Ecologists fear revival of controversial road project through Ferney Forest

The government’s M4 motorway project to connect Forbach to Plaisance has not yet started that it is already drawing immense criticism from environment experts and green activists.

According to l’Express newspaper, it is the section leading from Bel-Air/Olivia to Ferney/Plaisance that is raising most concerns. “The four-lane motorway could once again knock on the doors of the forest in Ferney, awakening the spectre of an old road project abandoned in 2005,” journalist Aline Gröeme-Harmon reported.

The South Eastern Motorway project intended, 17 years ago, to cut through the Ferney Valley. However, it was eventually abandoned in 2005 following immense popular outcry and pressure.

Vikash Tatayah, Conservation Director at the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF), is among those who are worried about the ecological impacts if the project is revived.

“The Bambous range is home to the second largest rain forest in Mauritius, after the  Black River Gorges National Park.  The Ferney Valley area should have been declared a national park – it is a success, both in terms of awareness and conservation,” he told l’Express.

Tatayah wondered if this road project will go through the Environmental Impact Assessment stage or if it will be exempt from it, as has been the case for other infrastructure projects. “This project was inconceivable in 2003-2004, it still is today, especially after the recent commitments made at COP 26.”

Citing the Ministry of National Infrastructure, l’Express said tender documents for the M4 Motorway are about to be finalized. However, it seems that, as of date, “the route has not been finalized.”

“We have learned a lot from past experience and debates generated by this project. There will be a thorough study in consultation with all stakeholders in order to select the best route to the airport.

Phase 1 of the project concerns Bel -Air to Pont-Blanc.

Phase 2 is Pont-Blanc to Forbach.

Phase 3 is Olivia to Ferney.

l’Express recalled National Infrastructure Minister Bobby Hurreeram as having claimed during the 2021-2022 Budget debates, that the 18km phase 2 would cost around Rs 4.3 billion.

Works for this phase, the newspaper said, are scheduled to start in May 2022 and will be funded by the COVID-19 Projects Development Fund, created in April 2020.

About Ferney Valley

Ferney Valley is composed of a large number of plant species, most of which are endangered or vulnerable. The valley was where several species were rediscovered after being thought extinct, such as Pandanus iceryi and Pandanus macrostigma. Eugenia bojeri is another critically endangered species that was discovered for the first time in Ferney.

In addition, several threatened animal species are protected in the reserve. These include the endangered Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus) and the Mauritian flying fox (Pteropus niger), a megabat.

The Kestrel has recently been designated as national bird of Mauritius. Thanks to the conservation program of the MWF, the kestrels have increased from 4 individuals to approximately 350. Specimens of the bird have also been observed at Montagne des Créoles, Montagne Bambous, Le Chat et la Souris, the East Valley and Anse-Jonchée.

Since 2013, MWF has also been restoring other endemic bird populations through the UNDP Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme. They include the big green cateau, pond pigeons, cooking blackbirds and wood roosters amongst others.

Tatayah recalled that while debates on the previous road project were in full swing, a study had made it possible to “rediscover several species”, including pandanus (endemic species of vacoas), eugenia bojeri or nail wood, parrot wood and sponge wood.