After the natural disaster of Cyclone Chido, French Mayotte is facing an ecological disaster. The element destroyed most of the plant cover and, consequently, animal habitats. Biologists fear that it will take at least a decade to rebuild the ecosystem.
On December 14, Cyclone Chido hit Mayotte, a French territory located in the Indian Ocean. The storm brought heavy rainfall, strong and violent winds stormswhich led to extensive damage. The final death toll remains unknown – authorities have confirmed 31 people dead, but hundreds remain missing. Thousands of people were injured and tens of thousands are left homeless.
“There are no more trees”
The cyclone led not only to a humanitarian crisis, but also to an ecological disaster. The plant cover of Mayotte was almost completely devastated – the wind destroyed hectares of valuable mangrove forests. They play a key role in channeling rain and mitigating floods, and now that they are gone, each rain washes the soil into the sea, covering the bottom with mud. In such conditions, the coastal coral reef is deteriorating, which will lead to the loss of many species of fish, corals and molluscs.
On land, animals are also suffering from the loss of forest cover. Golden poppies, the small cousins of lemurs, are now becoming more common in urban areas. They come there in search of food, but they are completely unadapted to life in urbanized areas. After the disaster, the number of native bat species, which act as pollinators in the ecosystem, also decreased. There are also concerns about the fate of lizards, insects and flowering plants that once bred in Mayotte.
“It's an ecological disaster,” said Raima Fadul, a biologist at the Mayotte Department Council. – There are no more trees. Those that are still standing have lost their tops. The cyclone flattened all the vegetation.
At least a decade
As Benoit Loussier, regional director of the National Forestry Office, explained, hope for the future is the fact that in the tropical climate of Mayotte, trees grow quite quickly. However, even partial reconstruction of the ecosystem will take many years.
– In ten years, plantations may restore forest cover up to eight meters high – he said, adding that this will only happen if former forest areas are not converted into farmland.
Such illegal activities had already occurred before the cyclone, mainly by poor immigrants farming to feed their families. The risk of wild planting is even greater because crops were also destroyed by Cyclone Chido. Another risk is poaching for subsistence – the poorest inhabitants of Mayotte are starving, and humanitarian aid is still slow in arriving.
Main photo source: David Lemor / Abaca / PAP