LETTER TO PROTECT LILE AUX BENITIERS, MAURITIUS

[Tania van Schalkwyk]

I am writing as a concerned citizen of Mauritius. There are many of us.

You may already be aware of the hotel/delux villas/resort project planned
for L'ile aux Benitiers, an islet in the middle of a lagoon on the west
coast of Mauritius. If not, subsequent emails including:
* a petition called 'Mauritius: Paradise Lost?' (circulating since a month),

* and a report compiled of factual & hypothetical arguments for protecting
L'ile aux Benitiers from Development,
will be sent to you in the next 24 hours.
Should you not receive these, please contact:  tvs at uskonet.com

This email is being sent to request your help and actions to save L'ile aux
Benitiers.

Our Mauritian government needs to be made aware that there are concerned
citizens, organisations and experts locally and internationally that are
worried about and/or against the exploitation/development of L'ile aux
Benitiers. Therefore,  we  urge you to write to our Prime Minister and
ministers concerned, voicing your opinions, concerns, opposition, arguments,
etc. regarding L'ile aux Benitiers.   Below please find the names & email
addresses to write to:
-     The Honourable Karl Hoffman, President: statepas at intnet.mu
-     The Right Honourable Sir Anerood Jugnauth, Prime Minister:
primeminister at intnet.mu
-       The Honourable Paul Raymond Bérenger, Deputy Prime Minister:
minister at mof.intnet.mu
-       The Honourable Karl Hoffman, President: statepas at intnet.mu
-       The Honourable Rajesh Anand Bhagwan, Minister of the Environment:
minisenv at intnet.mu
-       The Honourable Ananda Rajoo, Adviser to the Minister of the
Environment: rajooananda at hotmail.com
-       The Honourable Nandcoomar Bodha, Minister of Tourism: mot at intnet.mu
-       The Honourable Sylvio Louis Michel, Minister of Fisheries:
smichel at mail.gov.mu
-       The Honourable Pravin Kumar Jugnauth,
Minister of Agriculture, Food Technology & Natural Resources:
moamic at intnet.mu
-       The Honourable Mookhusswur Choonee, Minister of Housing & Lands:
mchoonee at mail.gov.mu
-       The Honourable Ashock Kumar Jugnauth, Minister of  Health & Quality
of
Life: mohql at intnet.mu
-       The Honourable Motee Ramdass,  Minister of Arts & Culture:
minoac at intnet.mu
-       The Honourable Emmanuel Jean Leung Shing, Attorney General &
Minister of
Justice & Human Rights: sgo at intnet.mu
-       The Honourable  Steven Obeegadoo , Minister of Education &
Scientific
Research: meduhrd at bow.intnet.mu

primeminister at intnet.mu; minister at mof.intnet.mu; statepas at intnet.mu;
mohql at intnet.mu; rajooananda at hotmail.com; mot at intnet.mu; minisenv at intnet.mu;
meduhrd at bow.intnet.mu; smichel at mail.gov.mu; mchoonee at mail.gov.mu;
minoac at intnet.mu; sgo at intnet.mu; moamic at intnet.mu; tvs at uskonet.com

Please copy your letter(s) to the following address:    tvs at uskonet.com
so that a track can be kept.

These letters will alert the government of the urgent need for them to
acknowledge & act on the requests made in the petition.  The petition is
currently being signed and distributed on a national and international
level; and copies will be delivered to the necessary officials in the near
future.  Please continue to sign and pass on the petition!

Please include your job title/organisation/professional function and country
of residence in your letter. This is of course, optional and at your
discretion.
You are free to use your own words, or copy & paste the following passage,
based on the  requests made at the end of the petition, as they appear
below:

WE WILL NOT ACCEPT  THE DEGRADATION NOR THE DISFIGUREMENT OF
L'ILE AUX BENITIERS.
        -       We therefore categorically oppose ANY DEVELOPMENT, including
hotel/residential/golf course/restaurant/recreational/commercial projects,
occurring on  L'ile aux Benitiers An islet so important to us all:
        -       La Gaulette villagers, Mauritian citizens, foreign tourists,
the plant, animal and sea life of Mauritius, the tropical ecosystem of the
Indian Ocean and therefore the planet and all its inhabitants.
We launch an international appeal for the protection, conservation and
restoration of the terrestrial and marine biodiversity of L'ile aux
Benitiers.

We urge the Mauritian government to review its position and procedures
towards the classification of our country's islets.

We request L'ile aux Benitiers to be reclassified as a nature reserve.

We urgently request the relevant authorities to implement  an environmental
education & information programme in the region, so that all persons using
our islets, beaches and lagoon can do so in a well-informed manner,
therefore ensuring responsability towards the social and environmental
protection of our coastal heritage.

        For the Future of Our Children. For the Future of Our Planet.

Only after the Last Tree has been cut down,Only after the Last River has
been poisoned,
Only after the Last Fish has been Caught, Only then will you find that Money
Cannot be Eaten.
-Cree Indian Prophecy
***********************************

Thank you for your time and help.  PLEASE FORWARD THIS LETTER TO AS MANY
PEOPLE/ORGANISATIONS AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU.  Please do not hesitate to
write to tvs at uskonet.com    with comments, requests, suggestions ;or for
more information, such as copies of recent articles about Lile aux
Benitiers, from our local newspapers.

PLEASE DO TAKE TIME TO WRITE/COPY THIS LETTER, EVEN IF YOU HAVE SIGNED THE
PETITION. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY ADDING YOUR VOICE & WORDS TO THOSE OF
OTHERS. THANK YOU!

Yours Truly,

Tania Haberland - van Schalkwyk
(a concerned citizen)

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