Supporting Mauritius Island in its adaptation to climate change with solutions to fight against floods

The phenomenon of rainfall is more and more frequent and intense on the island due to climate change.

In addition, the aging of the island's infrastructure and the lack of maintenance of the drains no longer allow water to flow... it stagnates and causes flooding that only aggravates the situation. It is therefore essential to find permanent solutions to sustain the future of populations.

To solve the major problem of flooding in Mauritius, our teams have been mandated by the Land Drainage Authority to reduce the vulnerability of the population, maintain economic activities and preserve 320 km² of Mauritius.

A land drainage plan has been designed as part of the #AdaptAction programme, set up by the French Development Agency, which helps countries implement commitments for more sustainable development.

In this context, our teams have developed an inventory and mapping of existing natural and artificial drainage infrastructures.
It includes different missions:

• Identify vulnerable areas, including the impact of future developments on areas likely to be flooded
• Define a reference hydrology at the scale of each sub-rain basin
• Develop flood mapping and related vulnerability assessment
• Elaborate national rules to take into account land drainage issues in territorial development with the objective of reducing flood risks, considering water quality and biodiversity preservation
• Define general protection objectives at the scale of the most vulnerable watersheds, based on detailed studies conducted at a more localized level

Finally, our teams have drafted a short and medium-term action plan including non-structural measures, recovery measures and structural measures, with nature-based solutions.