December 2022 - You are accessing an archived version of our website. This website is no longer maintained or updated. The Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform has been migrated here: https://sdgs.un.org/
December 2022 - You are accessing an archived version of our website. This website is no longer maintained or updated. The Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform has been migrated here: https://sdgs.un.org/
Mauritius celebrated its 50 years of independence last year.
It has been fifty years of nation building premised on the core values of good governance, rule of law, and also upholding human rights, and territorial integrity.
This first VNR report of Mauritius allows us to take stock of the journey travelled, where the country is currently poised and how we propose to map our future.
The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is key to our future development. The SDG mapping exercise we conducted in 2016 identified 222 indicators which have already been integrated in our national policies. We are now working in the direction of a permanent national structure to monitor continual progress for SDGs.
Our VNR Report has some good stories to tell but also speaks of challenges arising.
Mauritius moved from being a low income to an upper middle income economy with the ambition of evolving into a high income country despite its inherent vulnerabilities as a Small Island Developing State devoid of natural resources, subjected to the tyranny of distance, natural disasters and the effects of climate change and highly vulnerable to external shocks and global trends. It has simultaneously invested in its welfare system spanning free education, health care, universal old age pension and other measures aimed at providing a minimum social protection to our people.
It is against this background that the SDGs are being implemented.
SDG1 aimed at Ending Poverty in all its forms derives its actions from a Marshall Plan comprising measures such as the Minimum Wage, Negative Income Tax, income support and social housing to provide relief to the weakest, especially Women.
We have overhauled the education system (SDG4) to make it more inclusive and less elitist. The focus is on quality education for all aligned with the new job market requirements to address youth unemployment and skills mismatch (SDG8). In this endeavor, we are using technology and innovation to prepare our nation for its next cycle of development (SDG9).
We are diligently protecting our marine and terrestrial ecosystems in the face of climate change (SDGs 13 and 14). While encouraging measures such as community-based coral planting, Government is at the same time pursuing a programme underpinned by sound Marine Spatial Planning. We wish to bequeath sound blue and green legacies to future generations and to rely on the continued sustainability of our Oceans to scale up development.
Over the past fifty years, Mauritius has pitched its development around the building of Partnerships. The collaboration between Civil Society, the Public and Private sectors and academia in Mauritius is exceptional and has allowed the pursuit of a people focused development and has consolidated social cohesion. Our VNR, which involved a close consultative process with different stakeholders, shows this national partnership is working.
We have built similar partnerships at bilateral and regional levels. Mauritius and Seychelles were the first to make a joint submission on the sharing of maritime space whilst at regional level, we host yearly a Conference with the Indian Ocean Commission to build Partnerships around a maritime agenda.
Global partnerships have a catalytic role to play for Mauritius to successfully advance its SDGs as part of its broader national agenda that encompasses the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the Samoa Pathway or the African Peer Review Mechanism.
Mauritius is aware of its vulnerabilities and challenges in implementing the SDGs. A one-size-fits-all approach discriminates against SIDS, like Mauritius, which require special, differential and indeed a tailor made approach and accompanying measures to progress to their next stage of development and not run the risk of regressing towards poverty and indebtedness.
The need for more resilient infrastructure in face of climate change effects such as flashfloods, the sustenance of a welfare system in the face of an ageing population or the need for more funds to build capacity, all speak to the challenge of being a middle income country without easy access to grants or concessional loans.
We seek global partnerships to attain the SDG’s and to pursue our unique multi-cultural and multi-ethnic journey of nation building in a spirit of unity in diversity, “Lame Dan Lame” (Hand in Hand).
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 Input on the possibility of convening a high-level event on sustainable development
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Mauritius - Energy Strategy
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2009 NSDS Profile
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2009 Indicators Profile
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The partnership focuses on strengthening the capacity of the islands of the Indian Ocean member of the Indian Ocean Commission and Zanzibar Island of the United Republic of Tanzania to reduce their vulnerability, exposure and protect the population of the region against loss and damage that result from catastrophic events.
- Presentation of sensitization activities conducted from 2012 to 2014 in the indian ocean region within the ISLANDS project (IOC)- Presentation of good practices conducted in the region
Rationale: The SIDS in SADC namely, Comoros Mauritius, Seychelles and Madagascar are fragile and prone to climate change variation but are endowed with ocean biodiversity which are unsustainably been exploited. Growth and sustainability of these economies can be achieved by sustainably harnessing the ocean potential through development of appropriate STI policy system and governance and local indigenous knowledge to launch and sustain emerging economy sectors and resilience building. Doing so requires a good understanding of the various STI policy system and governance and the education and tr...[more]
The IHO capacity building programme seeks to assess and advise on how countries can best meet their international obligations and serve their own best interests by providing appropriate hydrographic and nautical charting services. Such services directly support safety of navigation, safety of life at sea, efficient sea transportation and the wider use of the seas and oceans in a sustainable way, including the protection of the marine environment, coastal zone management, fishing, marine resource exploration and exploitation, maritime boundary delimitation, maritime defence and security, and o...[more]
Increase forest tree cover, implement a re-afforestation programme of the public beaches and of the ex-tea belts on the central plateaus and extend surveillance of protected areas by more than 80% inclusive of private lands by 2020.
Cabo Verde, Comoros, Maldives, Mauritius, São Tomé & Príncipe and Seychelles may seem like they have little in common, but as small islands, they face very similar challenges. The countries − located in the Atlantic and Indian oceans − all share problems relating to the scarcity and contamination of freshwater supplies; lack of solid waste management facilities, over-exploitation and poor management of groundwater resources; increasing pressure on agricultural production; and disappearing biodiversity. Therefore, the Global Environment Facility has funded a full-sized project to...[more]
IRENA has developed the SIDS Lighthouses Initiative to support the strategic deployment of renewable energy in SIDS, to bring clarity to policy makers regarding the required steps, and to enable targeted action. As a joint effort of SIDS and development partners, this framework for action will assist in transforming SIDS energy systems through the establishment of the enabling conditions for a renewable energy-based future, by moving away from developing projects in isolation to a holistic approach that considers all relevant elements spanning from policy and market frameworks, through technol...[more]
To promote marine scientific cooperation with relevant government departments of small island developing countries and other state holders in the fields of marine environment and biodiversity protection, marine disaster prevention and mitigation, blue economy and other fields of common interests; To promote the sustainable development of Small Island Developing States by providing personnel training, technical assistant etc.
i. Facilitate the preparation and implementation of national SCP Plans and sub-regional coordination planning frameworks for SIDS, including the promotion of lifecycle based and integrated planning methods (e.g. Coastal Tourism Development on the basis of ICZM and Carrying Capacity) into national and sectoral development planning.ii. Seek international financial assistance to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns in SIDS, including, inter alia, in the development of sustainable products and services, sustainable food systems, waste management, marine litter, sustainable publi...[more]
The partnership aims at strengthening the capacity of island nations to management of the marine and coastal resources for growth and development with due respect to the environment. The European Union is the leading technical and financial partner of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and it has supported a large number regional programs for the development of the island States members of the IOC. These programs seek to enhance the capacity of island nations for good governance of fisheries, management of the coastal zones and the management of coastal, marine and island specific biodiversi...[more]
Intensification of efforts to increase tree cover of our forests and implementation of a re-afforestation programme of the public beaches and of the ex-tea belts on the central plateaus. Surveillance of protected areas will be extended by more than 80% inclusive of private lands.
The WIOCC is a country led partnership that promotes actions for climate resilient development that achieves effective conservation of biodiversity, enhanced livelihood and economies for greater social security among coastal communities. The WIOCC mobilises the political, financial and technical commitment at national and regional levels by inspiring leadership and facilitating collaboration towards a shared, long-term vision.
