Economic Governance and Management Chapter 4 These caused inflation and reduced the buying power of the people, especially among low-income groups. The strategy aims to: 489. 490. 491. 196 • • • • • Mobilise water and land resources, inputs for production, human resources, and financial and technological resources in order to optimise local production for domestic consumption. Promote the export of food surpluses to derive maximum profit through economies of scale. Stimulate partnerships with countries in the region, like Madagascar and Mozambique and other countries, where there are still opportunities for producing food products and seafood for domestic and regional consumption. Promote public and private joint ventures with the support of regional partners like India and China. Begin a campaign to promote healthy food. Implementing the strategy requires establishing a food security fund and a management committee comprising representatives of the public sector, the private sector and small farmers. The strategy should be developed into an action plan, using the PBA, to show ways and means of increasing food production locally and in the region. The strategy, which requires the allocation of an additional 2,000 acres of land for agricultural diversification, targets small farmers who are organised into associations. The CRM was informed that various civil society groups were involved in the process of developing strategy. However, they did not participate in the programming and budgeting exercise. This will not ensure that implementation will reflect a partnership or the aspirations of the people. With regard to biodiversity, there is a 10-year (for 2006 to 2015) action plan for Mauritius and Rodrigues. It should be organised into a threeyear PB. 492. The action plan aims at: • • • • Developing viable and representative networks of protected areas. Controlling the invasion of alien species. Managing the key components of biodiversity. Improving the identification of ecosystems, monitoring biodiversity, and developing mechanisms to facilitate sustainable use by promoting ecotourism and the efficient management of natural resources. Chapter 4 Economic Governance and Management • Ensuring that modern biotechnology is efficiently applied by enforcing the legal provisions of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. 493. Improving partnerships with beneficiaries is fundamental to implementing the strategy successfully and to managing and protecting biodiversity. It is therefore necessary to devise an institutional framework, which represents all key stakeholders equitably, for implementation and coordination. 494. The strategy for the forestry sector, developed in 2006, aims at protecting and consolidating the environment, biodiversity and the national heritage as well as promoting tourism and leisure activities. 495. The general objective is to develop a system to inform the public about managing and protecting forests and the basic role of the forestry sector in developing human welfare nationally. The strategy also aims to ensure that the country’s forests and ecosystems are conserved and managed sustainably for present and future generations. 496. Particular attention will be paid to developing an information system in schools and among the grassroots population groups. The CRM supports this strategy, which, in turn, will strengthen partnerships with key stakeholders and beneficiaries for the protection and good management of forest resources. In addition, civil society should also be involved in the process of developing policies and programmes. 497. The government’s strategy for modern communication technologies reflects its ambition to make this sector one of the pillars of the Mauritian economy alongside tourism, agriculture, exports and manufacture. The government’s strategy is to make Mauritius a regional ICT hub. 498. The government should therefore promote a favourable environment via appropriate policies and an adequate legal and regulatory framework. It should also acquire a good ICT infrastructure and equipment in order to improve the quality of management and facilitate and encourage all ICT initiatives. Educational institutions should, as far as possible, produce results appropriate to the needs of the ICT industry in both quality and quantity. Other measures are recommended for encouraging the business community to acquire good quality ICTs to achieve high levels of efficiency and excellence. Levels of ICTs in the different sectors of economic activity should lead to a functional national ICT sector so that it exchanges 197