GEPOMAY

Presentation of the association and the project

The Groupe d'Études et de Protection des Oiseaux de Mayotte (GEPOMAY), an approved environmental protection association and recognized as being of general interest, has as its missions the study and protection of the biodiversity of Mayotte, particularly its avifauna, and the habitats on which it depends. The GEPOMAY is the official representative of the LPO France in Mayotte.

In March 2024, the GEPOMAY has 13 employees and carries out numerous actions on all the ecosystems of Mayotte: wetlands, including the management of two sites, forests, agricultural environments, coastal and marine habitats, and since 2022, cities. Indeed, Mayotte has been developing very rapidly in recent years, and it seemed essential for the association to focus on urban biodiversity issues and green and blue networks.

Thus, in 2022 and 2023, the GEPOMAY worked on two pilot sites in Mayotte to find the gestures best adapted to the territory to bring biodiversity back to the green spaces and gardens of cities. The association, accompanied by the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux, thus adapted the "LPO Refuges" to create the "May'Refuges LPO". It will enable the GEPOMAY to support public institutions and companies in the implementation of nature preservation actions by developing spaces in favor of biodiversity on their sites.

Problems encountered, at the origin of this project

The number of developments in Mayotte is growing exponentially from year to year, and unfortunately, most of the time, this is to the detriment of biodiversity: massive permeabilization of soils, concrete walls to separate properties, absence of natural shelters for biodiversity, and reduction of native vegetation in the different areas of gardens, ... so many actions that prevent biodiversity flows and thus isolate fauna and flora, which can then lead to their disappearance. Furthermore, the unprecedented water crisis that the island experienced in 2022 and 2023 led to a rethinking of water use and management in Mayotte and to propose rainwater harvesting to everyone, allowing to supply needs not requiring the use of drinking water (toilets, garden, professional sectors of the BTP, ...).

The GEPOMAY started from the observation that companies and public institutions can make a change and set an example in their daily gestures in their gardens. Thus, after working for two years on two pilot sites in two institutions, one in a green space in Mamoudzou, the capital, and one in a gite welcoming the public in the West of the island, 15 gestures have emerged to bring biodiversity back to the cities. The May'Refuges LPO were born.

At the end of January 2024, the first May'Refuges LPO was to be inaugurated in the gardens of the Prefecture of Mayotte in the presence of the President of the LPO, Allain Bougrain Dubourg, but due to the blockages of the island this event has been rescheduled for a later date in the year. In any case, the kits to be given to new establishments joining the "May'Refuge LPO" approach are finalized and include two booklets to help establishments implement their actions to bring fauna and flora back to their gardens, a poster, and a panel attesting that they are recognized as "May'Refuges LPO" and that they preserve the biodiversity of their space.

Project description

The GEPOMAY is now ready to recruit an employee to canvass new companies and public institutions to implement the approach on their site. Once the agreement is signed with the institutions, the GEPOMAY will be able to carry out inventories, develop a diagnosis and propose an action plan to be implemented. The association will provide support to the structures to enable them to achieve their objectives. An inventory will be carried out each year to evaluate the impact of the actions.

The project manager "May'Refuges LPO" will be accompanied by a civic service to support and advise companies. GEPOMAY avifauna study managers will carry out the inventories and diagnoses. Through the financing of this project, you will enable its concrete implementation with the objective of signing 5 agreements with public or private institutions, including schools, communities and companies that want to make a change on their territory. Once the agreements are signed, it will be the institutions that will finance their support. The GEPOMAY counts on you for an "initial boost" that will enable the project to become self-sustaining.

Financial resources to be mobilized for the realization of the project

- Human costs for the program manager to develop tools to canvass institutions and then to canvass institutions: 20 x 150 € = 3000 €
- 10 trips to sites: 400 €
- Operating and management costs: 450 €

Total requested: 3,850 €

The partnership with Ecomail will be valued on all the educational materials created as part of this financing.