A Management Plan pertaining to the effective protection of Le Morne Cultural Landscape World Heritage Site, was presented, this afternoon, at the Film Classification Board, Renganaden Seeneevassen Building, in Port-Louis. The Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage, Mr Avinash Teeluck, the Chairperson of Le Morne Heritage Trust Fund, Mr Jean Claude Jance, and other stakeholders were present on the occasion.
In a statement, Minister Teeluck highlighted that Le Morne Cultural Landscape is a site which has been qualified as a World Heritage Site (WHS) by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In this context, preparing Management Plans are essential over a certain period of years to ensure the preservation and sustainability of the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Property as per the Convention concerning the protection of the World Natural and Cultural Heritage of UNESCO, he added.
Furthermore, Mr Teeluck indicated that the underlying objective of today’s presentation is to take cognizance of the inputs of all stakeholders concerned directly or indirectly with the WHS, notably, civil society and Ministries among others, as part of the finalisation of the Management Plan, before submitting same to the Cabinet for approval.
The Plan, he underlined, comprises four volumes and concerns not only the Cultural aspect but also the Maritime aspect as Le Morne is situated right next to the sea. Once the Plan is finalised and approved by the Cabinet, it will be forwarded to the UNESCO for consideration of what is being proposed by the Mauritian Government as regards the preservation of this site, stated the Minister.
For his part, Mr Jance recalled that several consultations have been done by the Ministry with stakeholders to prepare this Management Plan for the period of 2021-2025. Today’s presentation, he added, has been carried out to discuss and take note of all the inputs from different organisations and finalise the report in order to preserve and promote Le Morne WHS.
