the working methods are extremely uneven. Some islands are fully protected while others are frequently subject to poaching, with no method for sustainable management. Others yet are the basis of a thought-out ecotourism that generates consistent incomes and job opportunities. Our evaluation by country and by island or group of islands will contain an analysis of ecologic, economic and social costs and benefits provided by these seabirds. We have in fact set up a multidisciplinary team composed of biologists, socio-economists and local partners integrated in a national context. The sharing of different experiences and situations and the transfers and educational actions will enable the creation of a plan for integrated management and preservation of seabirds on a regional scale. Eventually we hope to stop the erosion of biodiversity among seabirds in the region while improving living conditions for coastal birds, notably in Madagascar.
France