I arrived here in Mauritius with few expectations and a big plan: to do research on climate change resilience on this small island nation. I hopped off of a plane, pleaded with immigration, and then found myself in the semi-functioning car of a fellow Fulbrighter heading North.
My initial impressions of the island are a blur of sugar cane fields, mountains that look like a child’s art project, and traffic jams of belching trucks. The Northern end of the island, where I am living now, seemed a sort of serene sugar-cane/beach paradise interspersed with sprawling, western-style malls. I noticed that the extinct Dodo appears as some sort of tourist emblem emblazoned on restaurants, hotels, and brightly colored t-shirts. It became apparent that concrete is the building material of choice, though there is no shortage of sheet metal accoutrements. I heard people speak Mauritian Creole, a lovely blend of French, English, and Asian and African languages.
The history of this serene locale is unique. Mauritius is considered a developing economy. It is apparently developing quite successfully and is frequently referred to (or compared with) Singapore. It is a relatively stable (elections are happening now so I’ll keep you posted!) small island nation. The population is well educated and there is a high level of information and communication systems. (For a more detailed look at the country, read this blog). And last but not least, Mauritius is an active voice in the international climate change community.
Mauritius is already seeing many impacts of climate change and is faced with a frightening future of increasing frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones, sea level rise, coastal erosion, spread of vector-borne infectious diseases such as chikungunya and dengue, drought and rising air and sea surface temperatures. The particularly pressing vulnerabilities that Mauritius is facing has created more awareness around climate change, and the discussion has recently shifted from mitigation and prevention to adaptation strategies. This is a country where climate change is not just a theory to be debated. It is a reality that is being lived and felt. Decisions need to be made around how to save coasts, habitats, properties, and people.
At the governmental level, Mauritius started preparing for climate-related issues much earlier than many countries. Climate change has been on the agenda for 20 + years… so what has been done?
Seemingly a lot! If you ever lack lengthy and slightly drab reading materials, Google “Mauritius and Climate Change”. The Mauritian government created Maurice Ile Durable (MID), an office under the Prime Minister that is in charge of sustainability initiatives, that is implementing 140+ climate change projects of varying degrees of applicability (“deer ranching”, for instance, is questionable in my opinion).
They are very top heavy though. It seems that very little money filters down to the community or organizational levels. A very small portion of MID funding has gone to organizations outside of the government and MID projects appear to be very centralized and predominantly focused upon energy. There are initiatives focused on “sensitization”, a term I had not heard used until reaching Mauritius. Sensitization campaigns are akin to education campaigns and this seems to be the extent of community engagement in government climate change projects.
This leads to my research. What I want to look into is what is happening at the community and at the individual levels? How are people experiencing, engaging with and living with climate change? How are they addressing it?
By looking into these questions I am working to find areas of resilience: innovative projects, early adopters (or early adapters!), nature-based solutions. Maybe in seeking these answers, I can also help to identify links between the problems in one community and the solutions that were discovered in another. Or create links between the issues people are facing and the organizations that work on these issues.
Overall, this first phase of the project has been slow. I have been trying to reach out to government officials and organizations during elections and the holiday season. When I talk to Mauritians about this they tell me to wait until January. They have been saying this since mid-November. The best tactic, inspired by my tenacious German roommate, is to just show up, smile, and hope people want to talk to you.
This was the strategy for the Climate Change Information Center in the capital. The Center is a government office that is open to the public whose purpose is to be a clearing house for climate change information in the country. We apparently arrived during lunch and most of the office was empty. I feel like I am always arriving during some sort of break period though. I am told that you really need to catch government workers during the productive hours of 10 am to 12 pm Tuesday through Thursday. All other days and times are a gamble.
So we arrived at the wrong time, but the employees who were there were very kind in pointing out their shelves of reports, informational posters, and walking us through their online system. When I asked about other organizations working on climate change, I got blank stares and, with further prompting, a printed list of government offices. If the Climate Change Information Center doesn’t know who else is working on climate change, who does?
This is symptomatic of what I keep finding through all of this networking and research: that the work being done here seems to happen in silos. Organizations and government offices are isolated in their work. They steal ideas, are extremely secretive, compete for funding, and can be pretty ruthless when they talk about one another. One of the most absurd examples is from an NGO on the west coast seeking information from an NGO in the east who is working on the exact same thing but not sharing information because they “have not published their results yet.” I have also heard of several instances where mapping data and models were needed and were unavailable, particularly relating to areas that are vulnerable to landslides and floods. It is stated in many reports that this information exists, but is being held from dissemination for reasons that are unclear.
Another key observation that has come up in this first month in Mauritius is the stories that are emerging around climate change. I have heard countless stories about beach erosion, coral bleaching and reef destruction, and the recovery efforts being done in these areas. And there is collaboration happening in these areas, giving hope to the idea of creating resilience. Schools get involved, hotels provide office space, fishermen volunteer to help monitor reef restoration work, or communities show up at an NGO’s meeting just to learn more about sea turtles. It gives power to the idea that organizations and community groups are more effective in reaching the public and generating a true participatory element in their projects.
After only a month in Mauritius, I cannot pretend to understand the intricacies and complications of the work being done here. What is clear to me though is that climate change resilience does not come from creating silos, stealing ideas, hoarding research or fiercely competing for funding while losing site of your goal: helping people.
Seeking Resilience 