Project For Capacity Building In
Coastal Protection And Rehabilitation In
The Republic Of Mauritius
Speech of
the Hon. Devanand Virahsawmy, GOSK, FCCA
Minister of
Environment & Sustainable Development
on the occasion of a
Seminar
The Progress For Capacity Development
On Coastal Protection And Rehabilitation
In Republic Of Mauritius
Coastal Erosion And Its Mitigation Measures
on
Monday 17 June 2013 at 09.39 hrs
Le Meridien Hotel
Ms. Takahashi Representative of JICA Madagascar
Dr. Hashimoto, Vice Chief Adviser of the JICA Team
Mr. Simon Springett, UN Resident Coordinator
Mrs. Breton-Moyet, Director, Agence Française de Développement
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am pleased to be in your midst this morning for the opening ceremony of the
Seminar under the Project for “Capacity Building in Coastal Rehabilitation
and Protection for the Republic of Mauritius”.
I would like, at the very outset, to express my gratitude and thanks to the
Government of Japan which, through the Japanese International Cooperation
Agency, has accepted to provide technical assistance for the implementation of
this project. I also wish to express my appreciation for the help extended by the
Japanese Government to Mauritius since the 1980’s with regard to fisheries,
coastal protection and rehabilitation, climate change resilience and management
of disasters, amongst others.
The African Adaptation Programme for Mauritius, which aims at integrating
and mainstreaming climate change adaptation into the institutional framework,
and the project on capacity building regarding landslide management,
implemented by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, NDU and Land
Transport, are vivid examples of the assistance provided in line with the
bilateral agreement existing between our two countries.
The diplomatic relations between Mauritius and Japan have been further
strengthened recently through the donation, by Japan, of Rs 400 million to
finance the acquisition of a Doppler Weather radar that will help improving
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weather forecasts and preparing the population to face natural calamities. On
behalf of the Government and the people of Mauritius I would like to convey
my heartfelt thanks to the Japanese Government and to JICA.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The main objective of to-day’s seminar is to disseminate the findings of the
basic study that have been undertaken under the capacity building project since
last year and also to pave the way for the formulation of coastal conservation
plans so as to address coastal erosion problems.
Coastal zone is one of the most complex and most productive ecosystem on
earth.
Mauritius, as an archipelagic State, faces serious challenges in the
management of its coastal zone. Indeed, the Mauritian coastal zone, which
generates an annual revenue of some one trillion rupees, is under intense
pressure due, not only to tourism and fisheries activities, but also through landbased activities such as agriculture, industry, construction, sewage disposal and
the urbanisation of coastal villages. The damaging effects of the activities on
the coastal zone are beach erosion, poor water quality and loss of biological
diversity, among others.
The visible and measureable effects of climate change on our coastal zones are
becoming more apparent. An increase in the rate of negative changes and in the
number of vulnerable sites have been observed over the last ten years. For
example, data from the Mauritius Meteorological Services indicate that the rate
of sea level rise, measured in Port Louis, has averaged 3.8 mm/year over the last
five years. This has real implications on our coastal areas in terms of surge
flooding and erosion.
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There are also direct linkages between climate change effects on coastal
ecosystem services (especially coral reefs and lagoons) and the integrity of the
entire ecosystem of our country. In fact, there is scientific evidence that the rise
in sea temperature has increased the frequency and the extent of coral bleaching.
This phenomenon contributes to the failure of the wave attenuation function of
the reefs, thus increasing the rate of beach erosion and the loss of lagoonal
sediments, especially during storm events.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
To ensure the protection of our limited natural resources and our fragile coastal
ecosystems, my Ministry has prepared the frameworks on Integrated Coastal
Zone Management. The ICZM Framework will enable us to manage our coastal
and marine resources in an integrated manner and will help optimizing the use
of these resources whilst preserving their integrity.
Moreover, my Ministry has commissioned the ‘Study of Environmentally
Sensitive Areas for Mauritius and Rodrigues’. The main objectives of the
project were to identify, demarcate and categorise all environmentally sensitive
areas in Mauritius and Rodrigues, and develop a comprehensive policy and
legislative framework for the protection, conservation and management of these
ESAs.
With a view to providing adequate protection from erosion problems and
maintaining the integrity of our beaches, some 3.8 km of coastal rehabilitation
works have been carried out at Rivière des Galets, Flic-en-Flac, Belle-Mare,
Trou-aux-Biches, Bain des Dames, Petit Sable, Pointe aux Sables and Bambous
Virieux, amongst others.
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My Ministry also conducts continuous monitoring and assessment of coastal
erosion around Mauritius. On the basis of the data collected and in line with the
recommendations of the “Study of Coastal Erosion in Mauritius”, coastal
protection works are devised and implemented in consultation with relevant
stakeholders. I also wish to inform that under the Ministry’s Program Based
Budgeting for the 2012-2014 period, nine sites have been identified for coastal
protection measures as follows: Cap Malheureux, Bain Boeuf, Poudre d’Or,
Grand River South East (GRSE), Quatre Soeurs, Baie du Cap, La Prairie, Le
Morne and in the La Preneuse/Rivière Noire region.
Among the above
mentioned sites, works at Poudre d’Or and Cap Malheureux are nearing
completion whilst the contract for coastal protection works at Quatre Soeurs has
been recently awarded. Works will start shortly.
To ensure the sustainability and the maintenance of our implemented coastal
protection works a working session will be organised with all relevant
stakeholders after completion of the projects.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Despite all these efforts, we are still vulnerable to the impacts of climate change
namely, sea level rise, extreme weather events and other anthropogenic impacts
due to lack of technical capacity as recognized in the ICZM framework.
As you are all aware, each coastal site is unique in terms of driving factors, rate
of change and range of technical options. Good coastal engineering skills are
needed for proper assessment of each site and to design cost effective
interventions. Capacity-development and application of best practices on-thejob are therefore very important. I am confident that same will be addressed by
the JICA Project. These need to be aligned with the development of new,
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comprehensive, and strategic policies and guidelines which will ensure that all
future development in coastal areas have the maximum possible chance of
resilience under the worst possible conditions.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is in this perspective that the 2012-2015 project is being implemented by my
Ministry with the technical assistance of JICA. The project comprises four
components namely Basic Survey, Elaboration of Coastal Conservation Plan,
Implementation of Pilot Project and Technology Transfer on Coastal
Conservation Management.
Within the last few months, the Japanese Expert Team has collected available
data from all the stakeholders, acquired aerial photography, deciphered
geographical features, undertaken coastal water quality analyses, bottom
sediment and coral reef surveys amongst others. To-day’s workshop will allow
all participants to take cognizance, discuss and analyse these findings which
have been submitted in the form of a progress report. In fact this report is the
first deliverable of the project.
I have gone through the progress report and I must commend the efforts and the
hard work put in by the Japanese experts. They have been able to gather,
process and analyse old series data as well as present ones which were up to
now scattered among the different stakeholders.
I also understand that in line with the findings, the Experts are proposing coastal
conservation and rehabilitation plans for twelve coastal stretches out of which
seven stretches have been identified as demonstration and monitoring sites.
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Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is obvious that despite all our efforts, we have a long way to go for the
effective management of coastal zones.
You will concur with me that
protection of the environment in the coastal regions is not the sole responsibility
of the Government. Businesses, NGO’s, civil society and the public at large
have an important role to play. As the popular expression goes, we must ‘Think
Globally and Act Locally’.
Many of the steps leading to sustainable
development must be taken at local level.
Before ending, I would like to salute once again the laudable initiative of the
Japanese experts to disseminate the findings of the study to all of you in order to
have your support, acceptance and blessings.
On this note, I now declare the seminar open and wish you all fruitful
deliberations.
Thank you for your attention.
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