France • Born in 1965
The Lost World of Udzungwa

Tanzania, in East Africa, has 22 national parks. More than 1.5 million people visited the region last year, attracted by the famous Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Serengeti. But only 8,000 went to Udzungwa, in the centre of the country.

Yet it was in these mountains, covered in thick tropical vegetation, that the last specimen of monkey to be discovered was found in the early 2000s, an animal known as the Kipunji (Rungwecebus kipunji). But as there are no lions, rhinos or leopards, the tourists stay away. Scientists consider Udzungwa to be one of the most important sanctuaries to protect, as this territory of just 2,000 square kilometres is home to some of the richest biodiversity on the African continent. Its waterfalls, including the 170-metre-high Sanje, naturally irrigate the entire region. As part of a photographic commission from the Yves Rocher Foundation, photojournalist Frédéric Noy - a leading specialist in environmental and geostrategic issues - spent months immersed in this endangered natural space.

While the park’s borders aren’t disputed, an increase in farming (especially monocultures of sugar cane or rice), a sharp population rise (now almost 70 million inhabitants, compared to 22 million 40 years ago), the domestic migration of Tanzanians coming to take advantage of the rich, fertile land and deforestation for household purposes have all gradually eaten away at its boundaries. 400,000 people live in the immediate vicinity of Udzungwa. And no one can blame an insecure rural population for wanting to farm its land.

So organisations like Mazingira and others are launching multidimensional programmes to educate new generations in agroforestry from primary school onwards, to raise farmers’ awareness of more environmentally friendly practices, and to create and maintain green corridors that enable wildlife to move around without coming into conflict with humans. They are also trying to attract more tourists, because the best way to protect land is to give it value.

In partnership with the Yves Rocher Foundation, which funded this project as part of its ‘In the Name of Biodiversity’ photography campaign.

JARDIN SAINT-VINCENT

Frédéric Noy