Red and Pink Coral – when it’s gone, it’s gone

Hot on the heals of sounding the death nell for bluefin tuna, CITES has failed to protect red and pink coral from unsustainable harvesting. After the fiasco of Copenhagen to fail to deal with climate change it is becoming clear that the world is being governed for the benefit of business and not people or people.

Bye Bye Bluefin

The latest meeting of the UN’s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has rejected Monaco’s proposal to ban the trade in bluefin tuna. Scientists say that over-fishing is pushing stocks of this iconic fish to the brink of collapse. Most disconcerting is the growing consensus that marine animals should not be regulated by CITES. Read more

We Love Mauritius screened the film “The End of the Line” last year to highlight the results of the unsustainable extraction of fish from our oceans. At current rates, some predict that stocks of all large fish will be in a state of collapse by 2050. We asked the British High Commission to help us put on more screenings, as one of the main conclusions of the film is that we need to create a vast network of Marine Protected Areas. They declined, which raises questions about the real motivation of Britain turning the Chagos Archipelago into a Marine Park.

Prepare for Another Oil Price Shock

Five months ago, a report from the UK Energy Research Council predicted that global oil production would likely peak before 2030, with a significant risk of it peaking by 2020. Now the UK’s Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security is predicting rapid increases in the price of oil in 2014/15.

What will this mean for Mauritius when our Long-Term Energy Strategy (2009-2025), especially for the transport sector, depends significantly on imported petroleum?

Still Going Wrong on Human Rights

From corruption to child prostitution, from over-crowded prisons to sexual discrimination, the US State Department gives its verdict on Mauritius in 2009. Read the report

Saving Nemo

In April 2009, the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agro Industry, Food Production and Security issued an exceptional letter of authorisation to Marine Culture of Mascarene Ltd (MCML). It states that the company is authorised to:

“…collect up to 4000 units of live marine ornamental fish per month, to constitute a brood stock and the surplus to be exported.”