/library/oar/handle/123456789/5933 2026-05-24T17:52:31Z 2026-05-24T17:52:31Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/146104 2026-05-04T11:48:11Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Dissonances between policy framework and customary practice in gender equality of small island developing states : the case of LGBTQI+ rights in Mauritius Abstract: Despite growing international recognition of LGBTQI+ rights, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) continue to face challenges in translating formal legal commitments into substantive equality. This dissertation examines the dissonance between State-level legal and policy frameworks and entrenched normative practices shaping the lived experiences of LGBTQI+ individuals in Mauritius. Although Mauritius has ratified key international human rights instruments and experienced progressive judicial developments, these advances remain unevenly realised due to persistent socio-cultural, religious, and institutional barriers. Employing a qualitative research design, the study integrates legal and policy analysis with semi-structured interviews conducted with LGBTQI+ individuals to assess the alignment between legal commitments and lived realities. The findings reveal that, notwithstanding constitutional guarantees, international obligations, and limited anti-discrimination protections, LGBTQI+ persons in Mauritius continue to face marginalisation in healthcare, employment, family life, and access to justice. These exclusions are sustained not by formal customary law, but by deeply embedded normative practices, heteronormative social structures, religious conservatism, and weak institutional accountability within a small island context characterised by dense social networks and limited anonymity. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of intersectionality and legal pluralism, the dissertation argues that legal reform alone is insufficient to achieve substantive equality in SIDS. Instead, meaningful change requires shifts in social norms, strengthened institutional responsiveness, and inclusive policymaking that centres marginalised LGBTQI+ voices. The study concludes with context-specific recommendations to bridge the persistent gap between policy and practice relating to LGBTQI+ rights in Mauritius. Description: M.A.(Melit.)

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/145975 2026-04-28T08:29:15Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Integrating indigenous and community-based climate change adaptation in Eastern Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS) : the case of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Abstract: Climate adaptation practices have been carried out by Indigenous people throughout the world for millennia (Dent et al., 2023: 3), and it has been established that they possess crucial, experiential knowledge that can form an essential aspect of equitable and sustainable climate adaptation planning and policymaking (Byskov & Hymas, 2022: 614; Cisneros-Montemayor & Ota, 2019: 318; Phong et al., 2022: 9). While the Earth’s climate was not changing with the rapidity it is currently, nor was this change anthropomorphically driven to the same extent that it is today, they were nonetheless handled by Indigenous populations as part of their evolving connection to the landscapes they inhabited. This connection is a manifestation of a relationship that has been described as loving, reciprocal, interdependent, and familial (Galway, et al., 2022: 2). This was especially the case of Indigenous people who inhabited what are traditionally referred to as Small Island Developing States (SIDS) (Hofman et al., 2021: 2). Against the backdrop of island landscapes, and as a result of specific aspects of geographic isolation and the resulting effects on ecology and biodiversity, the Indigenous inhabitants of SIDS have been attuned to signs of change and evolution, and developed their specific adaptation practices to cope. Therefore, Indigenous and community-based adaptation practices play a crucial role in building climate resilience (Middelbeek et al., 2014: 139), and such practices are endorsed by formal bodies such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN, 2019) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, 2022). This research examines the extent to which Eastern Caribbean regional and local perspectives reflect international attitudes to the integration of Indigenous and community-based climate adaptation practices, and how such integration will benefit the Indigenous population, with a specific emphasis on the territory of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Description: M.A.(Melit.)

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/145974 2026-04-28T08:27:31Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Agroecology and food sovereignty in small island developing states : the case of Rodrigues Island Abstract: Improving the local food production could counterbalance the severe blow on the SIDS’ food systems in the face of economic shocks or other natural catastrophes in the SIDS. Embracing more context-specific food systems would allow for discovery of solutions appropriate for each respective SIDS which could satisfy their usually time-sensitive and specific knowledge needs. Inquiring if and to which extent agroecological practices could ensure food security in the island of Rodrigues is one way to devise a form of knowledge that allows for sponsorship of the strategies of each SIDS so that they may take action to tackle their food security issues. The objective of this research is to spot and relate to local priorities in Rodrigues and consequently allow the government to make informed policies accordingly. Three research questions are put forward to attain the objective set, namely: 1) What is agroecology and how is it applied to SIDS? 2) What are the key characteristics of agroecology and how is it implemented in the context of SIDS? and 3) How and to what extent are agroecological practices implemented in the context of Rodrigues? It has long been a matter of urgency to take the bull by the horns to warrant sustainable food security in SIDS. In this respect, diminishing the dependence on food imports through the increasing of local food production has a fundamental role. Description: M.A.(Melit.)

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/145755 2026-04-20T13:28:55Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Overcoming barriers for clean energy sources in Caribbean small island developing states : Jamaica's nuclear energy readiness as a case study Abstract: This thesis explores the key barriers Jamaica faces in potentially deploying nuclear energy as part of its long-term energy strategy. The central research problem was to identify and evaluate the readiness of the country to support a nuclear energy program and determine the obstacles that may hinder this potential goal. The study applies an integrated Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental (PESTLE) and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) framework to assess the multi-faceted challenges of this endeavor and propose a path forward. A main part of the methodology involved qualitative insights from expert interviews, helping to shed light on each of the PESTLE categories and thereby deducing a SWOT analysis for each of them. Among the key findings, the study reveals that Jamaica’s most significant challenges lie within the technological and social domains. The country currently lacks a trained domestic workforce in nuclear science and engineering, with no educational institutions offering formal nuclear energy programs. Building technical capacity will require years of investment, international cooperation, and early strategic planning. Social barriers may be even more difficult to overcome, driven by public skepticism and distrust toward the government’s capacity to manage a large-scale and complex infrastructure of this magnitude. While public acceptance could be fostered over time through education and engagement, it remains an uncertain factor. Description: M.A.(Melit.)

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z