Download 10.07.21 IOM Inception Workshop

Speech by
HON. D. VIRAHSAWMY, GOSK, FCCA,
MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT & SD
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Inception and Project Launching Committee
on
THE OTHER MIGRANTS:
“REDUCING MIGRATION PRESSURE FROM GRADUAL
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE – ENVIRONMENT AND
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MAURITIUS”
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Wednesday 21 July 2010 @ 09 30 hrs
Labourdonais Waterfront Hotel
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Mr Seebaluck,
Supervising Officer of my Ministry,
Mrs Ng,
Director of Environment
Ms. Lalini Veerassamy,
Project
Manager
-
International
Organization for Migration (IOM) /Head of
Office IOM,
Mrs. Preeta Heeralall,
Project Coordinator,
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am indeed very honoured to address you this morning on the occasion of the
official launching of the project “The other migrants: Reducing Migration Pressure
from Gradual Environmental Change - Environment and Sustainable Development
in the Republic of Mauritius”, organized by the International Organization for
Migration (IOM), Mauritius. At the very outset I would like to extend my special thanks to
the IOM for undertaking this project in collaboration with the Government of Mauritius.
I am informed that the objective of this project is to investigate the
interrelationship between environmental degradation
and climate change and
population movement in Mauritius, and in the broader context determine how this
linkage affects human security. I believe that this project is important and timely for
Mauritius as a small island developing state. The project would no doubt enable us to
better understand the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation on the
population movement and would thus help us in charting out the right mix of climate
change adaptation and mitigation policies and strategies.
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Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, the impact of climate change on population distribution and mobility is attracting
growing interest. Figures cited estimate that by the year 2050, the number of people
forced to move primarily because of climate change will range between 25 million and 1
billion. However, the relationship between climate change and migration has been
rightly defined as “complex and unpredictable’ and the scarcity of reliable evidence on
the topic has contributed to the heated discussion around the concepts of “climate
refugees” or “climate migrants”. Nevertheless we should not minimize this issue in
Mauritius. Though at this stage migration does not seem to be of high significance to
our country, it may become a critical issue in the future. We should therefore at the very
earliest identify the impacts and implement policy responses that would help us to
provide the right adaptation measures to our population.
I believe that our main
concern in Mauritius is sea level rise which makes it a major threat for inhabitants living
near the sea shores and to our tourism infrastructures. Whether migration will be the
main response to sea level rise will depend on our capacity to respond through a range
of options such as increased protection infrastructure, modification of land use and
construction technologies and managed retreat from highly vulnerable areas. These set
of strategies would call for an expansion in our knowledge base and high investment.
That is why I am looking forward with much interest to the outcomes of this project and I
hope that the project will provide us with the right data so that we can optimize on our
climate change adaptation measures.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Added to this and as a responsible nation, Mauritius has adopted a multi-pronged
approach to tackle mitigation and adaptation to the impacts of climate change. In order
to maintain and further enhance our resilience and our sustainability, we have recently
embarked on the ‘Maurice Ile Durable’ project – Mauritius Sustainable Island, mostly
with our own resources. In 2008, we have created a Maurice Ile Durable fund with
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around US$ 40 million to support projects and programmes on sustainable
development. The main thrust of Mauritius Ile Durable, is to make Mauritius less
dependent on imported fossil fuel, with a target of 35% autonomy in power generation
by the year 2025 through increased utilization of renewable energy and energy
efficiency measures.
We are relying to a large extent on transfer of appropriate
technologies and other resources to accompany us in our mitigation and adaptation
efforts. This will enable us to significantly reduce our carbon footprint whilst building our
resilience as an island economy.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
You have probably noticed the importance given to climate change during this
current era. As you are all aware, climate change is already causing much havoc on our
planet. A series of extreme weather events, increase in sea surface temperature, and
sea level rise, amongst others, are all associated with climate change. With these
impacts of climate change, our fragile resources are bound to be affected. Climate
change impacts will bear increased pressure on societal systems such as food supply,
human health, and water resources, as well as impacting on biological systems such as
terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity, causing the resilience of
many to be exceeded. The adverse consequences of climate change on livelihoods,
public health, food security, and water availability is expected to trigger growing
population movements within and across borders, in the future. Migration pressure and
adaptation to climate change are therefore closely intertwined and coping with the
challenges of climate change is a daunting task. Though at this stage migration does
not seem to be a significant problem, it will become a critical issue in the future specially
in our outer islands such as Agalega, St Brandon and others.
At the Government level, we are aware that the livelihood of our people are
directly at stake and our water and land resources, agricultural development and
tourism industry will most probably worsen in the future if global green house gas
emissions are not reduced to the required level and within target dates by the
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developed countries. Adaptation to climate change and to other environmental issues
has always been on top of this Government’s Agenda through the integration of climate
change and sustainable development in our development model during the last five
years. As such, a Climate Change Division has been set up at my Ministry’s level for
formulating, among others, climate change policy, programmes and projects. The
division has been operationalised since the 1st March 2010 and is staffed to carry out a
series of activities related to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
We are also attempting to integrate climate risk management into current
development practices through mainstreaming adaptation measures in our sectoral
strategies. Mauritius is one of the 20 participating African nations currently implementing
a pioneer regional adaptation project, the “Africa Adaptation Programme” with the
financial assistance of the Government of Japan. By the end of 2011, the programme is
expected to result in an appropriate framework for adaptation to climate change in
Mauritius. As part of the Africa Adaptation Programme, one of the six working groups
has been set up at the level of the Prime Minister’s Office, to work towards mapping of
areas which are vulnerable to the impacts of climate changes, including sea level rise,
flash floods and landslides. This will assist our country to be more prepared to deal with
natural disasters, which are being exacerbated by climate change.
I understand that the IOM’s project complements the Africa Adaptation
Programme, as it takes the concept further by introducing the topical issue of migration
for consideration, with regard to climate change adaptation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I understand that an important facet of the project is exploration of new
employment opportunities and sustainable development for vulnerable people in
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Mauritius, namely in the ecological sector, such as in recycling, ecotourism, renewable
energies, amongst others. Let me tell you that my Ministry is encouraging such
initiatives, in line with promoting sustainable development. My Ministry has undertaken
various projects aiming at promoting sustainability, namely initiatives for waste
segregation and recycling, composting amongst others, which are fully in line with the
Government’s programme on Maurice Ile Durable in promoting the concept of
Sustainable Development at all levels of the society.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Underestimating, overestimating or mis-estimating climate change impacts can
seriously hinder the adaption process, including its effect on population movement. Our
migration management policies should therefore be well contextualized so that changes
in migration patterns that result from environmental degradation or sea level rise can be
well accommodated. Forging relationships and bringing together relevant stakeholders
to share insights and wisdom on how to deal with climate change is vital. I would
therefore make a special appeal to all stakeholders present today to fully contribute in
the implementation and smooth running of the project.
With these words, I have the pleasure to declare the inception workshop open
and I wish all the participants fruitful discussions and deliberations.
Thank you.
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