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To The President of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Mr Tim Taylor

25 août 2018, 08:22

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The unbelievers who think the Greek gods are dead should delve into how popular Gaia remains. She keeps popping up everywhere from space missions to company names, no doubt all part of Zeus’ plan for humanity. For those unable to put the internet to good use, Gaia personifies the Earth – and she’s rather upset about what mortals are doing to her domain.

Ideas are regularly expressed about what needs to be done to protect Mother Nature but the ministry is suffering from an activity drought when it should be flooding the country with imaginative projects. This may be because the Hon. Minister is distracted by the increasing number of centenarians – and the important task of being seen on TV bearing gifts. There was a brief moment of hope when Action-Man Raj appeared on the scene following a decade of talk and little action. His legacy is still visible on a beach or two where scraggly palm trees struggle to survive, part of his plan to plant millions of trees around the island. If only he hadn’t been so holi…

Sadly, trees are unloved as criminals lurk behind each branch – presumably the reason for covering much of the islands with concrete. There are stubborn individuals who insist on taking their dogs – or even themselves – for a walk, even where there are no fields left. As if it wasn’t obvious enough, it’s now been scientifically proven that being in the countryside is terribly uplifting for the soul and exercise is rather more certain to improve mortals’ health than many of the dietary fads with which they’re bombarded.

The MWF is a great organisation but there’s still a limit to what you can do without more state and public support. Even if some of the other groups seem as inactive as the ministry, why not get all the environmental groups together to draw up a comprehensive blueprint of what needs to be done to halt the slow death of lagoons and coral reefs, and overcome the amateur management of the beaches and fish stocks – and the absence of citizen involvement, which could be partially remedied by a household recycling system? Permanent green zones and an effective planning system would help, as would the clean-up of rivers and drains (what’s happened to the Land Drainage Authority?) massive fines for littering, an environmental police force which actually examines dumped rubbish and tracks offenders – the list is endless. You could even encourage the state to pay for Judge Dread to help draw up the blueprint, given his high standing in the public’s eyes.

Some may say it doesn’t matter what a small island state does as there’s a global problem, but that’s rather short-sighted. Acres of trees are needed even here to improve air quality, reduce heat and encourage rain before the Sahara desert stretches ever further south. Plant buffer zones are needed around single-crop fields to protect birds and insects. By the way, have you noticed that your chariot windscreen is rarely splattered with insects nowadays? They’ve all been killed by pesticides. Birds, bees, flies and insects keep pests under control and crops need them for pollination.

It’s not just mortals that should be worried. It’ll cause serious inconvenience to the gods if the mountainsides are stripped bare and the supply of nectar dries up. And harps and angels won’t be much use if there are no clouds for months on end. If all the mortals gradually die out due to the failure to protect Mother Nature – far more important than Mother anywhere else –, we’re not likely to survive either.