Introduction
The planet is facing the triple planetary crisis comprising biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change, which pose severe threats to the environment. Biodiversity loss disrupts delicate ecological balances, causing the extinction of plant and animal species, compromising ecosystem services, and diminishing genetic diversity. Pollution, in various forms such as air, water, and soil pollution, harms human health, damages ecosystems, and degrades natural resources. Climate change is leading to rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and sea-level rise, endangering ecosystems, impacting on food systems, water availability, and vulnerable communities, thus making survival an existential threat.
Increasing urbanization, industrialization, and consumerism have contributed to significant ecological footprints and strained natural resources. Moreover, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) has identified plastic pollution as one of the greatest challenges of the triple planetary crisis, that requires urgent global attention. Plastic pollution worsens the impact of the triple planetary crisis by contributing to environmental degradation. The proliferation of single-use plastics contaminates land and marine ecosystems, harming wildlife, polluting water bodies, and releasing toxic chemicals. Plastics which is a derivative of petroleum; take centuries to degrade, leading to the accumulation of microplastics throughout the food chain, ultimately affecting human health. The production and disposal of plastics also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating climate change. These challenges have far-reaching consequences for both nature and human well-being.
In a world increasingly threatened by these crises, fostering a robust environmental consciousness has become more critical than ever. As awareness of these issues grows, there is a collective push to shift mindsets towards more sustainable practices. Environmental culture encompasses the shared beliefs, values, practices, and behaviours that shape how individuals and communities perceive and interact with their natural surroundings. It reflects a society’s understanding of ecological issues and its commitment to sustainable living. Education plays a pivotal role in this transformation, as it can instill values of conservation, respect for biodiversity, and responsible resource use from an early age. Moreover, fostering an environmental culture involves not only individual actions but also collective engagement. Communities that embrace sustainable practices—such as recycling, conservation efforts, and local advocacy—can drive meaningful change. By creating platforms for dialogue among community members, policymakers, and environmental organizations, societies can better address local challenges and develop solutions that resonate with their specific cultural contexts.
In summary, environmental culture is a vital framework for understanding how societies can adapt to and mitigate environmental challenges. By promoting values of stewardship, sustainability, and community engagement, we can build a future that prioritizes the health of the planet and its ecosystems. The cultivation of this culture requires collaboration, education, and a commitment to shifting our relationship with the environment, ensuring a more sustainable legacy for future generations.
Local context
As a Small Island Developing State, Mauritius is already constrained in its resources and means. The observed temperature rise is as high as 1.39 degree Celsius while sea level is at an accelerated rate of 5.6 mm per year, a figure which is almost twice the global average. Over the last decades, coastal erosion has shrunk the width of beaches by more than 20 metres in certain regions. Moreover, a reduction of 8% has been observed over the last 50 years in the annual precipitation. Despite all the SIDS contribute to less than 1 % of the global greenhouse gas emissions, Mauritius suffer disproportionately from the impacts of climate change. Mauritius is often cited among the most vulnerable countries to climate change. (Source: Updated National Climate Change Adaptation Policy Framework for the Rep. of Mauritius, 2021).
Additionally, rapid economic development, particularly in sectors like transport, manufacturing, and construction, has exerted further pressure on the island’s limited resources. And the common denominator at the heart of these crises is our unsustainable modes of consumption and production. Human is consuming more resources than the Earth can regenerate and latest scientific reports have shown that on this consumption trend, by 2050, we will be requiring not two, but three planets to meet our needs! The day on which we have used all the available resources on the planet for the year, is termed as the Earth Overshoot Day and this date has been moving backwards continuously over the last couple of years. For the year 2023, the Earth Overshoot Day was 02 August 2023, indicating that in just about 8 months, men had already consumed its yearly available resources on Earth, thereby overriding its regenerative capacity. For the year 2024 the global Earth Overshoot Day was 01 August and for year 2025 it fell on 24 July. (Source: https://overshoot.footprintnetwork.org )
The Republic of Mauritius faces significant environmental pollution; such as waste disposal and transboundary plastic waste; leading to coastal and marine degradation. With a population of about 1.3 million, Mauritius faces a pressing waste management challenge, with over 10 million tons of wastes already buried at the Mare Chicose landfill since its establishment in 1997. The landfill's capacity is being stretched to its limits, and projections show an alarming increase in waste intake, reaching 650,000 tons in 2023 with an annual growth rate of 2.5%. Given the country’s limited amount of space for waste disposal and a significant rise in waste production, solutions allowing to manage wastes more sustainably have become critical.
In response to the triple planetary crisis, the Mauritian government is demonstrating strong commitment by supporting key initiatives aimed at environmental protection and enhancing climate resilience. One such key initiative is the development of the Environmental Master Plan (2020-2030) for the Republic of Mauritius; following the “Assises de L’Environnement” which involved participatory and extensive consultations with key stakeholders. The recommendations and action plans outlined in the Master Plan encourage us to adopt new approaches that balance our goals of becoming a high-income, inclusive, and green society with environmental concerns. Environmental culture was one of the eight main themes discussed during the “Assises de L’Environnement”.
The major gaps hampering the promotion of environmental culture were identified. There was a general consensus that there was an imperative need to adopt new approaches to: improve the effectiveness of environmental sensitisation programmes, promote/undertake projects and actions to deeply enshrine environmental values in our citizens.
Post-‘Assises’ multi-stakeholders consultations enabled the elaboration of policy orientations, strategies and an action plan. The main thrusts of the action plan were based on: ‘une approche de proximité’; vibrant and sustained partnerships; use of new modes of sensitization such as social media; project based environmental literacy; and development of environmental charters for various target groups.
Long-Term Objectives / Targeted Outcome
(Source: Environment Master Plan (2020-2030) for the Republic of Mauritius by Ministry of Environment, Solid waste Management and Climate Change)
A vibrant, thriving environmental culture is established and nurtured in Mauritius in which environmental values are deeply enshrined and eco-friendly attitudes, behaviours and actions are adopted to achieve the SDGs.
Policy Orientations
Policy 1: Reach out to all stakeholders through ‘une approche de proximité’ to inform and catalyse environment responsible behaviours and actions.
Policy 2: Establish partnerships with all social groups and/or organisations and enable a conducive environment to bring the needed change in mindset leading towards an ecological transition.
Policy 3: Review and update curriculum and/or extra-curricular activities (primary, secondary and tertiary levels) to instil an environmental culture.
Policy 4: Revisit policies of institutions (such as schools, Government and private bodies, SMEs, industries, and others) to encourage best environmental practices.
Policy 5: Empower different target groups through environmental education, training and awareness on topics such as climate change, coastal zone management, pollution prevention, biodiversity, waste management, sound environmental practices, amongst others, and on their interconnections.
Policy 6: Mainstream environmental considerations in decision-making at the level of policymakers (cross-cutting issue that is being captured under overarching policies).
Policy 7: Encourage, support and disseminate research on environmental culture at different levels in the Mauritian population.
The strategies and action plans for the thematic on Environment Culture are available at https://environment.govmu.org/DocumentsList/Masterplan%20for%20the%20Republic%20of%20Mauritius.pdf
