A group of young people from Plaine-Magnien is complaining about two wrecked dugout canoes in Blue-Bay. They wrote a letter to the Beach Authority asking them to remove these two boats ? which ?cause a lot of impediment to the general public?s free movement and are also an eyesore on this beautiful spot? ? but nothing has been done so far. So, they contacted the ministry of Local Administrations to make their voices heard. Likewise, Geejabye Teemul put statuettes of divinities at the landing stage of Tamarin and ? despite the several requests of the Village council ? the ministry of Local Administration has not taken any action yet.

There must be plenty examples of this type on our beaches. A lot of people must envy our island merely because it is a beautiful country surrounded by fine white sand. And yet, Mauritians themselves hardly take care of their own environment. Although they often complain that the most beautiful areas are reserved for tourists, it has to be acknowledged that some members of the public are not careful not to pollute when they go to the beach. ?Papers just do not care about the beach. It is sad to say but Mauritians do not know how to take care of their beaches,? agrees the chairman of the board of the Beach Authority, Dinanath Sungkoora.

The papers a family will drop on the beach while they are having a picnic may not disturb the environment a lot. The boats left on the beach are not serious eyesores. But some discipline has to be adopted if we want to continue live in a pleasant environment ? the more so as this same environment is part of our livelihood.

Quality of landscape part of good reputation

Who will be interested coming to a country where beaches are completely neglected? There is no doubt that the tourism sector is based mainly on a high quality of service and of renowned high-standard hotels but the quality of our landscape is undeniably part of the good reputation of Mauritius abroad as well. And this is even more important with the more open policy on air access adopted by the government since it came to power. ?Beautiful beaches and a high quality of service exist in many other countries. We have to be different and our beaches should act as a showcase,? comments Dinanath Sungkoora.

The Beach Authority is the authority responsible for dealing with the regulation of people?s behaviour on the beach. As a result, it is supposed to be responsible for making sure that people do not cause any degradation to the environment. But, obviously, this is not enough to guarantee that beaches remain in a proper state. ?We have our own responsibilities and the public has his. We do our bit like implementing infrastructures but the public destroys them in many cases,? he explains.

Dinanath Sungkoora, chairman of the board of the Beach Authority, acknowledges that there is ?an insufficient number of staff at the Beach Authority? to deal with all the issues. Playing football, for example, is simply forbidden on a public beach, but how can the authorities make sure that all such regulations are respected with a low number of staff? ?There are 92 public beaches and we have about 10 officers to look after them. Obviously, this is not enough,? says Mr Sungkoora.

As a result, people do not feel any pressure on the part of the authorities and take the liberty of degrading public areas. The Beach Authority is launching a sensitization campaign soon in schools and youngsters? clubs where pamphlets will be distributed to make them aware of the necessity of protecting their beaches. But Dinanath Sungkoora is realistic: ?This will certainly not be enough to stop the problem. It may reduce it a little bit but the effort must really come from the Mauritian who needs to change his or her mentality?.