Strategies for the Long Term Conservation of Biodiversity on Mauritius
The loss of biodiversity is increasingly complex, with
anthropogenic influences greatly enhancing the rate of this
phenomenon. Mauritius, as an insular island, was profoundly
affected by the colonization of humans. Much of the original fauna
as wll as an unspecified number of plants went extinct shortly
thereafter; what species which managed to survive were relegated to
remote portions of the island such as mountaintops and islets. As
human intervention attains ecological predominance in the new era
of globalization, the comprehensive reevaluation of the
relationship between human activity and ecosystem dynamics on
heavily altered islands such as Mauritius can help achieve new
solutions to prevent the continued loss of global biodiversity. The
primary motivation behind this thesis is to analyze new methods of
conservation which will help to transfrom the perception that an
artificial delineation exists between the human and the natural
spheres within a landscape. Mauritius is ideal to study this
concept as what biodiversity remains is enveloped in a landscape of
human activity. This thesis aims to identify needs and
opportunities not typically associated with conservation measures.
Thomas Juhasz has a masters of science in environmental sciences and policy from both Manchester University as well as Central European University. He has worked in ecology including working with California Condors, habitat restoration, and vernal pool fairy and tadpole shrimps. He has traveled to areas such as Southern Africa and the Mascarenes.
