Lost Lowland Forest

restoration

Restoring Mauritius’ Lost Lowland Forest

Across southern Mauritius, place names still echo the island’s once-magnificent forests: villages such as Grand Bois, Bois Chéri, La Flora, and Gros Bois all reflect landscapes once covered in dense tropical forest.

Yet by the late 1800s, most of these southern forests had disappeared. Cleared for sugar cane cultivation and used as fuel for sugar factories, Mauritius lost nearly all of its original lowland forests. Today, only scattered remnants remain: no longer true forests, but a few ancient trees surviving along river reserves.

La Vanille Nature Park, together with Ebony Forest, is working to reverse that loss through an ambitious forest restoration project in Mauritius.

Recreating a Lost Ecosystem

In 2024, the team at La Vanille Nature Park, guided by conservation specialists from Ebony Forest, launched an ambitious restoration initiative: to recreate a fragment of Mauritius’ lost lowland endemic forest.

The first phase focused on restoring five acres of abandoned sugar cane land along a small watercourse within the Rivière des Anguilles watershed in southern Mauritius.

To date, more than 2,000 endemic and native trees, representing 27 different species adapted to the region, have been planted.

Despite concerns that decades of intensive agriculture had degraded the soil, the results have been remarkable. The young forest is thriving, with minimal mortality, and several species are already flowering and producing seeds.

Dr Nicolas Zuël, Conservation Manager at Ebony Forest, recalls his surprise:

“We were unsure how well the saplings would establish after decades of sugar cane cultivation. But the plants are growing incredibly well, and promisingly some species are already flowering and seeding.”

Rebuilding Forests,
Strengthening Ecosystems

By the 1930s, no true intact lowland forest remained in Mauritius.

Yet from the fragments that persisted, botanists Reginald Vaughan and Paul Wiehe were able to piece together a picture of what had been lost: forests rich in biodiversity, filled with endemic plant species, and essential for regulating water, stabilising soils, and supporting wildlife.

Today, restoring endemic forests in Mauritius is more important than ever.

According to Owen Griffiths, co-director of both Ebony Forest and La Vanille Nature Park, the project aims to inspire broader landscape restoration:

“By recreating even small patches of lowland forest, we hope to inspire other landowners to set aside land - especially along rivers and streams. This supports the ridge-to-reef approach, where what we do on land directly affects our coastal ecosystems, thus having an impact beyond just our site.”

Owen Griffiths standing among young endemic trees in a restored lowland forest in Mauritius

Healthy forests help reduce soil erosion and flash floods by slowing surface run-off and filtering pollutants - protecting coral reefs, mangroves, fisheries, and coastal communities.

Caring for the Young Forest

Restoring a forest requires patience and dedication.

Each day, forest guardian Anwar tends to the young trees; removing weeds, watering the plants, fertilising them with nutrient-rich manure from the herd of giant tortoises at La Vanille Nature Park, and spreading woodchip mulch to improve soil health.

He refers to the young plants affectionately as “his children.”

Already, many of the trees have grown to more than two metres in height. Anwar has also observed subtle changes in the landscape: the growing forest is beginning to slow the flow of water entering the nearby stream, demonstrating how vegetation helps regulate water movement within the watershed.

Forest guardian caring for young endemic trees in the La Vanille lowland forest restoration project

Nature-Based Solutions for a Small Island

As one of the world’s most densely populated islands, Mauritius faces intense environmental pressures.

Restoring existing forests is critical, but creating new patches of endemic forest, particularly in lowland areas, can play a vital role in strengthening biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.

Encouraged by the early success of the project, Owen Griffiths and Mary Ann Griffiths are already considering expanding the restoration area.

A Living Forest for People and Nature

In time, visitors to La Vanille Nature Park will be able to walk through this young rainforest and experience a glimpse of what much of Mauritius once looked like.

Within a decade, the growing forest could become a thriving refuge for native biodiversity.

And perhaps one day, if efforts to bring back the iconic Dodo succeed, this restored forest might even welcome home Mauritius’ most famous bird.