BDO Mauritius is proud to announce its partnership with Reef Conservation Mauritius, an NGO dedicated to the conservation and the restoration of the costal and marine environment of Mauritius. This new partnership was marked by a beach and mangrove clean-up as well as a marine pollution awareness session with Reef Conservation on the 17th June 2022 in the vicinity of Melville Beach (Grand Gaube village), in the north-east of the island. A cheque of Rs 300,000 was remitted to the NGO, thereby kickstarting a 2-year partnership where the firm will support Reef Conservation projects, in particular ‘SOS Mangrove’. This project will consist of evaluating the long-term effect of spilled oil on mangrove forests from the 2020 MV. Wakashio capsize in the southeast of the island, assessing carbon sequestration and the mangrove ecosystem structure along the Mauritian coast and promoting mangrove restoration in collaboration with community members and other stakeholders amongst others.
This event saw the participation of BDO Mauritius staff alongside Trond-Morten Lindberg (BDO CEO EMEA) and BDO Global representatives. BDO Mauritius team included employees from all of our entities namely: BDO & Co Ltd, BDO Financial Services, BDO Solutions and BDO IT Consulting. Together, we learned more about the alarming level of pollution on the coastal and marine areas of Mauritius and ways to reduce our impact on the environment. Trond-Morten Lindberg commented “our global sustainability movement is evolving through meaningful partnerships and tangible actions. At BDO, we are committed to play our part in educating the world and leading behavioural change across the globe”.
Yacoob Ramtoola, Group Managing Partner of BDO (Mauritius) stressed that« this partnership is in line with the commitment we took by becoming a signatory of the UN Global Compact, call to companies around the world to align their operations and strategies in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-corruption and as a member of BDO Global Sustainability Movement. With the effects of climate change rising at an alarming rate, it is essential that each one of thus contributes to reverse the process, individually and collectively”
Reef Conservation President François Rogers said that the coastal area of Mauritius is a major socio-economic component of the island. “Its ecosystems which consists of mangrove forests, the reefs and seagrass beds (amongst others), are key contributors to slow down coastal erosion. Through the tourism industry, our coastline provides employment to 9.6% of the population (20% of the Mauritian population live on the coast) and represents 5.2% of investments, thereby contributing to 8.6% of the GDP (2019 figures). Preserving our coastal areas actually equates to saving the livelihood of its inhabitants and the Mauritian tourism industry”. He added that “our common actions and any kind of sensitisation will contribute to the expansion and well-being of the Mauritian population”.