Mauritius
Mauritius from Ridge to Reef (R2R)
Lead organizations
Partners
Lead organizations: Project implemented by the National Parks and Conservation Service (NPCS) under the aegis of the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security
Partners: University of Mauritius; Ministry of Ocean Economy and Fisheries
Key thematic areas
Environment and climate change, agriculture and food security; biodiversity
Challenges
Mauritius is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including rising sea levels and more intense and frequent tropical cyclones. It imports 75% of its food requirements, leaving it exposed to shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and its terrestrial flora is ranked the third most endangered in the world. These challenges call for a comprehensive program to build resilience, simultaneously addressing climate change mitigation, biodiversity loss and food security.
Goal
To mitigate climate change, reduce biodiversity loss and improve food security through landscape approaches, enabling Mauritius to meet international commitments including the Paris Agreement, Convention on Biological Diversity and Ramsar Convention.
Landscapes
Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, located around 2,000 kilometres off the coast of Africa. With a population of 1.2 million spread across an area of 2,040 kilometers,2 Mauritius is the world’s tenth most densely populated country. Due to its isolation and diverse ecosystems including forests, mangroves and wetlands, the country has high levels of biodiversity and endemism. But many species have been driven to extinction by human activity, most notably the dodo. Key economic sectors include tourism, sugar, textiles and financial services, with most of the country’s arable land used for sugarcane production. This project will be concentrated in Black River Gorges National Park, located on the main island of Mauritius. The Park serves as a major catchment area for two river systems that provide freshwater resources for inhabitants in the south of the island, as well as irrigation for agriculture in the west. It is also the largest remaining indigenous forest on the island, and is known to harbour threatened wildlife, including endemic birds.
Approach
This project will address Mauritius’ vulnerabilities to climate change, biodiversity loss and food-import shocks through better land management and landscape approaches. It will restore natural forests to sequester carbon and meet the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement, as well as restore native flora and control invasive fauna to protect biodiversity. Lastly, it will bolster food security by expanding local food production to meet demand and build resilience against future shocks.
Specific actions
- To mitigate climate change, the project will clear and control invasive plants in forests, before restoring natural ecosystems by reintroducing native plants.
- To restore biodiversity, the project will survey and map critically endangered plant species and formulate plans to conserve them.
- To improve food security, the project will run campaigns to encourage local farmers to adopt beekeeping and agroforestry practices. It will also plant mangroves to regenerate fisheries and increase carbon sequestration.
Contact
Mr. Kevin Ruhomau
Director, National Parks and Conservation Service
Further information
EU delegation to Mauritius website
