Mauritius Requires Comprehensive Long-Term Actions for Its Security

Facing the threats of war in the region and the extremes of climate change—such as intense heat, freezing temperatures, severe hurricanes, floods, droughts, and rising sea levels—every country, regardless of its size, must be prepared. This is especially true for small, isolated islands like Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega, Seychelles, Comoros, Maldives, and Reunion.

Consider these two scenarios: how do we operate without oil (currently 100% imported)? How do we sustain ourselves without shipments of rice, wheat, grains, etc.? (At present, 70 to 90% of these essential needs are imported).

Immediate action is needed starting in 2025 (to be included in the 2025-26 budget under long-term initiatives) and to be fully implemented by 2040 (across this and the next two five-year terms, 2030-2035, 2035-2040). The goal is to achieve energy and food security through self-sufficiency.

Currently, we produce only 30% of the food we consume, importing 70%, which includes all our rice and flour—it's a dire situation for Mauritius!

Regarding energy, we generate a mere 17.6% of our energy from renewable sources (solar, wind, hydro, and biomass). We heavily depend on non-renewable resources, such as charcoal and oil, which we import, and as their prices continue to rise, they may eventually become unavailable on the global market, leaving Mauritius vulnerable. This reliance on imports makes the population susceptible to shortages in essential food and energy supplies.

This is a call to our new, responsible, and proactive government to initiate extensive long-term actions critical for the food, energy, and water security of Mauritius—essentials for life! Specifically, this is an appeal to the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister responsible for energy (Hon. P. Assirvaden), and the Minister responsible for agriculture and food security (Hon. A. Boolell). We are already implementing several small projects, such as energy conservation and promoting local food production.

1. Energy security must be achieved through the widespread replacement of petrol vehicles with electric ones, the expansion of an electric metro system across the island, and a MAJOR shift towards RENEWABLES (solar, wind, hydro, and biomass) for electricity generation. Currently, 82.4% of our energy comes from imported fossil fuels (coal and oil), while only 17.6% is renewable. The main equipment needed for solar electricity production, namely solar panels, must be imported. However, studies indicate that our potential for wind and solar energy is excellent, allowing us to achieve close to 100% renewable energy in just a few years. Additionally, once established, solar and wind energy are essentially FREE!

The future lies in harnessing solar energy. Solar energy harvesting technology is increasingly used as an alternative to fossil fuel-generated electricity. Various methods exist, but they all fundamentally rely on the sun to perform work efficiently, eliminating the need for fossil fuels altogether.

The combined output of renewable energy from solar, wind, hydro, and biomass is the only viable future for the world, and certainly for us. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity!

Consider Denmark, which has managed to meet 100% of its energy needs from wind and solar power in some months, even exporting excess energy to Germany!

Proposed budget measures include:

2. Achieving food security through self-sufficiency (currently 70% of our food is imported, with only 30% produced locally).

At a time when many regions globally are suffering from the effects of climate change (extreme heat, freezing temperatures, hurricanes, floods, droughts, rising sea levels, etc.), each nation, regardless of size, must contribute to combating climate change. The new government has expressed its intention to take action, but currently, this is merely a declaration of intent, with only a few initiatives underway, such as the "produce your own food" project and the "Emergency Plan for Farmers." Achieving FOOD SECURITY is critical; without it, should supplies dwindle or become unavailable on the world market, leading to increased transportation costs, our population could face starvation similar to that of Gaza.

3. Water is life. Freshwater from nature (i.e., the rain cycle) is essential for humans, animals, and plants. We must enhance and manage our water resources and distribution efficiently. This includes utilizing natural rainfall, rivers, reservoirs, underground water, and modern technologies like cloud seeding and seawater evaporation powered by solar and wind energy.

With our resilience and initiative, we can gradually achieve self-sufficiency in essentials (rice, flour, grains, chicken & meat, energy, and fresh water), not forgetting medical supplies and basic equipment, either produced locally or imported from reliable sources. This also includes transportation and communication within our region and globally.

Budget measures for consideration by the Minister of Finance:

1. Increase taxes on all imported petrol vehicles (10%, 20%).
2. Eliminate taxes on imported electric vehicles.
3. Provide a Rs 200,000 grant from the government for each electric vehicle purchase.
4. Offer grants for converting existing petrol vehicles to electric.
5. Extend the metro to cover the entire island, ensuring functionality when petrol supplies run out.
6. Provide grants for low-income households and mandate others to install solar panels to generate at least 50% of their electricity needs by 2025/26/27.
7. Citizens to purchase solar lights (available in Mauritius) for installation in their yards, enhancing security at night.
8. Require all industries, factories, and offices to install solar energy systems for up to 50% of their requirements, with corresponding tax deductions.
9. Implement any additional measures to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and increase the share of renewable energy.
10. Explore other measures as proposed by researchers and organizations.

Dr. Michael Atchia (Former Programme Director, UNEP; Former President, Mauritius Academy of Science & Technology; D.Sc. University of Salford, Manchester, UK; co-author of Environmental Management, John Wiley, 1995)