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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>To all those who showed interest for the case of the
endangered marine park of Blue Bay in the island of Mauritius (Indian Ocean)
:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>BLUE BAY IS SAVED ! THE EIA LICENCE HAS BEEN REFUSED TO
THE HOTEL PROMOTERS !</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>You may remember that t</FONT><FONT face=Arial>he
marine park was threatened by a hotel project on an islet in the middle of the
marine park. Last September, preliminary works on the mainland had caused acidic
mud to spread in the bay on a distance of 80m, thus causing siltation on
the coral patches for which the bay is renowned.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The promoters did not have the required permits. So the
newly elected government issued a prohibition notice against the works and they
were stopped on 13th September 2000.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the
project was then requested from the promoters. They submitted it on 15th
November 2000. The public was invited to study it and send their comments to the
Ministry of Environment.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The ecologist group ECO-SUD (who has been fighting this
project since 1996) together with other ecologist organizations, marine
biologists, environment professionals and nature lovers, severely criticized the
EIA report which they found light and unprofessional. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>After a careful study of the EIA report and the public's
comments, the EIA committee finally came to a decision on Friday 13th April 2001
:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>THE EIA LICENCE WAS REFUSED TO THE PROMOTERS
!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The reasons for their refusal are : the high impact of the
project on the marine park; the sensitive nature of the islet and its fragile
ecosystem; the proximity to the airport runway; the risks of marine pollution;
the increased boat movements in the marine park.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The promoters have not commented the decision of the
government yet and will do so after their board meeting.They have one
month to appeal to the Environment Appeal Tribunal if they wish but it
seems most improbable...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The Ministry of Fisheries for his part has started
the zoning of the marine park and will soon be implementing rules and
regulations concerning access to the park. So for the first time after all these
years, there is hope for the future.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Doris Sénèque</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>ECO-SUD</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></BODY></HTML>