Launching of the Tree Census ceremony
Address by Hon. D. Virahsawmy, GOSK, FCCA
Minister of Environment &Sustainable Development
Municipality of QuatreBornes
Tuesday 18 September 2012
His Excellency, Mr Rajkeswur Purryag, President of the Republic
The Mayor of Quatre Bornes
The President of Save Our Planet Earth
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Morning
I am honoured to be associated with this initiative on Tree Census to
commemorate
the
112th
birth
anniversary
of
Sir
Seewoosagur
Ramgoolam, the father of the nation. Allow me to express my deep
appreciation to the president and members of Save Our Planet Earth
(SOPE) for their efforts in raising awareness and understanding on the
importance of trees and the protection of our fragile biological diversity.
This initiative fits well with the Clean-Up the World campaign 2012 which is
celebrated each year in the third week of September. This year’s theme,
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“Our Place, Our Planet, Our Responsibility”, reminds us of our
responsibilities to undertake actions to protect our local area, our country
and our planet for the present and future generations.
The campaign brings together non-government organisations, community
groups, schools, government, businesses and individuals to undertake
activities to improve water quality, clean up local streets, parks, waterways
and forests and educate children about the environment.
The reality check on global biodiversity is alarming and under severe
threat, with species being lost at 1000 to 10,000 times the normal rate.
More than one third of species assessed are threatened with extinction.
Almost 60% of the earth's eco-system services have been degraded during
the last 50 years. Records indicate that some 34,000 plants and 5,200
animal species are facing extinction. As regard bird species, one out of
eight birds, as well as one quarter of all mammals and one third of all
amphibians are endangered. The main cause of this loss is due to human
activities
through land-use change,
over-exploitation,
unsustainable
practices, pollution and the introduction of invasive species.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
When we hear such figures we tend to think that only far away or big
countries are under severe threats. Make no mistake, Mauritius is no
exception. As an island we have limited land resources. Our forests have
always been under heavy pressure from other land based activities. Over
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the past three centuries our native forests have been cleared for sugarcane
and food crops cultivation, livestock rearing, construction of roads, urban
development and other land intensive activities.
As a result of this massive clearing and human activities, we are left with
less than 2% of our natural forests. The original forest ecosystems have
almost disappeared and are severely threatened by invasive plants. Many
endemic species of our flora and fauna are critically endangered.
In fact, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources Red List ranks Mauritius third among the world’s top ten
countries for extinct species, mainly animals.
There is also ample scientific evidence now that climate change affects
biodiversity and is likely to become the dominant direct driver of biodiversity
loss by the end of the century.
However, it is noteworthy that actions taken to protect our biodiversity and
to promote its sustainable use have been successful in limiting biodiversity
loss. Overall, losses are now occurring at a slower pace than they would
have in the absence of the actions taken by my Ministry along with all
relevant stakeholders including NGO’s. Concrete examples of such actions
are the elaboration and the implementation of Environment Investment
Programmes and Action Plans which include, among others:
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 the National Biodiversity Action Plan;
 the National Pest Control Strategy;
 the Islets National Park Strategic Plan;
 the National Invasive Alien Species Action Plan;
 the study and demarcation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas
in Mauritius & Rodrigues; and
 the establishment of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management
framework
Moreover, due to our limited space it is difficult to restore our forest area.
This is why Government is encouraging the planting of trees all around the
island. On the other hand, my Ministry has embarked on a series of
projects aimed at reinforcing environmental stewardship. I will just name a
few :
 The Eco-village project which aims at raising awareness and
changing the behaviour of our villagers so that they become ecocitizens. This project will also provide essential guidance for the
conservation of energy and water, waste management, use of
recyclable materials and other environmentally friendly practices.
This project will firsttarget nine villages, including Pointe aux Piments,
Panchavati, Rivière Cocos in Rodrigues, Vieux Grand Port, Vuillemin,
La Gaulette/Le Morne, Poudre D’Or, Clemencia and Souillac.
 In addition, there is the school waste segregation project whereby
primary and secondary schools have been sensitized to carry out
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waste segregation. The different types of wastes namely, paper and
PET bottles are sent for recycling.
 As part of the school endemic garden project, some 75 endemic
gardens have been set up in primary and secondary schools. This
project aims at providing all primary and secondary schools with an
endemic garden to sensitise our youth about the richness of our local
biodiversity.
 Composting units have also been distributed to all community centres
in Mauritius and Rodrigues to encourage composting at community
level.
 We have also introduced diesel with 50 ppm of sulfur content to
improve our ambient air quality
 With the technical and financial assistance of the Japan International
Cooperation Agency we are dealing with the impacts of climate
change by carrying rehabilitation work in connection with coastal
erosion, coastal spatial management plan and conservation of reef
environment.
 Mhas embarked on a national sensitization campaign for the
collection and recycling of used mobile phone and batteries.
 Promotion and distribution of medicinal plants to the women
community to sensitise the public on the richness of our local
biodiversity.
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I have mentioned those few examples to show our effort and determination
to protect the environment. Our goal is to make Mauritius a model in the
Indian Ocean and for the world.
Government is fully committed to pursue the path of sustainable
development to achieve the “Maurice Ile Durable” vision. For this vision to
be translated into concrete actions, we need the involvement of all
stakeholders. I therefore appeal to all parties concerned, namely the private
sector, NGOs, youth and women organisations and the civil society at large
to fully engage themselves in making Mauritius a green and sustainable
island.
Let us create the right synergy, forge a new partnership and act together so
that we can legate a better future to coming generations.
I thank you for your attention.
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