Earth Day 2015
It’s our turn to lead
Cleaner, Greener & Safer Mauritius
INFORMATION AND EDUCATION DIVISION
Bon Accueil Sports Complex
22 April 2015
Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development, Disaster &
Beach Management
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Introduction
Earth Day is an International event and is celebrated each year on 22 April. It was initiated by
Senator Gaylord Nelson of the United States in 1970 and is celebrated at international level as
from 1990. Today, more than 500 million people in 175 countries observe Earth Day to voice
their appreciation for the planet and demand its protection. Earth Day is a call from Mother
Earth to each inhabitant of the blue planet, for concrete and concerted actions.
To commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Earth Day, more than one billion people around
the world are taking part in the event. From Beijing to Cairo, Melbourne to London, Rio to
Johannesburg, New Delhi to New York, communities everywhere are voicing out their concerns
for the planet, and take action to protect it.
This year’s theme is: It’s our turn to lead.
Main Activity for Earth Day 2015
The main activity for Earth Day 2015 is a silent march on 22 April 2015 in the village of Bon
Accueil starting at the market fair till the Sports Complex. The objective of this march is to raise
awareness for the Earth's environment and to encourage conservation efforts at regional and
national level.
 The ceremony was marked by the presence of:

The Hon. Jayeshwur Raj DAYAL, CSK, QPM, PDSM, FBIM psc (UK), MAIMS
Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development, Disaster and Beach Management;

The Hon. Rajcoomar RAMPERTAB, Member of the National Assembly;

Ms. Susan FALATKO, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S Embassy;
 Women Community;

Senior Citizens;

Student Community (Bon Acceuil Government School, Bon Acceuil State College,
Manilall Doctor State College and Mayflower College;

Youth Community; and

Public at large.
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 Some 700 people were present for the event.
 Caps were distributed to participants prior to the silent march.
 Following the function, refreshments –a juice pack and an apple were provided to each
participant with a view to promote healthy living among the people.
Moreover a booklet on ‘Plant For Clean Air’ and a medicinal plant were distributed to
each member of the audience to educate the people on the importance of trees and to
help people to rediscover the values and virtues of our traditional medicinal plants.
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programme of the day is at Annex 1
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Speech of Hon. Minister of Environment & Sustainable Development, Disaster and Beach
Management is at Annex 2
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Chief Guest:
1. The Hon. Jayeshwur Raj DAYAL, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development, Disaster and Beach
Management;
2. The Hon. Rajcoomar RAMPERTAB, Member of the National Assembly;
3. Ms. Susan FALATKO, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S Embassy
Audience
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Audience
Audience
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Audience
Audience
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Address by The Hon. Jayeshwur Raj DAYAL, Minister of Environment, Sustainable
Development, Disaster and Beach Management
Address by The Hon. Rajcoomar RAMPERTAB, Member of the National Assembly
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Address by Ms. Susan FALATKO, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S Embassy
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Silent March
In the Village of Bon Accueil starting at the market fair till the Sports Complex
Assembly of Women Community, Senior Citizens, Student Community (Bon Acceuil
Government School, Bon Acceuil State College, Manilall Doctor State College and Mayflower
College), Youth Community and Public at large
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The Hon. Jayeshwur Raj DAYAL, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development, Disaster and Beach
Management, announces the Start of the Silent March together with The Hon. Rajcoomar RAMPERTAB,
Member of the National Assembly and Ms. Susan FALATKO, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S Embassy
Start of the Silent March
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Silent March
Silent March
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Silent March
Silent March
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Silent March
Silent March arrived at Bon Accueil Sports Complex
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Symbolic Tree Planting Ceremony
Tree Planting by:
The Hon. Jayeshwur Raj DAYAL, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development, Disaster and
Beach Management, together with The Hon. Rajcoomar RAMPERTAB, Member of the National Assembly
and Ms. Susan FALATKO, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S Embassy
Symbolic Tree Planting
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Symbolic Tree Planting
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Symbolic Distribution of Medicinal plants
Symbolic distribution of medicinal plant, cap and a booklet on ‘Plant for Clean Air’ by the Hon. Jayeshwur
Raj DAYAL, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development, Disaster and Beach Management;
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Symbolic distribution of medicinal plant, cap and a booklet on ‘Plant for Clean Air’ by the
Hon. Jayeshwur Raj DAYAL, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development, Disaster and
Beach Management;
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Symbolic distribution of medicinal plant, cap and a booklet on ‘Plant for Clean Air’ by:
1. The Hon. Rajcoomar RAMPERTAB, Member of the National Assembly; and
2. Ms. Susan FALATKO, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S Embassy
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Distribution of Medicinal plants
Medicinal Plant Distribution
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Medicinal Plant Distribution
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Others Photos
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Annexes
Annex 1 – Programme of the day
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Annex 2 – Speech of Hon. Minister of Environment & Sustainable Development,
Disaster and Beach Management
Earth Day 2015
Speech by
Hon. Jayeshwur Raj DAYAL
CSK, QPM, PDSM, FBIM psc (UK), MAIMS
Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development,
Disaster and Beach Management
Bon Accueil Sports Complex
22 April 2015
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Her Excellency, Ms. Susan FALATKO,
Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States of America
The Hon. Rajcoomar RAMPERTAB,
Member of the National Assembly
Mr. Bhooneswar Rajkumarsingh,
President of Flacq District Council
Mr Sutcheedanand DUSSOYE,
Chairperson of the Village Council of Bon Accueil
Distinguished Guests
Dear Students
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning
It gives me much pleasure to address you this morning on the occasion of
the Earth Day which is celebrated each year on the 22nd of April.
Its
celebration started in the United States of America in 1970 by Senator
Gaylord Nelson to promote ecology and respect for life on the planet. Earth
Day celebration reminds us to reinforce our go green attitude for the earth.
This year, the theme to mark Earth Day is „It‟s Our Turn To Lead‟, has been
selected in recognition to the various challenges faced by “Mother Earth”. It
is worth noting that since the past decades humankind has been
consuming natural resources at an alarming rate and at the same time
disposing huge amount of wastes in the environment. The celebration of
Earth Day today is a plea to all citizens to reaffirm our commitments to the
planet by taking simple concrete actions; and together we can do it.
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We are celebrating this event today by a silent march, this provides us with
a platform to think together of the divine gift to live on such a wonderful and
sacred place, this planet we call our home. It is the manifestation of our
inner conscience to do more and to correct the mistake of the past.
Our presence here today in such a big number is also testimony and a
clear indication of our determination and commitment to turn the page and
start anew.
I started the year 2015 by symbolically planting a tree together with my
colleague, Hon. Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, Minister of Agro-Industry and
Food Security at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Garden. This
symbolic gesture is an UNWRITTEN AGREEMENT that I have with my
Ministry and with Mauritius with regards to saving and protecting our
endemic plants as well as recreating the Mauritian environment.
You have surely read that a century ago, Mauritius was covered with a
dense forest and God Bless, we will attempt to reconstruct this pristine
environment of ours by planting as many trees as possible in the
forthcoming years.
This year the Earth Day is commemorating its 45th anniversary and more
than one billion people around the world are taking part in the event. From
Beijing to Cairo, Melbourne to London, Rio to Johannesburg, New Delhi to
New York, communities everywhere are voicing out their concerns for the
planet, and take action to protect it.
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Any small action can contribute to a huge impact in terms of conserving
natural resources, using less energy and generating less pollution and
waste. We just have to do our part. Hence, for a greener Mauritius, my
Ministry is encouraging each and every Mauritian citizen to adopt ecofriendly practices by numerous initiatives such as:
- solar water heaters to reduce electricity consumption
- rain water harvesting system to save water
- recycling and promoting composting in schools through the School Waste
Segregation Project
- Setting up of endemic gardening in schools
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Distribution of decorative and medicinal plants to promote a green
attitude and encourage the public to discover the virtues of medicinal plants
and the richness of our local biodiversity
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Implementation of a Sustainable Consumption and Production
programme to attain a more sustainable lifestyle, and preserve our natural
resources.
My Ministry is also distributing a booklet to all the Households through the
Mauritius Post to we are thankful, with the aim to sensitise our population
on simple actions that can be adopted in our daily lives to bring concrete
changes to our environment.
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Before concluding my speech, I would like to mention that the goal of Earth
Day is not only to establish a cleaner, greener and safer environment but
also the creation of an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect
for all human beings and other living creatures. Since our birth, just like our
mothers, Mother Earth has cared for us and provided us with all the
requirements for our wellbeing and our sustenance. May I remind you that
like all mothers, Mother Earth is also a symbol of immense love, care,
giving and warmth towards her children. Sadly, we have not looked after
this Mother Earth of ours as we should have been. We have taken
ourselves for aliens and we can do whatever we want- even to the point of
destroying ourselves for our own greed.
I therefore urge all my fellow countrymen, women and children to contribute
towards a cleaner, greener and safer Mauritius for our present and future
generations.
Ce gouvernement, sous la direction du Premier Ministre, Sir Anerood
Jugnauth, croit en son peuple dans le sens de la responsabilité citoyenne.
Donc, informer, communiquer et éduquer la population constituent mes
priorités, entre autres dans l’interêt nationale.
La protection de l’environnement est plus que l'affaire de tous, C’est notre
devoir sacré. Cela demande juste un peu d’effort et une bonne dose de
volonté. Ainsi, nous pouvons assurer notre bien-être and celui de nos
enfants.
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Rien n’est plus important que d’assurer la protection de nos familles à la
maison.
Les atrocités perpétués ces derniers temps dans notre patrie
démontrent qu’on ne pourra pas rester les bras croisés. La sécurité de nos
familles, surtout de nos enfants est une responsabilité morale et religieuse.
L’environnement ne s’arrête pas à la nature, la biodiversité, l’eau, l’énergie,
le changement climatique. L’environnement, c’est apprendre à se protéger.
L’environnement est le sens du partage, pour la postérité.
Hamaré sawbhagya hai ki aaj maatri diwas ké awsar par ham log jouté
houwé hein apné tan man aur dhan sé. Yé karya jo ham kar rahé hein, yé
hamaré samaj ké liyé hein, hamaré desh ké ounati bhalayi liyé hein aur
vishwa samaj ké kalyaan liyé hein.
Main aap sab ko ashwashan déta houn ki hamaré Pradhan Mantri Sir
Aneerood Jugnauth ji ké raaj mein suvidha hamésha rahéga ; sirf janta ka
pyar hamésha barkaraar rahé.
Aawo ham sab mil kar, apné bachon ké ounati aur bhavishya ké liyé kam
karé.
Jai Mauritius.
Merci.
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