Page 15 - Mauritius REPORT

Marine degradation protected areas

Lack of specialized monitoring equipment and personnel to survey the EEZ and continental shelf. This
limitation affects the availability of data pertaining the marine biological diversity. Lack of private and
public funding to employ and train specialized staff.

Difficulty in monitoring seagrasses, turtles and coral reefs on the remote outer islands. Illegal, Country Profile
unreported and unregulated fishing has not only damaged sensitive marine ecosystem but also The Republic of Mauritius
beckoned food insecurity.

There is also limited environment awareness as a result of limited funds, poverty, gender disparity and
education levels, has hindered the participation of all Mauritians in achieving goal 14

The opportunity
Supportive legislative framework

Mauritius is a member of the Action groups on Coral Reef restoration and Plastic Pollution and is also
cooperating with other countries to exploit the resources within its EEZ. It is finalising regulations to
ban disposal of plastic at sea. This will give legal force to Annex V of the International Convention for
the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) which was signed by Mauritius in 1995.

Marine Protected Areas (MPA):
The rich Mauritian biological diversity and its consequent loss has necessitated the designation of
marine protected area to conserve the ocean life and other resources. This has been possible through
a myriad of ways with the most effective one being legislation which not only establishes marine
protected areas but also restrict a particular conduct for instance the Fisheries and Marine Protection
Act. With funding assistance from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Mauritius has been able
to expand its protected area network to secure and restore sensitive ecological areas and endemic
species.

Mauritius has two Marine Protected Area, namely, the Balaclava Marine Park and Blue Bay Marine
Park. It has also established Voluntary Marine Conservation Areas (at Anse la Raie and Roches Noires),
5 Fisheries Reserved Areas, 6 Fishing Reserve and 4 Marine Reserve. The World Bank estimates
that about 0.3% of Mauritius’ territorial waters is Marine Protected Areas (World Bank, 2017). The
surviving biodiversity, particularly the endangered species, calls for quick restorative responses. To
this effect, Mauritius has taken a number of steps and has identified key targets necessary for the
restoration of the threatened biodiversity.

Ramsar sites

There are three designated Ramsar Sites of International Importance in Mauritius - the Rivulet Terre
Rouge Estuary Bird Sanctuary (declared in 2001), the Blue Bay Marine Park (declared in 2008), and
the Pointe d’Esny Wetland (declared in 2011). The coral reef of St Brandon covers an area of 190
km , while Agalega has 100 km . The EEZ covers an area of about 2.3 million km . Mauritius also
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exercises jurisdiction jointly with Seychelles over 396,000 km of Extended Continental Shelf in the
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Mascarene Plateau Region (Joint Management Area).

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