The provision of capacity-building on Integrated Environment Assessment among key stakeholders and the preparation of the Mauritius State of Environment and Outlook Report 2024, are at the forefront of a two-day consultative workshop, officially opened, this morning, at The Docks 2, in Port Louis.
Jointly organised by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, the workshop is being dispensed by two consultants from the Environmental Pulse Institute, which aims at narrowing the gap between science and public policy with regards to climate change, energy, ecosystems, education and health in view to transitioning towards a low-carbon economy.
The Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mr Kavydass Ramano; the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Mauritius and Seychelles, Ms Lisa Simrique Singh, and other personalities were present.
In his address, Minister Ramano recalled the publication of the first Mauritius State of Environment and Outlook Report in 2011. The 2024 Report, he underscored, will review the past environment trends and chart the policy pathways gearing towards a sustainable future. New themes along the nexus between gender and environment, natural capital accounting, nature-based solutions, marine spatial planning, use of Artificial Intelligence in environmental assessment have been identified and will be incorporated in this report, he informed.
Further highlighting the criticality of environmental reporting, Mr Ramano averred that having access to information on the ecology will facilitate the monitoring of threats as well as the implementation of policies, programmes, activities and strategies, including the National Environment Policy, the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), at national and global levels.
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Moreover, Mr Ramano indicated that his Ministry launched "Les Assises de l'Environnement" in 2019 which were eventually combined with the Environmental Master Plan 2020-2030 for Mauritius to curb the triple planetary crisis, involving climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. The document, according to him, serves as a significant tool for policymakers, adding that a thorough scrutiny of the Environment Protection Act 2002 has been undertaken to address the emerging local and global ecological challenges in a bid to achieve SDG targets.
Policy recommendations appertaining to the setting up of a Science to Policy Platform, the 'Observatoire de l'environnement', the circular economy and waste management, plastic management, environmental management in areas facing scarcity, and addressing emergencies and oil spills, have been included in the Environment Bill tabled at the National Assembly in April this year, Mr Ramano pointed out.
For her part, Ms Simrique underlined the need to adopt a more agile and unified community-based approach to protect endemic species and livelihood activities, to foster resilience and policy innovation, as well as to accelerate climate actions. She also spoke of the assistance received from the Global Climate Fund and stressed on the imperativeness of tapping the private sector. In 2023, she recalled, the five-year United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2024-2028, centred along People, Climate and Prosperity, was signed.
