At first glance, a recently granted South African patent relating to a “food container based on fractal geometry” seems fairly mundane. The innovation in question involves interlocking food containers that are easy for robots to grasp and stack.
On closer inspection, the patent is anything but mundane. That’s because the inventor is not a human being – it is an artificial intelligence (AI) system called DABUS.
DABUS (which stands for “device for the autonomous bootstrapping of unified sentience”) is an AI system created by Stephen Thaler, a pioneer in the field of AI and programming. The system simulates human brainstorming and creates new inventions. DABUS is a particular type of AI, often referred to as “creativity machines” because they are capable of independent and complex functioning. This differs from everyday AI like Siri, the “voice” of Apple’s iPhones.
The patent application listing DABUS as the inventor was filed in patent offices around the world, including the US, Europe, Australia, and South Africa. But only South Africa granted the patent (Australia followed suit a few days later after a court judgment gave the go-ahead).
South Africa’s decision has received widespread backlash from intellectual property experts. Some have labelled it a mistake, or an oversight by the patent office. However, as a patent and AI scholar whose PhD aims to address the gaps in patent law created by AI inventorship, I suggest that the decision is supported by the government’s policy environment in recent years. This has aimed to increase innovation, and views technology as a way to achieve this.
Creativity machines
Creativity machines can process and critically analyse data, learning from it. This process is known as machine learning. Once the machine learning phase has occurred, the machine is able to “autonomously” create without human intervention. As has been seen in the COVID pandemic, as just one example, AI is able to solve problems humans were unable to – and also much faster than people can.
Over the years there have been many kinds of creativity machines. Prior to DABUS, Thaler built another AI which created novel sheet music, and which he credited with inventing the cross-bristle toothbrush design. He filed a patent for the cross-bristle design, and it was granted – proving AI’s ability to generate truly novel inventions that meet the standards for patents. However, Thaler listed himself, rather than the AI, as the inventor at that time.
When it came to the food container invention by DABUS, Thaler, assisted by Ryan Abbott of the University of Surrey, decided instead to list DABUS as the rightful inventor, as the invention was entirely devised by the AI. This was the start of their push for AI to be recognised as inventors the world over.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office rejected these applications in the formal examination phase. They gave three reasons. First, their respective patent laws only provide for human inventors – not AI – as indicated by the use of pronouns such as “him” and “her” in their text. Second, ideas, for the purposes of patents, require the element of “mental conception” – something of which only a human mind is capable. Finally, inventorship comes with rights, which AI is not legally capable of possessing.
The granting of the DABUS patent in South Africa has received widespread backlash from intellectual property experts. The critics argued that it was the incorrect decision in law, as AI lacks the necessary legal standing to qualify as an inventor. Many have argued that the grant was simply an oversight on the part of the commission, which has been known in the past to be less than reliable. Many also saw this as an indictment of South Africa’s patent procedures, which currently only consist of a formal examination step. This requires a check box sort of evaluation: ensuring that all the relevant forms have been submitted and are duly completed.
Critics feel that if South Africa instead had a substantive search and examination system in place, the DABUS patent application would have been rejected.
I disagree.
Enabling policy environment
While it is possible that the commission erred in granting the patent, South Africa’s policy environment in recent years suggests otherwise.
The core message of all these documents is that South Africa’s government wants to increase innovation to solve the country’s socio-economic issues. There is clear worry about issues such as poor innovation levels, lack of funding and lack of suitable infrastructure which is necessary to really capitalise on the fourth industrial revolution.
Given the policy environment and the vast potential of AI, the granting of the patent makes sense. Perhaps this will turn out to be a strategic masterclass by the South African office which will lead to a much more innovative nation.
Charles Telfair Centre is an independent nonpartisan not for profit organisation and does not take specific positions. All views, positions, and conclusions expressed in our publications are solely those of the author(s).
Professor Dale Pinto, PhD (Law) (Melb), MTax (Hons) (Syd), Chair of the Academic Board, Curtin University and Professor of Taxation Law, Curtin Law School, Curtin University
Academic boards represent a fundamental governance mechanism in the overall governance architecture of universities. This article examines the role and importance of academic boards in Australian universities. The article also makes observations about the future and continuing relevance of academic boards as part of the governance framework of Australian universities. Though the examination in this article is undertaken in the context of Australian universities, most of the commentary would be relevant to other higher education institutions, including those in the Indian Ocean region, as academic boards within universities generally exhibit common characteristics.
Introduction
In a 2007 thematic analysis of the role of academic boards in university governance, Dooley observed that:
Universities have evolved from medieval communities of scholars, through the ivory towers of the Oxbridge of yesteryear to today’s large-scale business model. The tension between their traditional character, where reasoned argument holds sway and issues are debated thoroughly until there is scholarly consensus, and the modern imperatives of efficiency and accountability for the bottom line of the budget are palpable in most modern campuses[1].
Dooley then argued that nowhere is this tension more keenly felt than at the level of the university academic board, variously referred to as the ‘academic senate’, ‘senate’ or ‘academic council’. This body will be referred to in this article as the ‘academic board’ or ‘the board’ which represents the peak academic governance body in Australian universities.
All Australian universities have a form of academic board, which is usually enshrined and created by or pursuant to an Act of Parliament that establishes the university itself. For example, Swinburne University in Victoria is established by the Swinburne University of Technology Act 2010 (Vic), and section 20 mandates that the Council must establish an academic board. My university – Curtin University – is established under the Curtin University Act 1966 (WA) and the academic board is established under Statute 21 which was created by the University Council under the powers conferred on it to make statutes by section 34 of the Curtin University Act 1966.
This legislative underpinning demonstrates the significance of academic boards in Australian Universities. However, despite academic governance being a crucial matter for all Australian universities, discussion of the role of academic boards is not widespread, as Baird observed:
Even though universities are heavily dependent on academic boards for quality assurance in the core areas of teaching and research—on paper, at least—discussion of the roles of academic boards is not widespread[2].
In addition to the significance of this legislative underpinning, it is both timely and relevant to examine the role and importance of academic boards in the governance framework of Australian universities as academic boards are central to the regulatory regime which governs universities. In Australia, this is overseen by the Tertiary Education and Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA)[3]. Other recent examples, including the Walker review which examined the role of academic boards in promoting freedom of speech and academic freedom,[4] demonstrate the timeliness of examining the role of such boards to ascertain if they are functioning as intended.
Role of Academic Boards
Traditionally, a tripartite governance structure operates at Australian universities in which the executive management of the university (led by the Vice-Chancellor) and the academic board contribute to academic decision-making within the context of the university council’s overall responsibility as the peak governance body in a university.
This is neatly depicted in the ‘governance triangle’ below, which derives from models presented by Clark (1983),[5] Dooley (2006)[6] and Shattock (2012)[7].
Figure 1: University governance triangle
The governance of a university operating under this model involves:
Corporate governance: ultimately rests with council as the peak governance body. Council is assisted by its committees (of which an academic board is typically one such committee) in the effective discharge of its responsibilities.
Academic governance: academic boards typically function as the principal policy-making and advisory body on all academic matters pertaining to and affecting a university’s teaching and research. As such, an academic board is responsible for assuring academic standards and quality, and, in fulfilling this function, ensures academic integrity and high standards in teaching, research, assessment, and admissions[8]. It carries out these functions in partnership with, but independently of, the Vice-Chancellor’s executive management team referred to in the figure above as the ‘Executive Management’.
Executive management: Led by the Vice-Chancellor who allocates roles and responsibilities to university management. The Vice-Chancellor typically has several advisory committees to provide advice and assurance in decision making and to assist in meeting the requirements of external bodies including regulators.
An academic board is formally constituted and has a clearly defined role, normally enshrined in its Terms of Reference or Constitution which will specify, among other things, its functions and powers, membership, meeting protocols, powers to establish committees, review processes and reporting requirements.
University academic boards are presided over by a Chair, who is normally elected and supported by a Deputy, again normally an elected role. It is desirable, and almost universal, that the Chair is an ex officio member of the university council. Frequent and full communication between the Chair, Deputy Chair, Secretariat which supports the board, the Vice-Chancellor and council is essential for the effective functioning of the university governance structure as described above.
Importance of Academic Boards: three key functions[9]
Maintenance of Academic Standards
The board and its standing committees shoulder an important responsibility for ensuring the quality and integrity of all academic endeavours is maintained, including learning and teaching, and research. The board has an established, accountable, and transparent framework for the implementation and review of policies as they relate to academic activities; for the development and review of academic quality assurance measures; for facilitating compliance with its policies and procedures; and for monitoring and ensuring remedial action is taken when it finds non-compliance.
The board has delegated authority from the university council for approval, accreditation[10] and review of new and existing academic programs, including those offered by commercial entities owned or partially owned by the university and those offered in partnership with other institutions. The board has the responsibility and authority to determine compliance of academic programs with the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015 (HESF) [11] which represents the basis for the regulation of higher education providers and courses by the regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). The board also must ensure compliance with individual institutional qualifications standards.
In short, the board has the responsibility for the ultimate academic oversight of all academic programs, onshore and offshore, and its approving and monitoring functions play a key role in ensuring comparability of standards, both internally and externally, and in the maintenance of standards in academic partnerships.
In terms of learning and teaching, the board has an important role in the assessment and evaluation of learning and teaching and in ensuring the quality of, and improvement in, teaching and learning practices as well as in approving new courses. It also plays a key role in overseeing student experience and retention.
The board also has an important role in approving research policies, and in encouraging and supporting research.
Finally, academic boards themselves undergo periodic independent external reviews at least every seven years to align with the HESF in relation to Governance and Accountability (Standard 6.1 3(d)). These reviews are important as they assess the effectiveness of the board and the academic governance processes of the university. Curtin most recently undertook such a review in 2018 and it resulted in a newly configured committee structure, changes in committee composition (e.g., to include more student representation) and a sharper definition of the role of the standing committees to better align their role to the board and to achieve a clearer line of sight to both faculties and Curtin’s global campuses.
Involving and communicating with Internal Stakeholders
As academic boards bring a whole of institution perspective to academic matters, it is important that it seeks wide input (including through its standing committees) before it makes decisions and communicates its decisions to maximise efficiency and quality and remove unnecessary duplication. Key stakeholders in this process include faculties, global campuses and council and it is important that academic boards maintain a clear line of sight to all these stakeholders.
Key communication channels for academic boards can be classified as vertical – between the Council, academic board, and broader academic community, and horizontal – between the academic board, faculties, global campuses and other academic units and support units. The Chair of the academic board, along with the Secretariat which supports the academic board, both play a key role in maintaining effective vertical and the horizontal communications.
Key mechanisms to ensure effective communication include: timely preparation and distribution of agendas, meeting papers and minutes; summary reports of main outcomes – e.g., at Curtin the Chair and Secretariat prepare a high level summary of outcomes for communication across the university and to council; professional, respectful and robust meetings conducted in accordance with the university’s values; and clear and accessible information which should be available via a secure board portal for all members of the academic board.
The academic board ensures that its committee structure supports open and transparent communications within the institution and plays a key role in coordination and oversight of its committees.
Finally, the university’s staff induction processes educate staff about the academic board’s role within the university and is an important activity for members joining the board for the first time, particularly to assist some members (e.g. students).
Accountability to External Stakeholders
In addition to ensuring effective involvement of and liaison with internal stakeholders, academic boards have responsibilities to many external stakeholders.
First, academic boards have a central role in setting and monitoring university admission and policies to ensure standards, equity, and diversity.
Second, academic boards have oversight of academic policies that regulate academic credit transfer and articulation arrangements. Academic boards also need to have appropriate structures and quality assurance processes to foster and ensure high standards in community-engaged learning activities.
The board provides substantial input for external audits by TEQSA, and it is often involved with accreditation processes of external professional accrediting bodies.
TEQSA sees ‘academic leadership’ in higher education providers as a subset of the overall institutional or corporate leadership of the provider, differentiated mainly by its focus on ‘academic matters’ (including teaching, research and related matters). It sees academic leadership as ‘the system of interdependent elements that together allow a provider to achieve (or at least support) and monitor its intended academic outcomes[12].’
The importance of academic leadership is reflected in its prominence throughout the HESF. TEQSA expects the provider to demonstrate that overarching leadership mechanisms are in place at the institutional level (corporate governance, academic governance, and quality assurance) to provide academic oversight and monitoring at that level, as required under the HESF.
As illustrated in Figure 2 below from TEQSA’s Guidance Note on Academic Leadership, the HESF aligns with the student experience or ‘student life cycle’[13]. The HESF is also grounded in the core characteristics of the provision of higher education and therefore, the Standards are intended to provide higher education providers with a framework for internal monitoring of the quality of their higher education activities which academic boards are responsible for overseeing[14].
Figure 2: Context of the HESF
More specifically, academic boards must oversee the two parts of the HESF:
Part A: Which prescribe standards for Higher Education. These standards represent the minimum acceptable requirements for the provision of higher education in or from Australia, and
Part B: Which sets out the criteria for Higher Education Providers. These criteria enable categorisation of different types of providers and whether a provider is responsible for self-accreditation of a course(s) of study it delivers.
These are significant responsibilities for universities to comply with and the role of academic boards in ensuring compliance with the HESF is therefore very important.
In concluding, not everyone will agree with Professor Dooley’s view that academic boards should be the ‘engine room of the university’[16] but it can be seen from this brief article how important academic boards are in the overall governance architecture of Australian universities.
Perhaps as Shattock advocates, the focus should not be so much about effective governing bodies but more about effectively governed universities[17]. As he notes, universities remain ‘communities of scholars’ and will not be able to chart a future satisfactorily unless they encourage and nurture those communities to contribute to institutional decision-making. As part of that process the voice of the academic community, which is strongly represented via academic boards, must be a critical element of an effectively governed institution.
Robust, professional, and values-driven conversations should be encouraged within a governing body – referred to as ‘constructive confrontation’ by Shattock[18]– which is necessary and should be encouraged to produce well-reasoned and debated outcomes.
From my own experience, academic boards do engage in robust but professional and respectful debate on significant issues. Recent examples at my university include strong debates on changes to the academic calendar, changing the university graduate attributes and policies relating to freedom of speech and academic freedom. All of these issues involved a series of consultations and discussions with students, the academic staff association (staff union) as well as academics across not only our Perth-based campuses but also soliciting views from our global campuses. These consultations were effective in refining proposals put to the board by management by hearing the voices of the academic community and also the student voice which is greatly valued as part of the academic board’s deliberations at my university.
On this basis, academic boards should continue to assert themselves to balance all voices in a university community and provide sound academic advice to executive management and university councils as part of the well-accepted tripartite governance model referred to at the start of this article.
Charles Telfair Centre is an independent nonpartisan not for profit organisation and does not take specific positions. All views, positions, and conclusions expressed in our publications are solely those of the author(s).
_________________________
[1] Anthony H Dooley, The Role of Academic Boards in University Governance (AUQA occasional publications, No 12) 7.Charles Telfair Centre is an independent nonpartisan not for profit organisation and does not take specific positions. All views, positions, and conclusions expressed in our publications are solely those of the author(s).
[2] J Baird, ‘Taking it on board: quality audit findings for higher education governance’, Higher Education Research & Development (2007) Vol 26, No 1, 101–15.
[3] Though the analysis in this article is undertaken in the context of Australian universities, most of the commentary would be relevant to other jurisdictions as academic boards within universities generally exhibit common characteristics.
[4] Sally Walker, Review of the Adoption of the Mode Code on Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom, December 2020.
[5] B R Clark, The Higher Education System (Berkley, California University Press), 1983.
[7] M Shattock, ‘University governance: An issue for our time’, Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education (2012), DOI:10.1080/13603108.2011.645082.
[8] See, eg, University of Queensland Academic Board Policy, paragraph 2.1 (c) (i) and (ii), available at <https://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/1.30.03-academic-board> (accessed 30 June 2021).
[9] A comprehensive explanation of these aspects is contained in the following paper presented at the National Conference of Chairs of Academic Boards/Senates in November 2013: ‘The Purpose and Function of Academic Boards and Senates in Australian Universities’. What follows on this point is based on this source.
[10] Accreditation in this context refers the responsibilities universities have as self-accrediting institutions to ensure the learning outcomes of qualifications meet internal and external standards. Professional accreditation bodies also play a role in ensuring learning outcomes meet the needs for specific professions – eg CPA Australia and CA ANZ have their own accreditation requirements for accounting courses which are offered by universities.
[11] The Commonwealth Minister for Education and Training promulgated new national standards for higher education in Australia – the Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015 (HESF). The HESF took effect from 1 January 2017. From this date, all providers of higher education in or from Australia must meet and continue to meet the requirements of the HESF.
[12] TEQSA, Guidance Note: Academic Leadership (18 June 2019), 1-2.
[13] TEQSA, Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015 – TEQSA Contextual Overview, Version 1.1, effective from 1 January 2017, 6.
Helen Mountford, Vice President for Climate and Economics at the World Resources Institute
Mauricio Cárdenas, Senior Fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy
WASHINGTON, DC/BOGOTÁ – The science is clear: to avoid the most damaging effects of climate change, the world must reach net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions around mid-century. That means reducing human-caused GHG emissions to the lowest levels possible, and balancing any remaining emissions by permanently removing an equivalent quantity of GHGs from the atmosphere. Thereafter, the world must ensure that GHG removal exceeds emissions.
Achieving net zero will require a fundamental transformation of global energy and industrial systems, transport, and infrastructure, as well as of agriculture, forestry, and land use. The next 10-15 years are critical. While the world has many ambitious long-term climate targets, it lacks strategies to put the right investments and policies in place.
Moreover, effective and sustainable emissions reduction should also contribute to broad economic development, including by protecting workers, local communities, and human rights. The world should not reach net zero at the expense of vulnerable groups, but rather in a way that ensures a just transition for them.
The good news is that many countries, business leaders, and investors are stepping up. As of June 2021, 31 countries and the European Union have formally committed to net-zero targets, and more than 100 have proposed or are considering one. Almost 1,500 major corporations have set science-based emissions targets. And 160 banks, asset managers, and asset owners – with a combined portfolio worth more than $70 trillion – have pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
The challenge now is to fulfill net-zero commitments with clear pathways and verifiable intermediate targets. An effective strategy, such as the one recommended by the World Bank’s Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition Task Force on Net Zero – representing national governments, the private sector, and civil society, and co-chaired by us – must include robust safeguards to ensure accountability and transparency.
The task force underscores how carbon pricing can help to give public- and private-sector efforts the level of ambition needed to reach net zero. Although carbon pricing – including through emissions-trading systems (ETS), carbon taxes, and international carbon markets – is not a silver bullet, it can be a powerful tool in advancing a green transition.
Our panel identified several factors that can promote effective efforts to achieve net-zero targets. The first is planning and transparency. Clearly defined short- and medium-term (5-15 year) objectives are needed to identify and prioritize the specific sectoral and technological transformations required, and to drive immediate action and investments. Governments and the private sector should also each adopt separate emissions-reduction and removal targets. This would bolster accountability by enabling the evaluation of each component, whereas a blended metric of progress might hide insufficient efforts to reduce emissions.
The second factor is appropriate placement of carbon pricing within a broader green-development toolkit. Even when adopting explicit carbon prices is difficult, governments and firms should promote internal or shadow carbon pricing when evaluating investment decisions. This tool is crucial to support the right investment and infrastructure choices when implementing overall and sector-based net-zero strategies.
But carbon prices alone will not do the trick, and complementary policies are needed to reduce emissions in some sectors. Efficiency standards – regarding energy in buildings or fuel in vehicles, for example – may be more effective in lowering emissions in industries that are not responsive to carbon price signals, or where monitoring and controlling emissions sources is difficult. Short-term government subsidies or investments in research and development may be appropriate to support technological transformation in sectors where emissions-reduction options are not available or are particularly expensive.
Governments can also use complementary policies to reduce any negative effects of carbon pricing on particular groups, and to help distribute climate investments and benefits equitably. Revenues from carbon taxes or emissions-allowance auctions can finance climate investments in vulnerable communities, job training, or cash transfers to offset increases in the prices of energy, products, and services.
Third, carbon prices will need to be set much higher than they are currently, and increase over time, in order to drive the reduction and removal required to reach net zero. This applies to the use of internal carbon pricing for decision-making, as well as to the carbon price under a tax or ETS in countries that use these schemes.
Fourth, in a world where all countries are striving to achieve net zero, international carbon credit markets can play a crucial role in increasing the ambition of both buyers and sellers. But governments and businesses should aggressively cut their own emissions before investing in reductions and removals elsewhere. Any investments they make in carbon credits should complement, not replace, their emissions-reduction efforts.
International credit markets can also support investments in transformative emissions-reduction and removal technologies in developing countries. Credit investments should help to protect local environments, and obtain buy-ins from affected and vulnerable communities.
New models for international carbon markets that incorporate these broader objectives are starting to emerge. One such example is the LEAF (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance) Coalition. Backed by a number of governments and companies, LEAF provides conventional carbon markets with additional demand- and supply-side guardrails, including for protecting local communities.
Lastly, rigorous measurement, reporting, and tracking of emissions reduction and removal are crucial to ensure both accountability regarding commitments and real benefits to the atmosphere. Rules for crediting reduction and removal funded through international carbon markets toward buyers’ net commitments must prevent double counting. The same emissions cannot count toward the net-zero commitments of both buyers and sellers.
The post-pandemic recovery presents a rare opportunity to accelerate climate action. The world can build back in a way that not only rapidly transforms and decarbonizes the global economy, but also promotes prosperity, resilience, and much greater equity.
Charles Telfair Centre is an independent nonpartisan not for profit organisation and does not take specific positions. All views, positions, and conclusions expressed in our publications are solely those of the author(s).
La mobilité à Maurice est dans une impasse : responsable d’un quart des émissions de CO2 du pays, ses routes sont congestionnée et ses transports publics subis.
Les révolutions technologiques en cours et les changements des attentes des citoyens rendent possible de profonds changements : ceux-ci nous sont directement accessibles.
L’île Maurice peut choisir de devenir une référence de mobilité durable pour le Monde.
Près de 50 professionnels, mauriciens et étrangers, ont débattu dans un « atelier virtuel » les 29 juin et 12 juillet dernier sur la Mobilité durable à l’île Maurice à l’initiative du Centre Charles Telfair.
Les ateliers, animés par Jean-Luc Wilain, consultant en durabilité et directeur de Will Change, Gilles Michel, président du Charles Telfair Campus, et Sid Sharma, PDG de Rose-Hill Transport, se sont déroulés selon la règle de Chatham House, créant un environnement de pleine liberté de parole et de grande qualité d’expression. Ils ont bénéficié d’interventions exclusives de Gunter Pauli, auteur de The Blue Economy, et du Professeur Peter Newman, professeur de durabilité à l’université Curtin et auteur de The End of Automobile Dependence.
Les enjeux de la mobilité à Maurice
La question de la mobilité durable est intimement liée à celle de l’urgence climatique et commentant sur les défis à venir, Jean-Luc Wilain, a souligné que “Les enjeux autour de la mobilité durable sont économiques, sociaux, sanitaires et environnementaux. C’est le moment de repenser sans limite ce que sera notre vie de demain afin d’assurer un avenir durable. À Maurice comme ailleurs, la mobilité durable, qui se tourne vers l’électrique, est une composante importante de la transition énergétique. Il est temps pour tous d’agir et de créer une vision commune et d’avenir comme d’autres l’ont déjà fait ou sont en train de la faire. »
Réagissant aux changements massifs en cours, notamment autour du passage des véhicules à moteur à combustion interne aux véhicules électriques (VE), Gilles Michel a souligné que nous sommes face à une révolution de la même ampleur que celle résultant de l’invention de l’automobile : comme il y a 120 ans les ruptures technologiques en cours transformeront la mobilité, les villes, les économies, et, la société. Ces changements ne sont pas pour demain : ils sont déjà là et pour l’île Maurice la question est de savoir si nous devons les subir ou les anticiper afin d’en faire des opportunités”.
Le Constat
En gardant ce contexte à l’esprit, les discussions entre les participants ont mis en évidence trois tendances clés et des pistes à suivre pour l’île Maurice:
A Maurice, les transports représentent 26% des émissions de CO2 et au niveau mondial, en moyenne, 74,5% des émissions des transports proviennent des véhicules sur routes. L’augmentation du nombre de voitures individuelles à Maurice est donc un défi majeur pour les objectifs environnementaux de l’île.
Les aspirations à la mobilité qui accompagnent la croissance des revenus s’orientent massivement vers la voiture individuelle à Maurice. A cela s’ajoute les inconvénients traditionnellement attribués aux transports alternatifs en termes de qualité, fiabilité, confort, et efficacité. Chez nous comme ailleurs il sera difficile de modifier les comportements sans une modification profonde de l’offre de mobilité. A Maurice comme ailleurs il sera donc difficile de modifier les comportements sans une modification profonde du contexte.
L’offre de transport public mauricienne est fractionnée (multiples fournisseurs et peu de coordination) et fortement régulée (par les prix, par les barrières réglementaires). Leur utilisation est plus subie que choisie, ce qui est un obstacle majeur à tout changement vers un mobilité durable.
D’énormes bouleversements sont en cours qui révolutionnent la mobilité, de sorte que la transition vers des systèmes de mobilité durable n’est plus un choix mais s’imposera à tous. Poussés par les nouvelles réglementations les véhicules à moteur à combustion interne vont disparaître à horizon proche (2035) dans la plupart du monde. Rendus possibles par les évolutions technologiques les véhicules électriques s’imposent comme une alternative crédible et accessible. Les options de mobilité douce (vélos, tricycles, téléphériques, métro, zones piétonnes) et la planification urbaine intégrée façonnent déjà les villes du monde entier. Pourtant, les parties prenantes sont peu conscientes de l’ampleur de ces changements et de l’urgence pour l’île Maurice à les intégrer dès à présent.
Les pistes à suivre
Vision et Leadership : parce qu’elle s’inscrit dans un horizon de moyen terme et parce qu’il s’agit de transformations en profondeur de la société, la transition vers une mobilité durable nécessitera un leadership affirmé de la part des autorités publiques et de celle du secteur privé : les consommateurs ne modifieront leurs comportements que si on les convainc qu’un changement de comportement est pertinent et inéluctable.
Approche globale, coordonnée et concertée : Tous les exemples montrent que c’est par une approche globale, coordonnée et concertée de la planification urbaine d’une part et en favorisant activement l’émergence d’offres globales et alternatives de mobilité d’autre part (tarification, applications digitales, tarifs, voies de circulation, parking etc.) que les changements deviennent attractifs et donc crédibles. Il convient donc d’organiser les adaptations institutionnelles et de régulation nécessaires. Les espaces urbains peuvent être repensés afin d’éviter les espaces à fonction unique, qui tendent à encourager l’utilisation de la voiture, pour encourager le développement d’espaces multifonctionnels (par exemple la ville du quart d’heure).
Bascule vers les véhicules électriques : Les voitures électriques représenteront rapidement la majorité de l’offre automobile avant de devenir exclusifs d’ici une décennie. Si elles n’apportent pas de solution en tant que telles aux défis de l’engorgement des routes, elles sont porteuses d’une efficacité énergétique meilleure, d’une suppression de la pollution atmosphérique locale, d’une réduction des nuisances sonores, et de coûts d’entretien réduits. Elles permettent par ailleurs de très intéressantes possibilités d’optimisation de l’usage du réseau d’électricité dès lors que la règlementation s’y prête. De plus la taille de l’île Maurice fait que la question des bornes de recharge peut être essentiellement traitée à domicile ou au travail. L’opportunité est donc importante et il est possible à Maurice de s’y engager massivement ; pour cela les questions règlementaires, fiscales, mais aussi techniques (ex. réutilisation des batteries) doivent être traitées globalement.
Parking avec station de recharge pour véhicule éléctrique – Photo Bob Osias/Unsplash
Offres alternatives de mobilités : Les congestions routières sont coûteuses et fort inefficaces. Leur réduction est souhaitable mais elle ne peut procéder de la seule construction de toujours plus d’infrastructures, qui ne réduisent pas les embouteillages mais augmentent les déplacements. La solution passe par la décision des consommateurs de ré-orienter leurs déplacements vers des mobilités alternatives comme les transports publics, le covoiturage et la micromobilité. Cela suppose qu’elles existent, et qu’elles soient attractives avec le développement d’offres connectées et intégrées, des espaces urbains réorganisés, des incitations économiques ou encore une règlementation contraignante.
Les solutions existent : De nombreuses solutions et une grande variété d’outils de politique publique ont été évoqués au cours de l’atelier : mise en place de zones piétonnes, pistes cyclables, places de stationnement pour les cyclistes, voies prioritaires pour les bus/taxi/VE ou de parkings avec des points de recharge solaire ; règlementation de la circulation urbaine y compris avec péage ou horaires d’exclusion ; généralisation ou obligation de bus ou taxis électriques (avec modification du système de subventions) ; nouveaux mode de transport comme le tramway sans rail ; micro-mobilité, mobilité partagée, applications de service de mobilité intégrée (MAAS), etc. Les outils et les solutions existent, la diffusion de la technologie et la numérisation les rendent accessibles à tous, et les attentes des citoyens changent : ce dont il s’agit désormais à Maurice est de faire des choix, d’établir des priorités et de les mettre en œuvre.
Sid Sharma a conclu l’atelier en nous rappelant qu’ “en tant que pays, la plus grande opportunité pour nous est d’être un modèle pour le monde en matière de mobilité durable. La conversation sur la mobilité durable ne s’arrête pas aujourd’hui, ce n’est que le début d’une aventure…”.
______________________________________
Un format efficace
Pour Myriam Blin, directrice du Charles Telfair Centre, l’organisation de cet Atelier répondait à deux objectifs majeurs :
” Tout d’abord, dans un domaine en rapide mutation dans le monde, et dont l’impact sur l’environnement est évidemment majeur, nous voulions établir un constat sur de la nécessité et l’urgence de changements à l’échelle de Maurice afin d’explorer la manière dont potentiellement les mettre en œuvre et en faire des opportunités pour le pays.
Mais nous avions aussi un objectif de méthode, consistant à démontrer qu’il est possible et fructueux de réunir dans une même salle virtuelle des personnes aux perspectives diverses (et parfois aux intérêts divergents), issues de différents secteurs, qui ne se seraient peut-être pas rencontrées autrement, pour leur offrir un espace sûr où parler, échanger et exprimer leurs opinions réfléchies. Telle est en effet une mission du Charles Telfair Centre, convaincu que c’est à travers la confrontation de perspectives diverses et le partage de connaissances variées que se créent les conditions pour le progrès et l’amélioration de notre société.
Le format choisi pour ces ateliers, avec un temps limité consacré aux présentations pour maximiser les temps d’échange, a été très efficace. Le niveau et la qualité des interventions ont dépassé nos attentes et nous disposons de nombreuses pistes à analyser pour une communication ultérieure sur le sujet.”
Charles Telfair Centre is an independent nonpartisan not for profit organisation and does not take specific positions. All views, positions, and conclusions expressed in our publications are solely those of the author(s).
Tom Brookes, Executive Director of Strategic Communications at the European Climate Foundation
Gernot Wagner, Clinical Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at New York University
BRUSSELS/NEW YORK – Nowhere are the limitations of neoclassical economic thinking – the DNA of economics as it is currently taught and practiced – more apparent than in the face of the climate crisis. While there are fresh ideas and models emerging, the old orthodoxy remains deeply entrenched. Change cannot come fast enough.
The economics discipline has failed to understand the climate crisis – let alone provide effective policy solutions for it – because most economists tend to divide problems into small, manageable pieces. Rational people, they are wont to say, think at the margin. What matters is not the average or totality of one’s actions but rather the very next step, weighed against the immediate alternatives.
Such thinking is indeed rational for small discrete problems. Compartmentalization is necessary for managing competing demands on one’s time and attention. But marginal thinking is inadequate for an all-consuming problem touching every aspect of society.
Economists also tend to equate rationality with precision. The discipline’s power over public discourse and policymaking lies in its implicit claim that those who cannot compute precise benefits and costs are somehow irrational. This allows economists – and their models – to ignore pervasive climate risks and uncertainties, including the possibility of climatic tipping points and societal responses to them. And when one considers economists’ fixation with equilibrium models, the mismatch between the climate challenge and the discipline’s current tools becomes too glaring to ignore.
Yes, a return to equilibrium – getting “back to normal” – is an all-too-human preference. But it is precisely the opposite of what is needed – rapidly phasing out fossil fuels – to stabilize the world’s climate.
These limitations are reflected in benefit-cost analyses of cutting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The traditional thinking suggests a go-slow path for cutting CO2. The logic seems compelling: the cost of damage caused by climate change, after all, is incurred in the future, while the costs of climate action occur today. The Nobel prize-winning verdict is that we should delay necessary investment in a low-carbon economy to avoid hurting the current high-carbon economy.
To be clear, a lot of new thinking has gone into showing that even this conventional logic would call for significantly more climate action now, because the costs are often overestimated while the potential (even if uncertain) benefits are underestimated. The young researchers advancing this work must walk a near-impossible tightrope, because they cannot publish what they believe to be their best work (based on the most defensible assumptions) without invoking the outmoded neoclassical model to demonstrate the validity of new ideas.
The very structure of academic economics all but guarantees that marginal thinking continues to dominate. The most effective way to introduce new ideas into the peer-reviewed academic literature is to follow something akin to an 80/20-rule: stick to the established script for the most part; but try to push the envelope by probing one dubious assumption at a time. Needless to say, this makes it extremely difficult to change the overall frame of reference, even when those who helped establish the standard view are looking well beyond it themselves.
Consider the case of Kenneth J. Arrow, who shared a Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1972 for showing how marginal actions taken by self-interested individuals can improve societal welfare. That pioneering work cemented economists’ equilibrium thinking. But Arrow lived for another 45 years, and he spent that time moving past his earlier work. In the 1980s, for example, he was instrumental in founding the Santa Fe Institute, which is dedicated to what has since become known as complexity science – an attempt to move beyond the equilibrium mindset he had helped establish.
Because equilibrium thinking underpins the traditional climate-economic models that were developed in the 1990s, these models assume that there are tradeoffs between climate action and economic growth. They imagine a world where the economy simply glides along a Panglossian path of progress. Climate policy might still be worthwhile, but only if we are willing to accept costs that will throw the economy off its chosen path.
Against the backdrop of this traditional view, recent pronouncements by the International Monetary Fund and the International Energy Agency are nothing short of revolutionary. Both institutions have now concluded that ambitious climate action leads to higher growth and more jobs even in the near term.
The logic is straightforward: climate policies create many more jobs in clean-energy sectors than are lost in fossil-fuel sectors, reminding us that investment is the flipside of cost. That is why the proposal for a $2 trillion infrastructure package in the United States could be expected to spur higher net economic activity and employment. Perhaps more surprising is the finding that carbon pricing alone appears to reduce emissions without hurting jobs or overall economic growth. The problem with carbon taxes or emissions trading is that real-world policies are not reducing emissions fast enough and therefore will need to be buttressed by regulation.
There is no excuse for continuing to adhere to an intellectual paradigm that has served us so badly for so long. The standard models have been used to reject policies that would have helped turn the tide many years ago, back when the climate crisis still could have been addressed with marginal changes to the existing economic system. Now, we no longer have the luxury of being able to settle for incremental change.
The good news is that rapid change is happening on the political front, owing not least to the shrinking cost of climate action. The bad news is that the framework of neoclassical economics is still blocking progress. The discipline is long overdue for its own tipping point toward new modes of thinking commensurate with the climate challenge.
Charles Telfair Centre is an independent nonpartisan not for profit organisation and does not take specific positions. All views, positions, and conclusions expressed in our publications are solely those of the author(s).
La légalisation du cannabis à l’Ile Maurice pourrait accroître la diversification, stimuler la croissance et aider à traiter sérieusement des maladies chroniques. La résistance locale persistera vraisemblablement – mais les retombées économiques que promet la légalisation et donc la commercialisation sont bien palpables. L’on ne saurait l’ignorer pour longtemps encore. En effet, les marchés sont tournés vers le futur et les bonnes graines de l’investissement donne toujours naissance à une industrie florissante.
Le Cannabis: une industrie florissante
Cet article propose d’explorer le potentiel de ce produit pour des secteurs clés de l’économie mauricienne, en abordant succinctement tour à tour, l’industrie mondiale, l’évolution résolument nécessaire des différents secteurs de notre économie ainsi que les défis liés à l’établissement d’un marché réglementer, innovant et porteur de croissance.
« Ce n’est pas la plus forte des espèces qui survivent, ni la plus intelligente, mais celle qui réagit le mieux au changement… » Charles Darwin
Au niveau mondial, le soutien à une réforme pragmatique a franchi le point de basculement dans le courant dominant de l’opinion publique et politique. L’industrie du cannabis impactera pratiquement tous les secteurs de la consommation.
Le cannabis en tant qu’industrie devrait atteindre les 166 milliards USD en 2025 en termes de vente mondiale. Dans la plus grande économie du monde, la plante devrait contribuer environ 80 milliards de dollars d’ici 2030. L’industrie canadienne du cannabis a représenté 14,256 milliards de dollars au produit intérieur brut du pays en décembre 2020 selon les derniers chiffres publiés par Statistique Canada. Ce marché devrait se développer à un taux de croissance annuel moyen de 26,7 % entre 2021 et 2028.
Le marché européen du cannabis devrait connaître un taux de croissance annuel composé (TCAC) de 67,4 % pour atteindre 3,2 milliards d’euros d’ici 2025, selon un nouveau rapport de Prohibition Partners. Le marché africain du cannabis légal pourrait quant à lui valoir plus de 7,1 milliards de dollars par an d’ici 2023.
Il est aussi à noter que des grandes marques de consommation ont déjà fait des percées dans le « nouvel or ». Des investissements conséquents sont injectés dans cette nouvelle industrie, par des entreprises réputées et bien établies, notamment dans les secteurs de la pharmacie, du tabac, des producteurs de boissons alcoolisées ou de biens de consommation. Par exemple, Constellation Brand, le fabricant des bières Corona, a conclu l’accord le plus conséquent à ce jour dans l’industrie après avoir investi pas moins de 4 milliards de dollars dans Canopy dans le cadre de son objectif de développement de boissons infusées au cannabis. La multinationale de la bière et fabricant de Budweiser, Anheuser-Busch In Bev (le plus grand producteur de bière au monde) a conclu un partenariat avec Tilray en décembre 2018. Les deux entreprises investiront jusqu’à 50 millions de dollars pour faire des recherches sur les boissons non alcoolisées contenant du THC et du CBD au Canada. Tilray a signé un partenariat mondial avec une division du géant pharmaceutique suisse Novartis AG pour développer et distribuer sa marijuana médicale dans les juridictions légales du monde entier. Au cours des cinq prochaines années, les revenus générés par le marché du cannabis médical aux États-Unis devraient presque doubler, passant de 8,5 milliards de dollars en 2020 à un peu plus de 16 milliards de dollars en 2025. Les deux géants que sont Pepsi et Coca-Cola surveillent de près l’évolution de ce marché pour le moment.
Sur le continent africain, quelques-uns de nos voisins accueillent déjà les investisseurs internationaux, à l’instar du Lesotho, le Malawi et L’Afrique du Sud. D’autres pays comme la Zambie, le Zimbabwe, le Swaziland, l’Ouganda, et le Ghana se préparent pour ouvrir l’investissement dans ce nouveau secteur de l’économie.
Le gouvernement mauricien a déjà pris acte de l’évolution de ce marché avec le comité technique récemment créé par le ministère de la Santé et du Bien-être pour évaluer et faire des recommandations sur l’utilisation du cannabis médical. Le potentiel du secteur cannabis est déjà en pleine exploration au niveau mondial. L’ile Maurice doit se préparer dès maintenant à façonner de manière efficace les industries du cannabis médical, cosmétiques, récréatif et du chanvre industriel qu’on souhaiterait pour l’avenir afin d’éviter d’avoir à courir sur le quai derrière le train.
Tout commence par un cadre réglementaire robuste et proactif
Un secteur prospère de toute économie a besoin d’une base robuste, juste et équitable. Ainsi, l’élaboration des politiques publiques reste fondamentale. La bonne nouvelle est que nous n’avons pas besoin de réinventer la roue. Sur le plan international, plusieurs législations sur le cannabis médical et récréatif existent maintenant depuis plus de quelques décennies. Elles ont été généralement testées, modifiées et enrichies. Des modèles commerciaux, opérationnels et de chaîne d’approvisionnement réels et rentables fonctionnent déjà. Nous avons simplement besoin de ‘leap frog’, et cela intelligemment. Ne pas inventer mais plutôt se réinventer.
Une approche globale concernant le cannabis et les produits dérivés du cannabis est de traiter ces produits comme tous les autres. De ce fait, le cadre législatif existant en ce qui concerne d’autres produits pourrait facilement encadrer le cannabis afin de protéger les patients du cannabis médical, d’assurer un contrôle de la qualité des produits, protéger la santé publique et ainsi favoriser la confiance des consommateurs.
En ce qui concerne l’élaboration d’une loi sur le cannabis contrôlant, réglementant, autorisant la production, la recherche et le développement – le pays a déjà en place des lois mais aussi des instituts de recherche pour la canne à sucre et d’autres cultures. Par ailleurs, des modifications au ‘Dangerous Drug Act 2000’ seront requises et accessoirement à d’autres lois afin de constituer le cadre règlementaire du cannabis. Le Consumer Protection Act pourrait également contenir des dispositions quant à la commercialisation (y compris la publicité intérieure / extérieure, l’emballage, etc.) et la distribution du cannabis. Les nouveaux produits comestibles à base de cannabis sont susceptibles de représenter un énorme bassin de consommateurs étant donné que le marché des non-fumeurs doublera vraisemblablement – les chiffres au Canada témoignent l’ingestion des produits comestibles post légalisation tant bien chez les femmes que les hommes. Aussi, selon un rapport de Deloitte, cette légalisation devrait attirer de plus en plus de consommateurs autres que ceux ayant déjà eu recours au marché parallèle, y compris parmi une population considérée plus « conservatrice » vis-à-vis de son usage.
En sus des modifications apportées aux réglementations relatives à l’alimentation et à la sécurité, d’autres modifications dans le secteur des soins de santé et des services bancaires / financiers seront essentielles. Par ailleurs, l’ingéniosité fiscale sera cruciale dans la mesure où l’imposition fiscale des bénéfices et la taxe sur la valeur ajoutée devront s’adapter afin de ne pas rendre le prix de revente trop élevé ce qui aurait pour effet de conserver/alimenter un marché parallèle illicite.
La réinvention de notre destination touristique et gastronomique
La concurrence mondiale entre les destinations touristiques devient de plus en plus accrue et la destination “Ile Maurice” doit se remettre constamment en question et être disposée à s’adapter à l’évolution des marchés.
Le cannabis a le potentiel de réinventer complètement nos industries du tourisme médical et récréatif. Avec l’émergence de la Canna gastronomie à l’échelle Michelin dans le monde, nous avons l’opportunité de valoriser notre gastronomie locale mais aussi ses chaînes d’approvisionnement. Le tourisme du cannabis devrait pouvoir profiter à la fois des souches mauriciennes locales mais aussi, pourquoi pas des variétés de renommée internationale (et donc de la réglementation des exportations et des importations, y compris les droits d’accise – étendue aux produits comestibles) et cela devrait être couplé par une stratégie « payante » d’événements et de divertissement – un autre secteur sous-jacent potentiellement porteur, qui sera booster par cette réinvention socio-économique.
Compte tenu de la récente légalisation du cannabis récréatif il n’y a pas de réponse claire lorsqu’il s’agit de tracer la voie à suivre. Néanmoins, une comparaison peut être faite avec des produits similaires, tels que les circuits des vignobles en France ou Amsterdam pour sa fameuse bière Heineken. Localement, l’industrie touristique pourrait adapter certains de ces paramètres et proposer d’autres expériences telle que : restaurants proposant des menus infusés au cannabis, café et boulangeries proposant des comestibles infusés au cannabis, Spas au cannabis et chambres d’hôtels ‘cannabis friendly”.
Sucre bas et cannabis élevé pour notre agriculture en déclin
Globalement, et plus particulièrement dans les pays d’exportations de notre sucre, il existe une inclinaison structurelle vers les alternatives au sucre et une prise de conscience de l’effet préjudiciable d’une surconsommation de sucre. Même au niveau local, les autorités ont une taxe sur les produits sucrés caloriques, pour tenter d’en infléchir la consommation.
La tendance culturelle et commerciale est préoccupante pour le secteur agricole de base du pays. Il ne s’agit pas de remplacer toute la canne à sucre par du chanvre. En effet, les progrès de la génétique agricole, y compris la culture, permettent désormais de cultiver plus efficacement la plante du Cannabis à plus haut rendement, avec l’utilisation de la culture hydroponique et de la haute technologie. Le monde développé a déjà vu l’émergence de nouveaux canna-entrepreneurs agricoles mais aussi dans les domaines de la santé, des consommables, financiers, et du détail. Ce nouveau secteur, nous démontre sur une base empirique, qu’il peut être créateur de richesse et d’emploi. A titre d’exemple, le secteur du cannabis de Washington a contribué à hauteur de 1,85 milliard de dollars au produit brut de l’État et a soutenu directement et indirectement près de 18,700 emplois équivalents temps plein. Une ile Maurice plus verte a besoin d’une agriculture plus intelligente et rentable, pas moins.
La souche mauricienne et le secteur manufacturier
Le marché d’exportation d’une “variété de chanvre mauricien” a du potentiel. Une stratégie adaptée pourrait voir des personnes aux États-Unis, au Canada, en Europe, en Afrique ou en Asie goûter ou apprécier la «variété mauricienne». Pour assurer une compétitivité durable, il faudra assurer la consistance de sa qualité et de son rendement. Il sera donc essentiel de réglementer la ‘qualité’ de la « souche mauricienne ».
Un système d’appellation d’origine permettrait d’asseoir cette compétitivité. La demande inhérente de diverses variétés « locales » au niveau mondial pourrait devenir en elle-même un marché digne d’intérêt, car les nuances des différentes variétés, tout comme le bon vin, appartiennent au sol et à l’écosystème dans lesquels il est cultivé et a muté au fil du temps.
Le potentiel du chanvre pour la résurgence du secteur manufacturier mauricien est triple :
Le textile de chanvre existe depuis des siècles et gagne à nouveau en importance. Le secteur textile existant pourrait l’exploiter. En effet, on peut constater que l’industrie chinoise du chanvre avance déjà à un rythme accéléré.
Le cannabis médical permettrait au pays d’attirer des investissements dans une industrie pharmacologique naissante.
Ces potentiels de développement multisectoriel pour le chanvre et les flux qui pourraient en résulter pourront également aider à resserrer les doubles écarts de nos déficit jumeaux (compte courant et fiscale) ; à la fois d’un point de vue qualitatif mais aussi nominal.
C’est ainsi que notre stratégie budgétaire repousse Moody’s
Compte tenu du ralentissement économique actuel, à moins d’heurter la valeur de notre monnaie par le biais de son impression incontrôlée, la marge de manœuvre de l’exécutif est extrêmement mince. Ainsi, une réinvention de notre économie menée par le cannabis médicale et récréatif a le potentiel de resserrer nos déficits budgétaire et courant grâce à une base de revenus budgétaires directe et indirecte (effet multiplicateur) raisonnablement plus durable. Un supplément de 10% des recettes fiscales, pour commencer, est déjà une perspective extrêmement positive. Tout commence toujours avec le premier 1%, le premier pas !
Recettes Fiscales du gouvernment – Maurice 2015/16-2019/20
Ile Maurice, bienvenue au 21e siècle.
Des mesures audacieuses sont parfois nécessaires dans les moments difficiles. Alors que l’ile Maurice est confrontée à de nombreuses tempêtes géopolitiques, fiscales et socio-économiques, il semble opportun d’utiliser la crise comme une opportunité pour réinventer son économie vers une prospérité durable pour les générations futures.
« Je patine là où la rondelle ira, non vers où elle se trouvait. » Wayne Gretzky.
Charles Telfair Centre is an independent nonpartisan not for profit organisation and does not take specific positions. All views, positions, and conclusions expressed in our publications are solely those of the author(s).
This article argues that more empirical investigations on the effect of aggregate economic shocks on household investments in boy and girl child human capital development in the SSA context is needed. This data can help to prioritize disaster responses that mitigate gender biases and, in turn, alleviate gender inequality in human capital development in SSA.
Aggregate Shocks and Household Investment in Human Capital
Gender is an important sociocultural element that may mediate individual resource allocations within a household and, thus, may dictate who bears the burden of aggregate economic shocks among boys and girls. Societal gender roles have a substantial effect on shaping parents’ expectations of costs and returns on human capital investments within the household. While households in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) display a preference for variety (equal number of sons and daughters) or no preference at all when it comes to fertility patterns, this does not mean the absence of inequality when it comes to attitudes towards gender roles.
The origins of societal gender roles are linked to the form of livelihood activities practiced in a society. Present-day societies that practice traditional plow agriculture have gender norms that persistently discriminate against women’s participation in workplaces, politics, and entrepreneurial activities. In these societies, the prevailing discriminatory gender norms give women subordinate status in the community. This may compel parents to perceive girls’ labor as having a lower rate of return and, consequently, prioritize boys when investing in human capital.
For example, perceived returns on girls’ education, which influence child human capital investment decisions, are lower than actual returns in the Dominican Republic. Despite the lack of concrete empirical proof in the context of SSA where the majority of households are illiterate and less-informed, and the prevailing gender norms discriminate against women, the gender gap in education may indicate that parents substantially underestimate the returns to their investment in human capital of female children. As such, households may underestimate the costs of gender bias and continue to assign lower values to female children’s education and their economic contributions to the household.
The livelihood of the majority households in SSA depends mainly on physically intensive productive activities rather than on mental tasks, disfavouring girls’ and women’s comparative advantage and unrecognizing their contribution. In this context, when rural households experience negative income shocks, they may divert their human capital investment spending away from female children. In the eyes of parents, reducing their investment in human capital for girls is a lower opportunity cost of labour than reducing investments in boys. Consequently, during shock periods, female children receive lower household investments in terms of nutrition and use of medical services and are more likely to have poor health status. Ill health adversely affects schooling, hence, further widening the gender gap in education.
This has far reaching repercussions because it generates a feminized poverty trap. Households in a society with discriminatory gender norms see less value in investing in the human capital of female children because the assumption is that women are only capable of handling low value tasks inside the household. Ultimately, girls with low human capital become women with reduced earnings potential and low socioeconomic status, which limits their capacity to financially support their parents. This completes the vicious cycle, perpetuating parents’ gender bias by discouraging them from investing household resources in the human capital of girls. Therefore, where prevailing gender norms assume women’s roles are limited to unremunerated domestic and reproductive tasks, the income effect of aggregate economic shocks reinforces gender inequality because households feel compelled to invest less in a female child’s human capital.
Thus, laying out the interplay between household and social behaviour helps policy makers, development practitioners, academicians, and private businesses to understand why parents prioritize the health and physical well-being of boys, particularly in agrarian societies.
Is There a Way Forward?
In sum, in the face of aggregate economic shocks, pre-existing gender biases cause household human capital investment decisions to be based on the sex of the child, typically to the detriment of girls. How to escape the perpetual cycle of girls being undervalued and disfavoured when it comes to household investment in health and education? Seema Jayachandran (2015) posited that “the cultural institutions favouring males might themselves fade naturally with economic modernization, enabling gender gaps to close,” but follows this up by pointing out “there is also scope for policy makers to expedite the process” (p. 84). An important place to start is with an empirical investigation on the effect of aggregate economic shocks on household investments in child human capital conditional on gender in the SSA context. This will have valuable policy implications, helping prioritize those disaster responses that intend to mitigate gender biases and, in turn, alleviate gender inequality in human capital development in SSA.
The Charles Telfair Centre is non-profit, independent and non-partisan, and takes no specific position. All opinions are those of the authors/contributors only.
Dr Brinda Ramasawmy,Senior Lecturer in Agricultural Economics and Management at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius
Dr Hudaa Neetoo,Senior Lecturer in Microbiology and Food Safety at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Mauritius
In this article, Brinda Ramasawmy and Hudaa Neetoo present a research project aimed at developing a food solution addressing contemporary malnutrition trends in Mauritius. Their research sought to bring theory into practice beyond the prime objective of food product research and development. The project encompassed 1) the commercialisation of the product, 2) wider community impact trough a nutrition sensitisation campaign and 3) the development of a Food Innovation Laboratory to support entrepreneurial research within the University. For the authors, their project is evidence that universities can, and, need to wield a greater role in supporting research with turnkey solutions that have a direct relevance for the local community.
an ageing population with decreasing productive labour;
high vulnerability to external economic shocks and natural disasters (cyclones, flash floods, droughts etc.);
dependence on limited number of economic pillars; and
distance from regional and international markets.
SIDS are also plagued by the triple burden of malnutrition – undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and overweight and obesity. Although there has been a fall in undernutrition for the past three decades, obesity has increased sharply with about one-third of obese adults in the Caribbean countries and over 40% in many of the AIMS nations (Africa, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea) and is prominent among women.
The nutrition transition in Mauritius
Mauritius, a nation belonging to the AIMS group of SIDS, has been undergoing a nutrition transition that started about 25 years ago. This has led to a concomitant shift in consumption from low caloric, nutrient-rich foods to energy-dense products which are devoid of nutrients, often referred to as “empty calories”. Hence consumers have slowly moved away from traditional foods which have been consumed by previous generations. This phenomenon has been compounded by trade liberalisation policies which have led to the introduction of an array of imported highly refined and processed food products that are high in sugar, salt and fats, resulting in an upward trend in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and most specifically diabetes.
Moreover, with the change in lifestyle and more disposable income, consumers across age groups (children, teenagers, and adults) are increasingly making unhealthy food choices, directly contributing to a rise of diet-related NCDs. Indeed, evidence suggests that a rise in income leads to consumers spending more on food items high in sugar, animal and vegetable fats and less on complex carbohydrates. This nutrition transition from traditional foods to a Westernised diet takes a toll on health care costs for the country resulting in an additional stress on the governmental budget.
Food insecurity & COVID-19
The unprecedented occurrence of the covid-19 pandemic and lockdown measures adopted by the Mauritian government also had an impact on the food security of a number of households. According to a telephone survey carried out by Statistics Mauritius, the country’s national statistical agency, from May to July 2020, households reduced their food consumption (27% in May to almost 40% in July 2020) due to a decrease in their monthly income. In September 2020, 80% of households were facing difficulties to meet their basic expenses and about 4 percent of households had at least one member skipping meals for a whole day as a negative coping strategy [8]. It is therefore reasonable to believe that the pandemic’s impact on the Mauritian economy is widening gaps in the food and nutrition security of its population.
The SmartBite project
One of the current strategies of the World Health Organization (WHO) is the “reformulation of food products to reduce the total fats, free sugars and salt content and to virtually eliminate industrial trans fats from processed foods”. In the face of the growing food and nutrition security problem in Mauritius, a team of researchers from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius (Public University), worked on the formulation of a healthy snack bar made from pulses and other low-cost natural ingredients as a healthier alternative to currently available energy dense snack bars that are imported and highly processed. In addition to having a higher protein and fibre content compared to commercially available counterparts, the SmartBite snack bar is also considerably lower in fat (table 1). The product was developed to respond to all consumer segments requirements including vegetarians and vegans. Various savoury and sweet flavours of the snack bar prototype were subsequently developed by the team. Sensory trials carried out with consumers provided a positive feedback both on the palatability of the prototype and its acceptability as a healthy snack. After optimising the formulation, the prototype was subjected to a series of laboratory tests to ascertain its nutritional profile, safety and shelf-life. Last year, the team got the product registered under the trademark of Smartbite. The team is currently approaching various SMEs involved in cereal production for potential partnership for the commercial uptake and upscaling of the product.
Table 1. Calories and nutritional values per serving of 1 Bar
The Smartbite project, however, has not only been about a product innovation. The project also led to two upcoming important outcomes:
1) a nutrition sensitisation campaign with pulses as sustainable protein alternatives; and
2) the development of a Food Innovation Laboratory for the University of Mauritius.
Promoting food and nutrition security in Mauritius
This project has been a stepping stone to shedding light on other aspects of food and nutrition security in Mauritius. Two years ago, the team decided to investigate the food and nutrition needs of children from vulnerable areas of Mauritius, where pockets of poor communities are concentrated. A major finding that emanated from this survey was that 40% of children aged < 12 years reported often skipping breakfast and 60% of those having a breakfast meal, mentioned not feeling “full” afterwards. The survey additionally indicated that the majority consumed a snack daily and 16% of the children were overweight or obese. These findings clearly point to the need for concentrating more efforts towards alleviating the nutrition security problem in these areas. As such, the project includes a sensitisation campaign, currently underway, to promote the consumption of pulses as a sustainable source of protein.
The role of public universities in supporting translational research
Mainstream research done at public universities, especially in developing countries, often culminate as reports, conference presentations and publications in prestigious journals that eventually stay within the academic community. However, taking science “out of the lab”, through development of healthy food prototypes that have a commercial potential or research with a strong community outreach dimension, is a path that few researchers are willing to take. The Smartbite project is a testament to the fact that public universities in SIDS, in spite of limited research funding, can do translational research (bringing theory to practice) with entrepreneurial or social outcomes.
Funding from the project has also been used to set up a Food Innovation Laboratory (FIL) within the AgriTech Park of University of Mauritius for use by students and researchers for new food product development trials. The FIL, with its training facilities, also purports to act as an incubator space for food businesses wishing to “try out” new prototypes. The idea behind the FIL is to promote research that has an entrepreneurial outcome as well as provide the necessary capacity-building for start-ups and medium food businesses, especially in the area of food safety and agripreneurship. By interfacing with food businesses, the FIL can provide the necessary technical and logistical support and facilitate the penetration of healthier and more sustainable food products on the Mauritian market, all with a positive impact on the local food system. In addition, universities with their important role in knowledge creation as well as diffusion can help in educating local consumers on healthier and wiser food choices.
The Smartbite project is also in line with the vision of the University of Mauritius to contribute towards addressing specific UN SDGs. This project directly speaks to the importance of ensuring responsible and sustainable food production patterns (SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production) and alleviating hunger (SDG-2: Zero Hunger). According to the United Nations, “the world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030”, hence, enhancing more sustainable food production can help alleviate the perils of hunger and nutrient deficiencies locally.
A paradigm shift towards tangible innovations
Taken together, universities need to wield a greater role in supporting research with turnkey solutions that have a direct relevance for the local community. University researchers especially those in science related disciplines need to be sensitised on the fact that there are so many opportunities to apply the results of their research to the immediate and day to day challenges faced by local communities. The paradigm shift from a research publication-centric approach to a community-engagement centric approach can lead to various innovations arising from university-led research work. Hence, public universities should be encouraged to optimise the use of their research infrastructures to produce tangible innovations which, when transformed into marketable products, can become major game changers in the landscape of developing countries as they are focused on solutions to real-life problems faced by local communities.
The Charles Telfair Centre is non-profit, independent and non-partisan, and takes no specific position. All opinions are those of the authors/contributors only.
Lincoln Wilcox, Research Associate at the Clayton Christensen Institute.
BOSTON – Africa is often regarded as a risky place to do business. There are success stories, like Safaricom, Flutterwave, and Kobo360. But investors tend to view them as anomalies: the fact that they are thriving, despite pervasive poverty, political instability, and widespread corruption, is a matter of luck, not proof that Africa is a “safe” investment destination.
These perceptions explain why, though Africa is home to 17% of the world’s population, its innovators received just 4.4% of global foreign direct investment in 2020. Unless they change, Africa will continue to suffer – and investors will miss lucrative opportunities.
It is true that the African business environment is challenging. But that is true of all low- and middle-income countries, including the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century. When Henry Ford proposed his Model T – an affordable car for the masses – many of his investors balked. The US lacked the necessary infrastructure, including paved roads, gas stations, and repair shops. And the average American couldn’t afford a car, anyway.
The investors who pulled out of Ford’s project probably lived to regret it. Ford didn’t simply manage to overcome the obstacles they had cited; he leveraged them to his advantage. Instead of fighting for a share of an existing market, he created a new one out of consumers who hadn’t traditionally purchased cars. And he generated countless jobs in the process.
Market-creating innovations like the Model T thus create prosperity for both the organizations behind them and the societies in which they are launched. Because they democratize access to previously exclusive products, investors, entrepreneurs, and consumers all have an interest in their success.
Africa today is rife with opportunities for market-creating innovations. The question is whether seizing them requires betting on luck, as investors seem to assume, or on strategies that can reliably enable companies to avoid the pitfalls of the operating environment. Our research points to the latter.
We studied 100 market-creating organizations (39 African), and found remarkable similarities in their strategies. A core challenge is figuring out how to serve populations that historically haven’t been able to purchase certain products. Every organization we studied overcame that challenge by identifying traditional barriers to consumption – such as cost, inconvenience, or complexity – and actively dismantling them.
In every case, success depended on a willingness to defy convention. Innovative business models accompanied innovative products, with companies devising targeted strategies that enabled them to meet their customers’ needs and keep their own costs down, thereby clearing a path toward profitability.
Copia, a Kenyan e-commerce start-up, is a case in point. Copia’s founders recognized that rural populations in their country were often unable to purchase even basic goods, because supermarkets were too far away and the products they sold were often too expensive. Rural consumers didn’t have the time or money to spare.
So, Copia created a business model tailored to consumers’ specific needs: it purchases supplies directly from manufacturers and distributes them through a network of agents based in rural areas, such as hairdressers or tailors. To avoid tying up money in inventory, Copia purchases only what consumers have preordered via their local agent. Transactions take place through mobile money platforms. All of this enables Copia to keep prices low and turn a profit.
To make its business model work, Copia had to take on tasks that conventional supermarkets do not, such as finding and training local agents, navigating poorly developed infrastructure, and advertising via radio. But, just like Ford, its reward is the creation of a new market with no real competition. “There are a number of great e-commerce businesses, but their focus is on the urban, salaried consumer,” CEO Tim Steel said in a recent interview. “Our focus is, and will always be, the underserved low-to-middle-income consumer. We want to make sure our model works for them.”
Another commonality among market-creating companies is their willingness to take responsibility for gaps in infrastructure that might hinder their ability to reach new consumers. In fact, 87% of the organizations in low-income countries we studied integrated tasks that might ordinarily be undertaken by other companies or the government.
Metro African Express, a Nigerian ride-hailing company that uses motorcycles, actually turned infrastructure gaps into a competitive advantage, as co-founder Adetayo Bamiduro put it. Unlike conventional ride-hailing companies, MAX had to create a powerful support system, in order to secure enough drivers.
For starters, MAX created a system for drivers to become licensed. Moreover, by using its own transaction data to build credit histories for its drivers, and creating a network of credit providers, MAX helps its drivers to access financial services – which in turn can enable them to purchase their own motorbikes.
Yes, being the first to arrive in an untapped market of middle-class consumers would be a great way for a business to make a lot of money. But, as countless firms have shown, it is hardly the only way. By developing innovative business models – which dismantle or surmount barriers to consumption and integrate unconventional activities – companies can meet customers where they are and create lucrative markets.
The narrative about doing business in Africa needs to be revised. Given the myriad products and services that remain unattainable, opportunities for market-creating innovation abound. Africa’s innovators are working hard to seize those opportunities. Investors would do well to support them.
The Charles Telfair Centre is non-profit, independent and non-partisan, and takes no specific position. All opinions are those of the authors/contributors only.
In this article, Greg Duggan, Josheena Naggea and Catherine Ward present the first stage of a project to unlock the potential of artisanal fishery in Mauritius through the integration of three technologies that have the potential to improve the value chain, increase safety at sea and improve traceability. Through a participatory and co-design approach to the project, the authors show the potential of these technologies in supporting the often marginalised artisanal fishing communities as well as encouraging sustainability by focusing on the health and resilience of local social-ecological systems.
A Fishy Conundrum
For many communities along the Mauritian coastline, artisanal fishing forms an integral part of local livelihoods and culture. The Mauritian artisanal fishery is the primary source of fresh fish supplied to the local market and also provides employment within coastal regions, contributing to food security and poverty reduction [1].
Artisanal fishers, who fish within or near lagoon areas, come from mostly marginalised communities at the forefront of climate change, threatened by coastal erosion, rising sea-levels and cyclones. Further, coastal habitats of Mauritius, such as lagoons and coral reefs, have increasingly degraded in recent decades due to human activities associated with overfishing, agricultural run-off and urban pollution. The production of the artisanal fishery has therefore steadily decreased over the last decade, despite an increase in total fish consumption in Mauritius.
This fragile artisanal fishery is heavily impacted by the persisting outbreak of COVID-19 since early 2020, which has paralysed the tourism industry (further diminishing market and employment opportunities for artisanal fishers) and reduced the spending power of local consumers (decreasing the customer base of artisanal fishers). The impact of the catastrophic 2020 Wakashio oil spill has added more stressors on affected coastal communities in the south-east of Mauritius – resulting in environmental devastation, livelihood loss for artisanal fishers, and serious health implications from the 1000 tonnes of oil that leaked into local lagoons.
In the past, the Mauritian government has responded to the plight of the artisanal fishery by introducing compensation schemes for bad weather days or encouraging alternative livelihoods such as off-lagoon fishing and aquaculture. However, these measures have historically faced implementation challenges, with missed opportunities to engage with the rich artisanal fishery heritage of the island. Only registered artisanal fishers benefit from government schemes, such as compensation measures rolled out during sea closures due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and the subsequent oil spill in 2020. However, there is also a largely unrecognised informal sector within the artisanal fishery – revolving around subsistence activities involving women, who remain marginalised with limited opportunity to be officially registered.
Exploring Opportunities in a Sea of Challenges
The potential of artisanal fisheries can be unlocked through tapping into local markets that support artisanal livelihoods and sustainable fishing practices. To explore challenges and opportunities within this sector, Market Evolution for Small-scale Fisheries in Africa (MESA) is a collaborative, international discovery phase research project that laid the groundwork for future collaborations with artisanal fishers to enhance their financial inclusion and visibility in the Mauritian seafood sector.
Under Innovate UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Demonstrate Impact in Developing Countries Programme, the MESA Discovery Phase Project was conducted in Mauritius from November 2020 until April 2021. As illustrated below, the concept tested was based on the integration of three existing South African and United Kingdom developed technologies and approaches:
ABALOBI’s Hook to Cook platform, comprising of the Fisher catch and expense logging smartphone application (that allows fishers to digitally log their catches and expenses, and access real time sea state and forecasting data) and digital Marketplace system (that connects fishers directly to markets and consumers);
exactEarth Europe’s exactTrax/exactSeNS satellite data communication and vessel tracking services.
Figure 1: From hook to cook concept designed by ABALOBI and supporting partners.
Selected artisanal fisher communities, fishmongers, and seafood consumers (both private individuals and commercial representatives from the hospitality sector) took part in this project to explore and co-design this integrated digital solution. Market needs were also assessed for both greater sustainability and food and livelihood security. Fisher communities were represented by three artisanal fisher cooperatives from the north, east and south-east of Mauritius. All participants gave their insights into challenges and opportunities in the local seafood market, while giving inputs on how best to design a digital platform that can be used in the Mauritian context. Research was conducted via a series of training sessions for Mauritian research teams, workshops for fisher and consumer participants, virtual platforms for fishmonger participants, and individual meetings with government stakeholders.
Strengthening Value Chains
Key challenges highlighted by participants included limited resources and training available to fishers, difficult market access, and a lack of sufficient cold chain capacity – including a lack of consumer trust in the current cold chain system. The need for improved value chain traceability was emphasized, including the need to build trust and market connections between artisanal fishers, fishmongers, and consumers. The Hook to Cook concept has been very successful in addressing similar concerns in the South African context and is embraced by small-scale fishers and the restaurant market alike, with similar pilot projects successfully underway in Seychelles. The MESA Project demonstrated a strong desire and market readiness for the overall Hook to Cook concept among Mauritian artisanal fishers, fishmongers, and consumers.
ABALOBI’s flagship Fisher smartphone application is very adaptable and can be easily configured to meet the unique requirements of the Mauritian context and language, allowing fishers to keep a record of fish caught and associated expenses (such as fuel, bait and other costs) per trip. Throughout the workshops, Mauritian fishers were enthusiastic about logging their catches and expenses to create a digital record that could potentially give them a way to apply for financial products such as bank loans and government fishing loans. In light of the recent Wakashio oil spill, participants also raised the value of this application in dealing with future oil spills or environmental disasters. As an example of this, fishers suggested they would benefit from logging their catches in the application as this digital record could help prove their work in future claims against oil spills and other environmental disasters.
Enhancing Safety at Sea
Tied to this, fishers voiced a strong desire for improved catch traceability and safety of life at sea – functions provided by the AngelFish device and associated satellite communication and vessel tracking services. Due to the Wakashio oil spill, many fishers have been forced to fish further offshore, placing them at risk of increased exposure to wind and waves. Many of these fishers do not carry satellite devices and have traditionally relied on landmarks to identify their position. Fishing further offshore requires enhanced safety of life at sea and most fishers welcomed the AngelFish device both for its safety at sea component and the associated traceability functions. Fishers were excited by the Fisher smartphone application’s weather forecasting functionality, suggesting that in combination with the AngelFish device, this would greatly improve their planning and safety at sea.
Fishing for Traceability
Both commercial and home consumers highlighted the importance of the story of the fish and fisher, placing value on the Hook to Cook concept. There is a strong desire from consumers to directly access local seafood sourced from a robust, traceable cold chain. ABALOBI’s digital Marketplace platform and associated traceability, cold-chain and quality control protocols can address concerns of customer trust in the cold chain. However, further work will need to be done to overcome stigmas and stereotypes identified by participants. This digital platform also provides opportunities to integrate with cashless payment options (examples may include Juice by Mauritius Commercial Bank or My.t money) as a way for both fishers and customers to track their payments. Importantly, this digital Marketplace can be configured to include fishmongers, given their trusted position in this value chain and intimate knowledge of local fishing communities, purchasing and selling practices, and distribution with associated cold chains.
Minding the Gender Gap
The persistent marginalised status and lack of recognition of women’s roles in this sector remains a significant challenge. While fishing activities have become more accessible to women over time, most of their activities remain limited to maintaining fishing equipment, cleaning, sales (and associated logistics) and/or gleaning (i.e., the collection of shellfish) – largely for subsistence purposes. Women fishers are therefore not properly remunerated, and their work remains informal and unrecognised. Further research is required on how best to tailor these digital platforms to address their unique position and needs in the fishery.
Changing with the Tides
Within the Republic of Mauritius, fisheries is considered a priority sector as it provides an important source of income and nutrition – given their pivotal role in food security and livelihood creation, artisanal fishers should not be excluded from this important sector. Reimagining the artisanal fishery in Mauritius from the fish in the sea to the fish on your plate (and everything in between) is possible, as unequivocally demonstrated through the MESA Project. Using participatory and co-design approaches was vital for the MESA Project to encourage future buy-in from fishers, fishmongers and consumers as stakeholders should form an integral part of the creation process from the beginning. Gaining insights into challenges and opportunities from a diverse range of participants ensures that the digital applications and platforms can be configured to fit the local context. The Hook to Cook concept, supported by these digital applications/platforms and their accompanying traceability technologies, can offer elegant, locally relevant solutions to the dwindling artisanal fishery of Mauritius. This initiative is an important step towards encouraging sustainability by focusing on the health and resilience of local social-ecological systems, rather than exploiting far-away resources at the expense of local livelihoods.
Acknowledgements:
The authors would like to give special thanks to the participating fishing communities for giving their invaluable contributions to this research. We would also like to deeply thank all the other participants for their time and important contributions. The authors would like to express their deep appreciation to the supporting Mauritian research partners, with special thanks to Patrick Fortuno, Vishnu Soondron, Michael Didier and Ali Haydar (through the Fédération des Pêcheurs Artisans de l’Océan Indien); Karen Woomed-Petit (SoCha Ltd) and Amandine de Rosnay (Dynamia Associates & Developers Ltd). Finally, a special thank you to the project partners ABALOBI, Stone Three Communications and exactEarth Europe for their support and funding from Innovate UK.
Main photo: Artisanal fisher boat in the lagoon at Trou-aux-Biches, Mauritius (photo taken by Catherine Ward)
The Charles Telfair Centre is non-profit, independent and non-partisan, and takes no specific position. All opinions are those of the authors/contributors only.
We use cookies to help us to learn about you and how you use our website.
To accept cookies, click on Accept & Close, and continue browsing, or if you want to know more, please view our Cookie Policy
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
