Signature of a Memorandum of Understanding
MoESD-Meteorological Services
Wednesday 13 March 2014
Wednesday 13 march 2014
Mr Simon Springett, UNDP Resident Representative
Mrs Venetia Bellers, Special Adviser at the Prime Minister’s Office
Mr Beebeejaun, Director of the Meteorological Services
Dr Ramana, Director of the Mauritius Oceanography Institute,
Mr Servansing, Director-General of the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Centre
Mrs Bhandari, Ag. Chairperson of the MID Fund
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to be in your midst this afternoon for the signature of a
Memorandum of Understanding between my Ministry and the Mauritius
Meteorological Services for the joint implementation of an Early Warning
System for incoming storm surge in Mauritius.
This project is being
implemented in the context of the Adaptation Fund Board programme
known as “Climate Change Adaptation Programme in the Coastal
Zone of Mauritius”.
Our presence here to-day is a clear indication that the threat from
climate change is serious and urgent. No nation, however big or small,
wealthy or poor, can escape the impacts of climate change. Rising sea
level threatens every coastline.
The IPCC, i.e. the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change foresees
an accelerated sea level rise of up to 0.6 metres or more by 2100. This
dramatic situation can worsen if the potential breakdown of the West
Antarctica and Greenland ice sheets is taken into account, with sea level
continuing to rise for many centuries beyond 2100. Storms temporarily
exacerbate higher water levels, by 20 to 110 centimetres.
Increasing
storm intensity and larger storm surges will result in more coastal
erosion and inundation of low lying areas.
It is to be noted that nearly one quarter of the world’s population lives
within 100 km of the coastal zones.
The population living in these
regions is projected to increase from 1.2 billion people in 1990 to 1.8 and
even up to 5.2 billion people by the 2080. This implies that we will be
faced with increased risks of severe climate change impacts, more
particularly, in the case of small island states like Mauritius. As you are
aware, our coastal zones are critically important to the economy in terms
of tourism, as well as for fisheries activities. Coastal sites in Mauritius
have experienced storm surges, flooding and loss of lives in the past.
The key conclusions of the latest IPCC Report, released in January this
year, were as follows : ‘Warming of the climate system is unequivocal,
human influence on the climate system is clear, and limiting climate
change will require substantial and sustained reductions of greenhouse
gas emissions’.
The “Climate Change Adaptation Programme in the Coastal Zone of
Mauritius’’, which I referred to earlier on, turns out to be an important
tool in adapting to the impacts of climate change. The objective of this
programme is to increase climate resilience of communities and to
reinforce their livelihoods in the coastal areas, up to the year 2060. One
of the project components comprises the development and the
implementation of an Early Warning System for incoming storm surge.
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Given the previous experiences of storm surges on the south coast, a
warning circumference will be defined around each inhabited island, i.e.
mainland Mauritius, Rodrigues and Agalega so that coastal communities
have at least three hours warning of possible incoming surges.
An Early Warning System is a critical life saving tool for floods, storm
surges, heat waves, cyclones and other hazards. Some of the countries
that have implemented an early warning system for storm surge are
Bangladesh, France, China, and USA, amongst others.
It should also be highlighted that an effective Early Warning System
comprises four components, namely,
(i)
Detection, monitoring and forecasting
(ii)
Analysis of risks involved
(iii)
Dissemination of timely warnings and
(iv)
Activation of emergency plans to prepare and respond.
Having an Early Warning System is one thing but manning it is a
different story.
This is why training and capacity building will constitute
a major component of this project.
We will therefore introduce, as part
of this programme, a comprehensive training course on how to monitor
and
troubleshoot
an
Early Warning
System,
model
execution,
manipulation/use of associated basic equipments, and Training on
development of models for storm surge. This will be complemented by a
Train the trainers programme on awareness campaign for user
communities.
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Before ending, I would like to thank our main partners who will be
collaborating for the successful implementation of this project, i.e. the
Prime Minister’s Office, the Mauritius Meteorological Services, the
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre, the Mauritius
Oceanography Institute, the UNDP and the Ministry of Finance and
Economic Development.
Through this Memorandum of Understanding, we are making to-day, a
very important step forward on the journey in migrating from a vulnerable
island to a resilient island state.
With these words, I wish a fruitful collaboration in the implementation of
this project of national interest.
Thank you for your attention.
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