In order to counter and adapt to climatic change in Mauritius, nearly Rs 1,2 billion will be invested over the three coming years in the rehabilitation and the protection of coastal regions and beaches. Some of the projects consist of planting mangroves on the south-eastern coast between Quatre Soeurs and Riviere Des Creoles, as well as in the western region, from Tamarin to Black River and from Case Noyale to Baie-Du-Cap. In order to prevent land sliding, some consolidation works will also take place at Chamarel, Coromandel, Riviere Des Creoles, Baie Du Cap, Montagne Ory, Batelage, Pont de Souillac and at Falaise de Macondé. Several other works are scheduled in various other regions such as Vieux Grand Port and some coastal areas.
The ‘National Environment Fund’ (NEF) will have some Rs 2,2 billion for the rehabilitation of coastal areas, the cleaning up and embellishment works throughout the country, as well as the promotion of circular economy. The ‘National Environment Cleaning Authority’ (NCEA) will soon be set up with an initial envelope amounting to Rs 100 million. This new entity will work under the aegis of the Prime Minister’s Office. Furthermore, some additional Rs 790 million will be used for the cleaning up, embellishment projects and solid waste management. This includes the replacement and modernisation of equipment used for cleaning works, embellishment of 110 public sites, rehabilitation of land drainage, bridges and rivers, etc.
Mariam Sandoyeea, member of the NGO ‘Fridays for Future: « These measures are rather vague… »
« The budgetary measures are vague and are not clear enough about the actions to be undertaken which will enable the protection of the biodiversity. Our coastal zones are impacted by several factors such as deforestation on hillsides. In addition, the problem caused by pollution due to plastic products goes far back to their production itself. It is quite exceptionally good to encourage the cleaning up of sites and so on, but to stop producing and making use of plastic products is better. It is crucial to give equipment and bins for the selection of waste to vulnerable families », she says.
