Events

This regional meeting was organized by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mauritius. The forum brought together various stakeholders from the SWITCH Africa Green partner countries and other stakeholders involved in promoting an inclusive green economy and circular economy such as policy makers, business associations, the private sector, financial institutions, regional economic communities, international development organisations and partners, and civil society organisations.

The need for better management of our resources is becoming more and more evident as resources are becoming scarce and improvements in resource management have been demonstrated to have positive impacts on climate change mitigation, economic savings, resilience and poverty eradication, amongst others. There is a need to transition to a cyclic model all throughout the value chain wherein we do more and better with less resources.

The Government’s vision is to promote an inclusive, high income and green Mauritius. In line with this vision and to support this transition to a green economy paradigm, it is important to align the national vision with sectoral policies and engage the collaborative efforts of all key stakeholders.

Animal manure serves as an important fertilizer in organic and sustainable soil management. The manure can improve soil quality, boost nutrient uptake in plants, improve water quality and reduce carbon emissions. As food security and crop production gain importance in Mauritius, its hard to underestimate the importance of healthy soil in improving the availability of food and achieving food security.

Rodrigues is a small autonomous outer island of the  Republic of Mauritius with limited agricultural land. Household farms provide the bulk of agricultural production through food crops and animal production. However, a significant proportion of these products are undervalued or go to waste because of poor post-harvest handling and management practices, low capacity to invest in appropriate packaging, transport and storage infrastructure, and poor marketing. 

The Mauritius National Networking Forum was held at the Business Parks of Mauritius Ltd (BPML) Cyber Tower 1 – Ebène Cybercity from 10 – 12 May, 2017. About 70 participants from government, civil society and the private sector attended the first day of the event.

The SWITCH Africa Green National Networking Forum in Mauritius was held in two parts. One meeting was held at the Business Parks of Mauritius Ltd. Cyber Tower 1 – Ebène Cybercity from 10 to 12 May 2017. The other meeting took place at the Cultural and Leisure Centre, Mont Plaisir, Rodrigues Island, on 8 and 9 May 2017. Together, these meetings attracted about 170 participants from various sectors, such as government, development partners, civil society and the private sector, including SWITCH Africa Green grantees and beneficiaries.

The Mauritius National Stakeholder Workshop was held on 17 and 18 March 2016 at the Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel in Port Louis.

Mr. Simon Springett, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, delivering opening remarks. Photo | SWITCH Africa Green

After the welcome speech by Mr Jean Carlo Botsar, Departmental Head of the Commission of Environment, Forestry, Tourism, Fisheries and Marine Parks, the workshop was officially opened by the Commissioner of Environment, Mr Richard Payendee. The commissioner gave assurance of the full support of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly to the implementation of the SWITCH Africa Green project in Rodrigues. He expressed his appreciation of the fact that the national projects being implemented in Rodrigues were in line with the Regional Government’s objective of making Rodrigues an ecological island.

The grantees from the second call for proposal were given in-depth training on the monitoring and evaluation guidelines for the SWITCH Africa Green programme. The training sessions were held in Mauritius on 12–13 November 2015. During the training, the grantees and their partners were first taken through the grant support agreement signed with the United Nations Office for Project Services and then given in-depth training on the project monitoring and evaluation requirements.

SWITCH Africa grants were officially awarded to the successful applicants from Mauritius in an exceptional ceremony held on 12 November 2015 in the boardroom of the Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development and Disaster and Beach Management. The grants were awarded by Mr. Eric Vanhalewyn, First Secretary and Head of Section for the Delegation of the European Union to Mauritius, and Mr. Raj Dayal, Minister for Environment, Sustainable Development and Disaster and Beach Management.

In July 2015, over $3.4 million in SWITCH Africa Green grants was awarded for projects in Kenya, Ghana and Uganda. In November 2015, additional awards of over $3 million were granted for 16 projects in Burkina Faso, Mauritius, and South Africa, as well as $4.5 million for 3 multi-country projects covering all six pilot countries. Table 1 lists the grants awarded in Burkina Faso, Mauritius and South Africa and the multi-country grants, and table 2 lists the grants for Kenya, Ghana and Uganda.