Projects

The greatest challenges facing eco-enterprises are a lack of access to knowledge, networks, financing and high-quality business development services and poor enabling conditions, including a shortage of skilled people at the community level.

Agriculture accounts for 3.4% of gross domestic product and 8.3% of employment in Mauritius. Although Mauritius is considered a net-food-importing country by the World Trade Organization, the small-scale agriculture sector is vital to the production of some 115,000 tons of food crops annually. Some 9,000 small-scale farmers are involved in vegetable and fruit production, with limited capacity in marketing group initiatives. There is growing demand for higher-quality food in Mauritius.

The Rodrigues fishing community is largely focused on massive fishing activities, to the detriment of the marine ecosystem. To improve this situation, the Commission of Environment and Fisheries introduced an “octopus closing period” to shift the local people away from fishing and towards alternative livelihoods, such as cleaning up and beautifying their local communities, for a limited period.

Centre de Formation Agricole Frère Remi is a training centre catering to young people, aiming to develop their academic and vocational skills. The centre welcomes teenagers aged between 12 and 18 years old who have experienced successive academic failures, mainly at the primary school level. It offers courses in mathematics, French, English, livestock rearing, horticulture, floriculture, mosaiculture, phytotechnics and zootechnics. The teenagers are encouraged by coaches and volunteers to develop their vocational skills in order to eventually start up their own micro-businesses.

The problem of the collection, management and disposal of waste continues to feature prominently in major towns and cities across African countries. This has led to contamination of water bodies and to the spread of waterborne diseases and other health hazards. In most African countries, waste generation is the result of a rapidly growing urban population, along with the changing patterns of production and consumption inherent to a more urban lifestyle and the consequent industrialization.

Given the low level of development in Rodrigues, this project could be considered an opportunity to do things properly the first time around. Rodrigues has the potential to excel in the preservation of its natural environment. The recent banning of plastic bags is an important first step. Alternatives must be identified, however, as the use of plastic bags is deeply engrained in the way of life for the population of the island. This is also important because the island of Mauritius is now moving forward with banning plastic bags at the national level.

In 2012, the Joint Economic Council, which is the coordinating body for the private sector in Mauritius, and the French Development Agency studied the energy efficiency situation in Mauritius by mapping the potential for energy savings in the industrial and tertiary sectors. The results showed that businesses could save about USD 30 million per year on their energy bills if issues such as a lack of supervision and awareness, low trust in energy audits, lack of subsidies and shortage of quality local expertise were addressed.

Every year, more than 1.3 million tourists visit the island of Mauritius. In 2017, the tourism industry accounted for more than 12% of total gross domestic product and provided more than 30,000 direct jobs. The Mauritius Tourism Development Plan sets a target of acquiring “Green Destination” status for Mauritius by 2030. Promoting sustainable tourism that reduces tourism’s “footprint”, or negative environmental impacts, while improving its “handprint”, or positive sustainability impacts, especially for local communities, is key to green growth in Mauritius. 

Mauritius has developed a tourism industry that is admired throughout the world. The hospitality industry has rapidly emerged as one of the main income-earning sectors, accounting for 12% of gross domestic product. While larger hotels have the required expertise, logistics and facilities to compete at the international level, it is difficult for smaller hotels to do the same. Small and medium-sized hotels therefore need to group together to form clusters in order to achieve the same end results.