Mauritius is spending Rs 4 billion to fight coastal erosion. Where is the money going?
Rs 4 billion over five years for 11.5 km of eroded shoreline at 17 priority sites: about Rs 350 million per kilometre. What the money can buy, what past programmes achieved, and what the Budget does not yet say.
In short
Budget 2026-27 earmarks Rs 4 billion for a Coastal Erosion Adaptation Programme: over five years, more than 11.5 km of severely eroded shoreline at 17 priority sites.
That works out at roughly Rs 348 million per kilometre, or Rs 235 million per site, on average: a MoBriefs calculation; the Budget does not give a breakdown.
It is a step change: from 2008-09 to 2012, 15 sites were rehabilitated for Rs 58.8 million; recent budgets set aside about Rs 278 million over 2023-25.
The list of the 17 sites has not been published. Past priority sites include Mon Choisy, Rivière des Galets and Quatre Sœurs, where earlier projects worked.
Engineering works will be paired with nature-based solutions (dunes, wetlands, coastal vegetation, reforestation) and a new National Shoreline Management Strategy. The test will be execution, maintenance and monitoring: the weak points flagged by the National Audit Office in 2013.
What the Budget announced
Under “Anchor 11: Environment Enhancement”, the Budget Speech (paragraphs 245-249) earmarks Rs 4 billion under the Coastal Erosion Adaptation Programme. Over the next five years more than 11.5 kilometres of severely eroded shoreline are to be rehabilitated across 17 priority sites around the island.
Protection works will be complemented by nature-based solutions, reforestation, wetland conservation, dune restoration and rehabilitation of coastal vegetation, and the Government is funding a National Shoreline Management Strategy, the long-term plan for which stretches of coast to protect, which to let move, and where not to build.
The programme sits alongside other environment measures: a Rs 150 million Waste-to-Wealth programme, a revived Maurice Ile Durable agenda, a Just Transition Commission and the extension of the plastic-bottle excise (see our separate brief).
How big is the problem?
Mauritius has about 322 km of coastline, almost entirely protected by a fringing coral reef. When reefs weaken, sand is lost faster than it is replaced. Sea-level rise, more intense cyclones and storm surges, past sand mining (banned in 2001) and construction too close to the shore have all accelerated erosion.
The National Audit Office's 2013 report gathered the evidence then available: 21 public beaches, 23% of the total, were eroding; at Flic en Flac the vegetation line retreated 15 metres between 1967 and 1997 (about 30,000 m³ of sand); Mon Choisy was losing about 2 metres a year; and live coral cover in the lagoons was below 20% at the end of 2012 (JICA). The Adaptation Fund estimated that tourism revenue lost to beach erosion could rise from US$2 million a year in 2011 to US$100 million a year by 2060.
More recent analyses describe more than 37 km of coastline affected, some beaches losing up to three-quarters of their width in five years, and sea-level rise of about 6.8 mm a year over 2009-2018: roughly double the global average.
Where the money is likely to go
The Government has not yet published the 17 sites or the split between engineering and nature-based works. Past programmes point to the likely candidates: the Adaptation Fund project (US$9.1 million, 2012-2022) worked at Mon Choisy, Rivière des Galets and Quatre Sœurs with offshore rock structures, mangroves and vegetation; the Ministry has also re-profiled beaches at Grand Baie, Baie du Tombeau and Baie du Cap and rehabilitated Grand Sable, Bois des Amourettes and Deux Frères.
Each technique has a different cost, lifespan and side-effect. The table summarises the main options.
Lessons from past programmes
Mauritius has been tackling erosion for three decades. The National Audit Office found in 2013 that the effort was hampered by poor coordination between agencies, scattered data that was not shared, slow implementation and little systematic monitoring of whether works actually performed. An Integrated Coastal Zone Management framework study (Rs 19 million, 2010) produced recommendations that were slow to be implemented.
A 30-metre setback from the high-water mark for hard structures has applied since 2005, but enforcement and older buildings remain issues. Without published targets, a site list and before-and-after monitoring, it will be hard to know whether the Rs 4 billion is well spent.
Who gains, who pays
Coastal protection is a public good, but the benefits are unevenly shared.