By Rukhama Mootien, Kousheena Bonne, Marie Delphine Goder, Jeetun Muhammad Salahud-Deen, Krish Mungrah, Linisha Bucktawor, Nihir Ramaswamy, Joshika Khoodeeram
The beauty of nature encompasses its disposal for the privilege of human beings, who reap the benefits in various forms such as financial adequacy through resources provided by Mother Nature and the gain of food.
At present, during the summer of April 2024, we, Mauritians, lament the impact of the scorching heat in our tropical island. The Mauritius Meteorological Services reports that registered temperatures in Mauritius and its outer islands reveal a warming trend. According to the WHO UNFCCC Health and Climate Change Country Profile for Mauritius, a high percentage of the population has an increased risk of succumbing to heat stress, infectious and vector-borne diseases and noncommunicable diseases.
These days, as we suffer, we reflect on the stimulating factor of the problem at hand. Why does the Earth’s average temperature keep increasing? How did the environment come to become an infectious ground for the proliferation of diseases? Where do environmental pollution and climate change trace their roots from and when did it start affecting us? More importantly, who is responsible for this?
In the tropical island of Mauritius, beaches are considered as paradisiacal. The population can be seen enjoying the lagoons of the island at any time of the year. However, our beaches are rapidly being depleted of its exquisiteness. This is occurring due to various factors. Mauritians and tourists likewise have been endlessly ignorant in assuming their responsibilities to respect the places that they are visiting. Due to irresponsible littering, so many of our beaches have now become equivalent to a waste dumping site. Consequently, the waste gets washed away by high tides and once in the sea, it causes an immeasurable amount of harm to the marine life.
B: Debris at Blue Bay beach
Moreover, industrial activities in Mauritius and other countries around the globe produce high emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases like nitrous oxide along with dust and soot particles. When released in the atmosphere, these gases contribute to greenhouse effect. Hydrochlorofluorocarbons from spray aerosols, refrigerators and other sources continue to deplete the ozone layer of our planet. The abundance of motor vehicles also plays a big role in the high rate of air pollution. These factors definitely are the leading causes of the average rise in temperature of the Earth and ultimately bring about the risk of more diseases caused by overexposure from ultraviolet rays, rise in sea levels and melting of glaciers.
It is of definite truth that Mauritius and other nations around the globe have directly or indirectly contributed to the state of our unpredictable weather patterns and the advent of frequent natural disasters all across the world. High emissions of greenhouse gases, environmental pollution, depletion of the ozone layer, air and water pollution are proving to be the cause of the gradual downfall of humanity. Annually, natural hazards affecting countries cause the death of a great number of individuals and the risk of developing both communicable and non-communicable diseases has significantly increased due to high levels of pollution.
However, hope is not yet lost. A united global effort with concrete initiatives and regulations implemented by world leaders will definitely aid in the mitigation of climate change. The mitigation process starts from individual efforts and the realisation of each and every citizen of their responsibilities to protect our planet.
Initiatives taken
The project of coral planting in Mauritius is a good way to ensure the regeneration of the marine biodiversity. Various lagoons where the corals have died are now being given a second chance at developing a thriving ecosystem through coral planting. Coral planting plays an integral part in helping to sustain the habitat of fishes and other aquatic animals. Coral planting thus contributes to one of the sustainable development goals of life below water.
C: Corals at Blue Bay Marine Park
Proposed solutions
Education plays a major role in obtaining a united global effort to combat climate change. Sensitisation campaigns focussing on individuals’ responsibilities towards nature and the impact of their actions should be the norm. Reasonable and concrete actions promoting care for the environment should be carried out. Moreover, eco-schools and environmental clubs can be implemented in the educational programme.
Furthermore, carpooling should be encouraged by government. Workers should be granted public transport that will allow them to commute to and from work. Guidelines should be given by respective authorities to ensure the availability of public transport and the security of those making use of it. The use of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) should be encouraged as a possible solution to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and other emissions by utilising green energy instead of oil for effective environmental management. Effectively, this serves as a key to future low carbon mobility.
The usage of renewable sources of energy should be encouraged. Criteria based subsidiaries can be given on the initial cost of implementing solar panels in one’s household. More facilities should be available for using clean and green energy rather than energy from non-renewable sources such as fossil fuels. We can all play a part in reversing the negative impacts of climate change by planting trees, either individually or as part of a collective.
Combatting climate change and environmental pollution should be a continuous and united effort. Our actions will definitely take time to bear results however giving up on the restoration of nature and the protection of our planet should not be an option! We urge every human being to save our dying planet otherwise the Earth will take revenge.
Bibliography
Irresponsible littering at Mahebourg Waterfront by Kousheena Bonne
metservice.intnet.mu/climate- services/climate-change.php
Health and climate change: country profile 2021:Mauritius(who.int)
Debris at Blue Bay beach by Kousheena BonneCorals at Blue Bay Marine Park by Marie Delphine Goder
