He feels that the world environment day is an opportunity when people must think of the protection of the environment and not just about making money. What's more, the country should avoid implementing a piecemeal approach to development.

He says: “Its all about developing a holistic approach. The way things are, development is a bit haphazard. We must all put our heads together and define an environmental and sustainable development strategy for the country. Once we have a clear strategy, we can move ahead. Any project that comes forward, and is not in line with the strategy, must be rejected. Don't let the project lead the country, let the strategy lead the project.”

He explains the importance of achieving sustainable development that will not affect  resources. In his opinion, the Government is approving any project that will attract investment and this attitude must change. “Development should not eat at our resources. We need development to allow money to pour into the country without harming the environment. We have a unique diversity with special flora and fauna. Only 2-3% of indigenous forests remain and, whatever there is left, we must maintain it. Coupled with development, we have the dense population that complicates the issue. There are 650 inhabitants/km2 and we need roads, energy, and infrastructure.”

One way to develop a strategy to tackle the issue would be to hold consultations with those who are directly affected. “I think that the strategy should be dealt by Mauritians, local and abroad. We have all the competencies necessary to deal with this. There are many Mauritians abroad that can come back to help out with a strategy paper and, if they cannot travel, then it can be done through e-mail. We must set up a workshop pooling all the stakeholders,” he says.

Vassen expresses his reservations on the IRS projects that are mushrooming islandwide. “I am a bit against IRS, because it is like selling our own blood. If everyone in the world starts buying Mauritius, then what will be left for Mauritians? Access to land and water is becoming acute. For example, imagine that each IRS project will pump around 1000-2000 Cu metres of water per day, which is the equivalent for 2000 families. Multiply this by 30, 40. It's all about good governance to have sustainable development. Good management is key to transforming the island. It means saying no to certain projects. It’s telling investors that even if you spend a billion, we will lose out in billions in terms of environment. By allowing haphazard development we are increasing the destruction of the environment and development will eventually backfire,” he says, adding, the Ministry of Environment  should use a veto if a project is detrimental to the environment.