Research Projects

I have participated in the EU-funded international projects from 2012 to 2019 in the Monitoring of Environment for Security in Africa (MESA) and in the Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security in Africa (GMES) projects. In the GMES Project, the MOI’s Marine and Coastal Management Thema for the western Indian Ocean Region focusses on the enhancing the management of fisheries resources and enabling the stakeholders and users to have a holistic comprehension of the state of the ocean. This aim is achieved by providing the authorities with an enhanced tool for detection of potential fishing grounds as well as charts and monthly bulletins which describe the prevailing oceanographic variables of the region.

This is a collaborative project sponsored by NF-POGO whose main objective was to carry out nearshore hydrodynamics studies at Albion in the west of Mauritius. This study provides accurate long-term wave, tide and wind data on an operational basis and help build capacity in ocean and coastal observation, to eventually come up with nearshore hydrodynamics modelling studies in the study area. Modelling results will help have a better understanding of wave and tide characteristics, sediment transport and dynamics in the western region of Mauritius.  Therefore, this project will eventually assist local institutions and policy makers to plan future development and provide best management practices and services.

The motive for this project was to provide updated information of the Tamarin estuary, integrating physical, chemical and biological measurements to explore the mechanisms responsible for the transport of water masses, chlorophyll and measurement of current patterns at the mouth of the river. Results from this study has been provided to stakeholders for a proper management of the estuary beach erosion monitoring.

The main aim of this project is to characterize the oceanic and coastal environment of the Republic of Mauritius. Spatial and temporal oceanographic data are collected and include bathymetry, conductivity, temperature, salinity, water density, fluorescence, turbidity, pressure, wave, current speed and direction.  These data provide important baseline information with regards to ocean renewable energy assessment, marine tourism, identification of ocean hazards, marine conservation and planning uses in the vast maritime zones of Mauritius. These data are further translated on a GIS platform in order to provide relevant information to enhance existing policies and aid in decision making for the implementation of sustainable ocean economy.

Bathymetry is often described as the depth of the water column in relation to sea level. Depth data is essential in marine spatial planning, safety of navigation, resource exploration and sustainable management of marine resources. The primary objective of the project is to produce detailed bathymetric maps of the lagoons of the islands of the Republic of Mauritius. Data generated have been utilized in (1) determining zonation patterns of lagoonal biotopes, (2) preparation of coastal inundation maps and (3) hydrodynamics modelling of coastal processes, amongst others.

The main objective of the project was to showcase the possibility of generating electricity from waves using a low-cost device. Once the prototype was finally operational and successful at converting energy from waves into electricity, its launching was performed in August 2019 by the Hon. Minister of Energy and Public Utilities in the presence of the Hon. Minister of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping.