Mauritius to Tackle Coastal Erosion

Long term data (1967 to 2012) available by aerial photographs and satellite images shows that about 11% of the Mauritius coastal areas have been eroded, with severe erosion at Albion, Bel Ombre and Mon Choisy, while over the last ten years, an average decrease from 50 % to 27 % of live coral in the lagoon has been noted.

The Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development, Disaster and Beach Management, Mr Raj Dayal, revealed these figures yesterday at Le Meridien in Pointe aux Piments at the launching of a two-day Regional Seminar on Landslide and Coastal Zone Management in the Southwest Indian Ocean Islands.

The figures are the main findings of the 2012-2015 project for Capacity Development on Coastal Protection and Rehabilitation, being implemented by the Ministry with the technical assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

According to Mr Dayal, the project, which is on its final phase and the final reports are expected by June 2015, has enabled the identification of some 14 sites for beach rehabilitation and coastal protection for the period 2015-2017.

The Japanese Experts have recently submitted the draft final version of these coastal conservation plans.

“The Technical Guidelines on Beach Conservation measures, Beach and coral reef Monitoring and Environmental Impact Assessment for coastal development projects will be submitted shortly,” said the Minister.

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