Coastal management and marine pollution issues addressed in Mauritius and Mediterranean

Mauritius is preparing to host a multi-stakeholder national conference on July 3 at the Caudan Arts Centre to address coastal risk management. Organized by the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, the French Development Agency, and the European Union, the event aims to develop a national strategy for integrated coastal zone management. The initiative responds to the fact that over 37 kilometers of the Mauritian coastline are actively affected by erosion and submersion, threatening tourism, coastal agriculture through saline intrusion, and critical infrastructure such as ports and roads.

In the Mediterranean, environmental inspections have highlighted severe microplastic pollution. In the Alanya region, microplastic density has been recorded at 60 to 65 times the Mediterranean average. In Turkey, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has imposed administrative fines totaling 47,599,000 TL on 23 facilities following inspections in Adana, Antalya, Hatay, Mersin, and Muğla. Investigations revealed that some facilities, including the Seyhan wastewater treatment plant, were discharging untreated waste into the environment.