A government policy for the national parks of Mauritius is threatening important research into conservation and undermining the ownership and sustainability of conservation projects. Appeals to modify this policy have remained unanswered.

Mauritius is known for its conservation successes — including that for the Mauritian kestrel, Falco punctatus — thanks to the development of innovative techniques. Its national parks provide ideal terrain for conservation research because they harbour most of the country's highly threatened biodiversity and provide a variety of experimental settings for study.

The new policy makes it difficult for biologists and students from the local university to access field camps, restricting their fieldwork to office hours on weekdays. Fieldwork outside these periods is rarely allowed: applications typically take at least three months to process, and payment to the National Parks and Conservation Service is necessary if the request is successful.

The Mauritian government's policy is insensitive to the temporal expression of biological phenomena. Its justification of concern for biologists' safety is weak, given that no significant security scares have ever been recorded. Worse, many foreign biologists are allowed to work at the same sites, unimpeded by the restrictions facing local academics.

The Mauritian authorities should note that the local university has been spearheading capacity-building to support native conservation efforts since the 1990s, with more than 50 research projects completed by its graduate and undergraduate students. With the help of the international community, the government should be persuaded to return to a stance that is less harmful to conservation.