Monaco Life readers invited to track down rare plant

Photo: Department of the Environment
Photo: Department of the Environment

As France celebrates the Fête du Travaille on May 1 with the tradition giving a lily-of-the-valley (muguet) to loved ones, the Department of the Environment invites Monaco Life readers to participate in a tracking programme. The target is the rare Nivéole de Nice, an endemic vegetal species found in the Alpes-Maritimes. The plant is protected in France and Italy and included in appendix I of the Convention of Bern.

A local action plan for the safeguarding and management of the Nice Nivéole has been developed for the next three years by the Department of the Environment, in partnership with the National Botanic Conservatory of Porquerolles (CBNMed) and the Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Marine and Continental Ecology (IMBE).

This programme, which runs until 2020, has several components, including a comprehensive identification of all the populations of the plant in Nice and Monaco. For areas that are difficult to access, especially on the various cliffs of the Principality, these censuses can be carried out using a drone.

Nivéole also has a very strong heritage value in Monaco. Recent results have shown that the Monegasque populations form a Unique Evolutive Unity (ESU). Their preservation is therefore a priority for the conservation and evolution of this rare and localised species. Some existing populations will also be strengthened and two populations will be reintroduced to sites where they have disappeared.

Any readers seeing the Nivéole in Monaco should send observations (location, date, and photos) to the Department of the Environment: environnement@gouv.mc


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