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Empowering
local communities to manage their beaches
 Two
villages on the west coast of Mauritius, Flic and Flac and Le
Morne, have been chosen as pilot sites for a project led by the
Centre for Documentation, Research and Training on the Southwest
Indian Ocean (CEDREFI), who together with other partner organizations
in Mauritius, are seeking to develop sustainable approaches that
address issues relating to the beach environment with the active
participation of the community. The emphasis will be to put together
the joint knowledge and experiences drawn from natural sciences,
social sciences, culture, communication and education on coastal
issues. The project will cover the sustainable development of
the coast, sustainable life style in the coastal zone, coastal
zone management and the sustainable use of coastal resources.
The duration of the project will be two years, starting in October
2006.
Utilising
the Sandwatch approach, and participatory methods, the project
seeks to:
- Enhance
the knowledge about beach management, climate change and related
issues among residents of two coastal communities
- Build
capacity in beach management among community residents
- Facilitate
the communities in implementing three beach-based micro projects
Methods used
will include the use of photographs so that community members
can build a photo mural to identify the things they like and dislike
about their beach environment; observing, recording and preparing
sketch maps of the beach so as to identify issues and potential
problems; identifying and training community drivers who can motivate
the community as a whole.
More information
is available in the project
proposal. This project represents an attempt to adapt Sandwatch
so as to use the community as an entry point to beach management
and enhancement, in contrast to other islands where school-aged
youth are the entry point; for more information on Sandwatch,
see www.sandwatch.org.
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