Adi Teelock, member of Platform Moris Lanvironnman, believes that the measures announced in the budget are not sufficient to respond to the immense challenge facing us. It states: “The Budget presents a set of timid, even retrograde, measures that reduce our already limited capacity to meet the challenges of climate change. Some measures are even frankly harmful to the environment, natural ecosystems and biodiversity.” She adds: “This Budget once again demonstrates to what extent the government does not understand the problems and issues. The co-management of the Climate and Sustainability Fund by the government and the private sector to the exclusion of civil society and environmental NGOs does not reassure us either.”
For Adi Teelock, restoring beaches by extracting sand from the lagoon is not only ineffective, but dangerous. “This practice has significant and irreversible negative impacts on the dynamics of marine currents and biodiversity. In addition, it promotes erosion. And now the government has found nothing better than to announce an amendment to the Removal of Sand Act to authorize the extraction of sand to nourish eroded beaches! » she laments. Is this, our interlocutor asks, the new strategy of the authorities to respond to the problem of erosion of the Mauritian coasts? This measure raises various questions on his part: “Does the government know how many beaches rehabilitated by work, called erosion protection in front of hotels, have had to be restored on numerous occasions? Have studies or monitoring on the problem of long-term erosion been carried out to find out the reasons for the ineffectiveness of these measures? »
Regarding the dozens of coral farms announced, Adi Teelock emphasizes that without comprehensive ridge-to-reef measures to minimize the degradation of the lagoon by various pollutants, these farms will have very little chance of fulfilling their role. An integrated approach is necessary to ensure their effectiveness and success. As for reforestation, she fears that the measures announced in the Budget will never come true. “From year to year, the Budgets announce the planting of hundreds of thousands of trees on a certain number of hectares. Where is the balance sheet? Rapid urbanization through the proliferation of large real estate projects, as well as major road works, perpetuate environmental degradation and are a contributing factor to climate change. The loss in recent years of hundreds of hectares of established forests and cane fields means the loss of carbon sinks that have such an important role in mitigating climate change. And it is not the creation of micro-plantations of trees and shrubs all over the island that will compensate for this loss,” she explains.
Regarding food sovereignty, Adi Teelock emphasizes that the capacity of each country to maintain and develop its own production of basic food is essential. “You should know that the agriculture of the countries from which we import 80% of our food needs is also impacted by climate change. Thus, their export capacity will be reduced. Despite billions of rupees announced each year since 2016, the results are extremely meager. Without a clear strategy and a coherent support plan established with all stakeholders, nothing significant will happen,” she emphasizes.
