Botany Enthusiasts – The Department of the Environment Invites you to Take Part in an Identification Programme!

Copyright - DR

The Department of the Environment is inviting all botany enthusiasts to take part in a survey of the Nice Snowdrop, a restricted endemic plant species that is found only in the Alpes-Maritimes.  It is protected in France and Italy and listed in Appendix I of the Bern Convention.

A "Local Action Plan for the Safeguarding and Management of the Nice Snowdrop" is being developed over three years (2018-2020) by the Department of the Environment, in partnership with the National Mediterranean Botanical Conservatory of Porquerolles (CBNMed) and the Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Marine and Continental Ecology (IMBE).

This programme has several aspects, including an exhaustive survey of all the populations of Nice Snowdrops in Monaco.  In areas that are difficult to access, particularly on the various cliffs of the Principality, these censuses can be carried out with a drone.

The Snowdrop also has a very high heritage value in Monaco.  Recent results have shown that Monegasque populations form a unique Evolutionary Significant Unit (ESU).  Their preservation is therefore a priority for the conservation and evolution of this rare, localised species.  Some existing populations will also be strengthened and two populations will be reintroduced into sites from which they have disappeared.

If you are lucky enough to see this Snowdrop in Monaco, send your observations to the Department of the Environment mentioning the following:  location, photos, date, and the name of the observers!

Further Information:  environnement@gouv.mc          Photo Credit:  Department of the Environment