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BY Celine Bellouard AND Shrivan Dabee
Mauritius criminalises Ecocide
On 18 April 2026, the Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026 (Act No. 3 of 2026) came into force. The Act amends several statutes to align Mauritius’ legal framework with international standards on anti-money laundering, combatting the financing of terrorism and countering proliferation financing and to strengthen the enforcement of these regimes.
Among its provisions is a landmark amendment to the Environment Act 2024. A new section 135A has been introduced, criminalising ecocide and making it punishable by significant fines and penal servitude of up to 10 years. With this development, Mauritius joins a growing number of jurisdictions worldwide that have moved to criminalise severe environmental destruction.
This legislative step is particularly significant for Mauritius, which the United Nations classifies as a Small Island Developing State. Countries in this category are especially vulnerable to environmental threats, including sea-level rise and increasing pressure on marine ecosystems that are critical to both the tourism and fisheries sectors.
What does the law say?
Under section 135A of the Environment Act 2024, it is now a criminal offence to commit an unlawful or wanton act with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe, and either widespread or long-term, damage to the environment. Criminal liability also extends to any person who incites, aids or abets the commission of ecocide.
The offence attracts two categories of sanction:
Fines, to be determined by reference to the gravity of the conduct, the offender’s personal circumstances, the severity and duration of the environmental damage and any financial benefit derived from the offence; and
Penal servitude for a term not exceeding 10 years.
The law defines key concepts as follows:
- Ecocide: an unlawful or wanton act committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe, and either widespread or long-term, damage to the environment.
- Wanton: conduct carried out with reckless disregard for damage that would be clearly excessive in relation to the anticipated social and economic benefits.
- Severe: very serious adverse changes, disruption or harm to any element of the environment, including grave impacts on human life or on natural, cultural or economic resources.
- Widespread: damage affecting an entire ecosystem or species, or a large number of human beings.
- Long-term: damage that is irreversible or that cannot be remedied through natural recovery within a reasonable period of time.
Beyond criminal penalties
The amendments brought to the Environment Act 2024 extend beyond imprisonment and fines. Under section 135B, a person convicted of ecocide may be ordered to restore the environment within a prescribed timeframe where the damage is reversible, or to pay compensation where restoration is not possible.
Additional consequences may include exclusion from access to public funding, such as tenders, grants, concessions and licences, as well as the withdrawal of permits and authorisations relating to the activities that gave rise to the offence.
Section 135C further empowers the Director of Environment to recover from a convicted person all costs arising from the ecocide. These include expenses associated with clean-up and removal operations, measures taken to prevent or mitigate environmental harm, and studies into the social, economic and environmental impact of the damage. Any amounts recovered are to be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
What should you know?
- The offence applies broadly to "any person", and liability extends to those who incite, aid or abet the commission of ecocide.
- Fines are not prescribed at fixed amounts and will be assessed by reference to the seriousness of the offence, the offender’s financial means and any profits obtained from the harmful activity.
- The cost-recovery provisions mean that convicted persons may be required to bear the full financial burden of environmental remediation and associated interventions.
Shrivan Dabee
Executive | Mauritius
Céline Bellouard
Senior Associate | Mauritius
