What led you to establish ANPRAS, the organisation that you chair?

I have been engaged in social and philanthropic endeavours for almost 2 decades. I founded the community-based organisation Association Civique Midlands (ACM) in 1997 which was initially a sports club and finally evolved into one of the most active NGOs in Mauritius.

With increasing international exposure and ever increasing network in Africa, the idea to create an international platform with academics, industry experts and dedicated youth came to my mind. ANPRAS started as the African Network for Policy Research and Advocacy for Sustainability and it evolved into a very dynamic entity; more action based—connecting academics and experts with field and community work. More details are available on www.anpras.org.

Climate change will affect the Island Nations faster than the larger territorial nations. How serious is the problem for Mauritius?

All SIDS (Small Island Developing States) are facing the daunting challenges of climate change and Mauritius has not been spared the process.

Islands in the Pacific Region have natural adaptation tendencies but since Mauritius was an uninhabited island, it does not have much natural adaptation tendency.

Mauritius has quite a diverse topography; the island will not get submerged that is for sure. But as the island is highly dependent on the tourism industry; it’s obvious that the hotels and beaches will be affected…once the economy is on the decline, it will create more inequity and pave way to more unsustainable conditions.