Appreciate the ocean without negative impact
- Mauritius 1st Coastal Geopark
With mru2025
Coastal Geopark Approach
UNESCO initiated “Global Geoparks“ to identify geographical areas where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development. A UNESCO Global Geopark uses its geological heritage, in connection with all other aspects of the area’s natural and cultural heritage, to enhance awareness and understanding of key issues facing society, such as using our earth’s resources sustainably, mitigating the effects of climate change and reducing natural hazard-related risks.
By raising awareness of the importance of the area’s geological heritage in history and society today, UNESCO Global Geoparks give local people a sense of pride in their region and strengthen their identification with the area. The creation of innovative local enterprises, new jobs and high-quality training courses is stimulated as new sources of revenue are generated through geotourism, while the geological resources of the area are protected.
A Coastal Geopark between La Cambuse and Gris Gris
Inspired by the UNESCO Global Geoparks programme, this project is aim to establish a Coastal Geopark across the South coast of Mauritius, the island’s last relatively unbuilt coastal area. In the first phase, we are focusing on the coastal strip between La Cambuse and Gris Gris.
Today, the coastline from Gris Gris to La Cambuse has become an informal ecotourism hiking circuit sold on several sites. There are however no bins or, organised waste collection along the route, no safety standards, no rescue systems, nor plans for the ecological restoration of this stretch of coastline, where important erosion is already visible in some areas, and other degradations are occurring due to increasing visitation.
We thus believe that a multi-stakeholder project and management plan, that would involve, the nearby villagers as well as the property owners of adjacent land / lease-holders of the pas-géométriques along these 20 km of coastline, is the way to go for ensuring sustainable access to all and to bring to the region its first asset as a regional tourist destination.
About mru2025
mru2025 is a civil society organisation founded by a group of Mauritian citizens with longstanding experience in trying to stop the overexploitation of coastal resources. Rooted in a citizen platform against the privatisation of beaches, mru2025 now focuses on advocacy, citizen participation and policy dialogue with the aim of safeguarding both public access to the coast and environmentally sensitive coastal areas, keeping in account the ecological, economic and cultural values these areas hold for Mauritians as well as the role these ecosystems play in building resilience against climate change.
