HUMAN AWARENESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN SMALL ISLANDS DEVELOPING STATES (SIDS): THE MAURITIAN CASE STUDY

Abstract

This contextualised paper deals with environmental protection to enhance socio-economic development in SIDS with particular reference to the small Republic of Mauritius. With the relevant legal and regulatory framework it investigates environmental protection in SIDS with particular attention drawn to the small Republic of Mauritius and its huge Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Indian Ocean, and its blue economy would generate trillion of dollars provided the EEZ is not over-exploited otherwise mankind would pay it in a very costly way. The Republic of Mauritius is also a very interesting case study because the Mauritius and its legal system inherited both French Civil Law (1715-1810) and English Common Law (1810-1968) during its two successive colonisation with a written Constitution 1968 which has no provision on the right to protection of the environment and the Mauritian legislator has neither reacted promptly to implement same in the Constitution 1968 compared to other Small Island Developing States (Maldives, Seychelles) albeit there is a plethora of legislations and regulations to protect the environment in a country where there is room for improvement in various key sectors for its socio-economic development and to protect the island against nature’s wrath, droughts, food and water insecurity. However, with the exploitation of petrol and oil for exploitation, activists and human rights fighters found that there might be an impact both in its green and blue economy provoking nature’s wrath with tsun amis, volcanoes or cyclones which are becoming more frequent in the Indian Ocean. It is time to react fast and promptly and this paper might enlighten a little more of human’s irresponsibility.