Download Speech of - Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
Address by
the Hon. Devanand Virahsawmy, GOSK, FCCA
Minister of
Environment & Sustainable Development
Interactive Forum with Students and Youth
on
5 June 2013 at 09.30 Hours
Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture
Dr. the Hon Vasant Kumar Bunwaree, Minister of Education and Human
Resources
The Government Chief Whip, Dr the Hon. Ryan Hawaldar
The Parliamentary Private Secretary, Hon. Patrick Assirvaden
The Mayor of Vacoas-Phoenix, Mr. Menon Yetty
Mr. Simon Springett, Resident Representative – United Nations Development
Programme
Mr.s Breton-Moyet, Representative of Agence Française de Développement
Dr. Hashimoto, Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency
Acting Chairperson of the Maurice Ile Durable Fund
Members of the MID Strategic Committee
Mr. Jhugroo, Permanent Secretary of my Ministry
Mrs. Ng, Director of Environment
Rectors, Teachers and Students
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am pleased to be in your midst to-day for this half day interactive forum with
the youth and students being organised in the context of the World Environment
Day 2013. Let me say at the very outset that celebrating World Environment
Day is a unique opportunity for us all to renew our efforts for the promotion of
positive environmental actions.
In fact, the World Environment Day is a special day for people from all walks
of life to come together and pledge for a cleaner, greener and brighter outlook
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for themselves and for future generations. It is an opportunity for everyone to
show his or her dedication to the cause of environment and to become agents of
change in support of sustainable and equitable development.
This year, the theme chosen by the United Nations to mark the World
Environment Day is “Think-Eat-Save”. This theme, which is a wake-up call
against food waste and food loss, aims at encouraging people to reduce their
ecological footprint.
In spite of the fact that we are living in a technological era, it is appalling to
imagine that 1 out of 7 people in the world goes to bed without food every
night. Moreover, some 20 000 children under the age of 5 die every day from
hunger, while, ironically, some1.3 billion tons of food are wasted every year.
Given this enormous imbalance in lifestyles and the resulting devastating effects
on the environment through large wastages of food, this year’s theme prompts
us to ponder on the environmental impacts of the choices we make so that we
may take informed decisions.
While our planet is striving to sustain its seven billion people with sufficient
resources, it is estimated that one third of global food production is either
wasted or lost. Food waste is an enormous drain on our limited resources
namely, land, water, energy and fertilizers. Moreover, the improper disposal of
food wastes contributes significantly to environmental degradation by way of
littering, proliferation of pests and diseases.
Mindful of the huge and complex nature of global food wastage and food
insecurity issues, we have no alternative but to join our efforts at all levels in
building our resilience to climate change.
The SAVE FOOD GLOBAL
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INITIATIVE under the Food Agricultural Organisation is calling for
partnerships at the international regional and national levels and seeking the
collaboration of all stakeholders concerned to avert the drastic shortages of food
in different parts of the world. We are all morally bound to join hands and save
our planet and its ecosystems which are vital for sustaining our livelihood.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our planet is facing a severe global crisis. Economic and social development is
putting an unbearable strain on our environment. It is estimated that if the rest
of the world were to consume as much as developed countries, we would need
the equivalent of four more planets having the same size as the Earth to satisfy
our consumption patterns by 2050. We must therefore be conscious of the hard
fact that there is a limit to unsustainable consumption. Hence, it is imperative to
adopt a sustainable lifestyle by devising workable solutions to social and
environmental imbalances.
The way out is to adopt a more responsible
behaviour.
Sustainable Consumption and Production, commonly known as SCP, has been
singled out as one of the main drivers of sustainable development, as it is a
cross-cutting component of our daily life.
Sustainable Consumption is about
the efficient production, distribution, use and disposal of products and services.
In this perspective, my Ministry, in collaboration with the United Nations
Environment Programme, has developed a National Programme on Sustainable
Consumption and Production which was launched in 2008. This programme
comprises some 42 projects and its overall objective is to encourage and
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motivate the population to adopt more sustainable lifestyles and make
consumption choices that will have lesser negative impacts on the environment.
With a view to raise general awareness and promoting sustainable consumption
and production patterns, a booklet entitled “Best practices on SCP in
Mauritius” has been produced.
It comprises some thirty case studies
showcasing waste minimization initiatives through recycling, increasing food
security and water saving, among others. This booklet, which will be launched
to-day, paves the way for general transformation through a change in the mindset of people by adopting sustainable consumption and production practices.
The theme for WED 2013, i.e. Think-Eat-Save, is in line with philosophy
embedded in the SCP programme. By rethinking the way we produce and
consume and by adopting a more responsible behaviour, we can improve our
quality of life through the efficient use of our resources resulting in lesser
environmental impacts. By making responsible choices we can thus contribute
in meeting the basic needs of the global community while avoiding wastages
and related environmental damages which are directly in line with climate
change.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Climate change is a major threat to the whole world and it will continue to
affect us for many decades to come. In fact, the 2013 Global Risks Report of
the World Economic Forum rated the rising Greenhouse Gas Emissions as the
overall third most likely global risk. Despite the fact that the contribution of
Small Island States to global greenhouse gas emissions is insignificant, the
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SIDS, including Mauritius, are going to disproportionately face the high
economic, social and environmental consequences of climate change.
Climate change is a multi-headed monster. Its impacts in terms of melting of
ice sheets, violent cyclones, torrential rains, flooding, drought and devastating
wild fires indicate the extent to which climate change can negatively affect the
lives of people worldwide. The flooding of 26 March 2008 in Mon Goût and 30
March 2013 in Port-Louis, as a result of torrential rains, constitute a clear
evidence that Mauritius cannot be spared by such impacts. We have also
witnessed some days ago the devastating effects of two tornadoes which have
hit fiercely the State of Oklahoma in the United States within a fortnight. The
impacts of such natural catastrophes have been significant in terms of death toll
as well as damages to infrastructure and economic losses.
It is worth noting that with an average increase of only 1 oC in the global surface
temperature, we are already experiencing events such as prolonged drought,
unprecedented flood and considerable decline in crop productions.
For
instance, the long-term observations of the Mauritius Meteorological Services,
published in 2010, pointed out alarming decreasing trends in annual rainfall,
increases in mean temperatures, accelerated sea-level rise and occurrence of
flash floods.
I must here emphasize that Government has taken a proactive approach in
building resilience to climate change.
You may rest assured that Climate
Change is at the top of Government’s priorities. In this context, Government
has, under the Africa Adaptation Programme, developed this year its first
National Climate Change Adaptation Policy Framework.
This Framework
focuses on the assessment of socio-economic impacts of climate change on the
key sectors, namely water, agriculture including terrestrial ecosystem, fisheries
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and marine ecosystem, tourism and coastal management as well as other crosscutting sectors like health, education and infrastructure.
The Framework aims at integrating and mainstreaming climate change into core
development policies, strategies and plans of Mauritius. The key objectives of
this Framework are to foster the development of policies, strategies, plans and
processes to avoid, minimise and adapt to the negative impacts of climate
change on the key sectors and also to avoid or reduce damage to human
settlements and infrastructure and loss of lives.
The Policy Framework has also highlighted that challenges lying ahead for
Mauritius are substantial given that water supply may not be sufficient to satisfy
projected demand by 2030 and agricultural production may decline by as much
as 20 to 30 % in the medium to long term due to rainfall variability. With such
a gloomy projection, it is obvious that food security will be severely hampered,
if timely adaptation actions are not taken.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We all have one common wish at heart: that Mauritius be known and cited as a
model of sustainable development all over the world. If you recall, it is with
such a vision that the Prime Minister, Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam has coined
the ‘Maurice Ile Durable’ concept and mentioned that (I quote) “the ‘Maurice
Ile Durable’ project belongs not to its conceptors or to Government but to the
whole Mauritian nation. It is essentially a vision that seeks to transform the
environmental, economic and social landscape of the country.” (End of quote)
Our aim is to translate this vision into pragmatic programmes and projects in
order to re-design the architecture of our economy in this globalised world.
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In our commitment to integrate sustainable development concepts into our
national policies, we have developed a national framework for sustainable
development, which comprises a MID Policy, a 10-Year Strategy and a 3-Year
Action Plan, focusing on the 5E’s, namely Energy, Environment, Employment,
Education and Equity.
The MID Policy Framework is geared towards integrating social, economic and
environmental objectives in all sectors of the economy and is seen as a catalyst
for change that will shape a better future for Mauritius. Achieving MID is a
complex task as it calls for deep-rooted changes and actions at all levels: from
public to private, consumer to producer and global to local. In this process, the
youth have a very important role to play.
As far as my Ministry is concerned, we have taken a series of initiatives to put
our country on the path of sustainability by encouraging Mauritian citizens to
adopt eco-friendly practices such as saving water and promoting food security.
I will mention a few of these initiatives:

The solar water heater programme meant to reduce electricity and gas
consumption at household level, thus promoting the use of renewable
energy;

The Water saving campaign through the use of “Water Faucet Aerators”
to eliminate wastage of water by reducing consumption. This campaign
targets heavy water users such as hospitals, schools, public buildings,
restaurants and hotels;

The promotion of household composting aimed at reducing significantly
the volume of organic wastes produced by households. As such, some
10,000 households are benefitting from this scheme in the first instance;
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
The rain water harvesting programme to encourage the judicious use of
water and reduce dependence on the CWA’s water network;

The distribution of medicinal plants to promote a green attitude and
encourage the public to discover and benefit from the virtues of medicinal
plants;

The implementation of a Sustainable Consumption and Production
programme to promote a more sustainable lifestyle among the population
and encourage the efficient use of our scarce our natural resources.
Dear students,
I am fully convinced that the youth community in general can be a valuable
partner and play a vital role in addressing environmental concerns and in
helping to protect our environment. We are conscious that it is important to
provide educational opportunities for the youth to learn about environmental
conservation and protection, pollution control and prevention and the judicious
use of our natural resources. My Ministry is therefore fully supportive of
initiatives taken by the youth for the protection and the preservation of our
environment.
As you are aware, my Ministry, together with the Ministry of Education and
Human Resources, have already implemented various projects with your
participation, namely:

The School Waste Segregation Project for recycling and promoting
composting in schools

The setting up of endemic gardens to develop a green attitude among
students
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
The tree planting campaign in all schools to help reduce our carbon
footprint

A series of awareness raising activities on environmental issues
The objective of these initiatives is, on the one hand, to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and adapt to climate change and, on the other, inculcate the notion of
sustainable development among students and the youth.
Dear friends,
We belong to the generation which has, in a way, enhanced the degradation of
our planet by our irresponsible actions. However, we have also realised that we
cannot legate a world in such a state to you and that we can reverse the trend.
We sincerely wish that you take challenges of environmental stewardship
together with us. You have the drive and the willingness to make a difference
and to make of our planet a better place to live in. I am confident that together
we can.
I will end with this quote from Henry David Thoreau, who said: “What's the
use of having a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?”
I thank you for your kind attention and I wish you all a happy World
Environment Day 2013.
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