Country information
Basic facts on marine waters
- Territorial sea (12 nm zone): maritime zone regulations pertaining to the outer limits of the territorial sea are yet to be finalized
- Exclusive Economic Zone: 2.3 million km2
- Extended continental shelf: the Joint Management Area is approximately 390,000 km2
National practices
- Ocean Observatory E-platform
- Strategic actions of the Department for Continental Shelf, Maritime Zones Administration and Exploration
Overview of MSP related maritime uses
Current main uses:
| Shipping | Ports |
| Nature conservation | Fisheries |
| Aquaculture | Scientific research |
| Coastal protection | Cables and pipelines |
| Tourism and leisure | Underwater cultural heritage |
| Marina development |
Which marine spatial plans exist?
Name of the plan |
Marine Spatial Plan for the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Mauritius |
|---|---|
Scale of the plan |
National |
Pre-planning |
Status: Underway |
Analysis for planning |
Status: Underway |
Development of the management plan |
Status: Underway |
Completion of the management plan |
Status: Underway |
Approval of the management plan |
Status: Underway |
Implementation of the management plan |
Status: Underway |
Revision of the management plan |
Status: Underway |
Name of the plan |
Demonstrating Innovative Ocean Governance Mechanisms and Delivering Best Practices and Lessons for Extended Continental Shelf Management within the Western Indian Ocean Large Marine Ecosystem (SAPPHIRE Joint Management Area Demonstration Project) |
|---|---|
Scale of the plan |
Sub-national |
Pre-planning |
Status: Complete |
Analysis for planning |
Status: Complete |
Development of the management plan |
Status: Complete |
Completion of the management plan |
Status: Underway |
Approval of the management plan |
Status: Underway |
Implementation of the management plan |
Status: Underway |
Revision of the management plan |
Status: Underway |
National authority in charge of MSP |
Department for Continental Shelf, Maritime Zones Administration and Exploration (CSMZAE) |
Financing |
Government funding; upcoming funding through the Nature Conservancy under the project “Strengthening the MSP implementation of the Western Indian Ocean through integration of Marine Spatial Plan, ecosystem services and effective biodiversity conservation”; funding through UNDP for the SAPPHIRE Joint Management Area Demonstration Project |
Time required to complete the plans |
Four years with a time horizon of seven years |
Drivers of MSP |
_Identify the utilization of marine space for different sea uses in accordance with national policies and legislation while taking into consideration the preservation, protection and improvement of marine environment, including resilience to climate change impacts _Define priorities, regulations and zoning concerning traditional and new marine economic activities in Mauritius _Establish a comprehensive system of multi-use marine planning for consistent, transparent, sustainable and evidence-based decision making _Set up an Ocean Observatory E-platform to centralize data pertaining to the maritime zones of Mauritius to facilitate data discovery and data sharing between stakeholders |
Stakeholder participation |
Participation of multi-sector stakeholders (from government, Economic Development Board and NGOs) throughout the entire process as a means to inform, guide and validate the activities and outputs at all stages of the MSP process
Three levels of participation: |
Sectors included in planning |
Marine conservation; marine scientific research; aquaculture and marina development; fisheries; sea-based tourism industry; renewable energy; hydrocarbon and mineral exploration and exploitation; mining; port and shipping; cables and pipelines |
Relation to coastal management |
Coastal management is regulated by a plethora of legislation including but not limited to the Environment Protection Act 2002 which provides for ICZM. The prescribed definition therein is narrowed to only include within the ‘coastal zone’ any area situated within 1 km from the high watermark, extending either side into the sea or inland. MSP is intended to harmonize the scope of coastal management with the whole EEZ |
Relation to marine protected area management |
Gazetted MPAs are regulated by the Fisheries and Marine Resources (Marine Protected Areas) Regulations 2001 which provide for the designation and management of three types of MPAs and allowed activities therein. Management of MPAs is becoming challenging due to their area-based management tool’s nature, contrary to the ecosystem-based and holistic approach of MSP |
Plan approval |
TBD |
Legal status of the plan |
TBD, either fully-fledged piece of law/umbrella-type legislation or a policy paper referring to existing regulatory sectoral frameworks |
Plan revision |
TBD |
Performance monitoring and evaluation |
TBD |
Legal framework
A Marine Spatial Planning Bill may be envisaged and is under consideration by the MSP Coordinating Committee to support the implementation of MSP in Mauritius.
Contact
Dr. M. Rezah Badal – Director General
2nd Floor, Belmont House, 12 Intendance Street 11328
Port Louis, Mauritius