Mauritius National Stakeholder Workshop

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

Welcoming remarks were made by Ms. Sin Lan Ng Yung Wing, Director of Environment at the Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development, and Disaster and Beach Management, and statements were made by Mr. Simon Springett, United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, and Ms. Marjaana Sall, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Mauritius. The workshop was then officially opened by Mr. Raj Dayal, Minister for Environment, Sustainable Development, and Disaster and Beach Management. Mr. Dayal thanked the European Union for its financial support and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UNDP and the United Nations Office for Project Services for assisting with the implementation of the SWITCH Africa Green projects.

A presentation was then made on the objectives, components and implementation mechanism of the SWITCH Africa Green programme and the role of stakeholders, including the National Technical Coordination Committee. The SWITCH Africa Green grantees and their partners made presentations on individual national and multi-country projects. The presentations highlighted the achievements and activities of the projects since November 2015, as well as the financial status of the projects being implemented by the six Mauritius grantees, including those based in Rodrigues. The UNEP representative emphasized that multi-country project grantees should ensure that the beneficiaries of the national projects also received the training provided by multi-country grantees.

The national SWITCH Africa Green consultant presented an overview of his assignment, which consisted of reviewing/scoping the existing policies, regulations, standards and instruments and mapping gaps with respect to sustainable consumption and production and the green economy. He then presented his work plan and deliverables for the assignment, which was scheduled for completion by the end of May 2016.

The need for an effective communication strategy within each project and among the various projects was highlighted. The importance of sharing resources, including consultants with competencies required by more than one project, was also stressed. The three grantees from Rodrigues, who also participated in the workshop in Mauritius, benefited from the interaction with the grantees based in Mauritius.

Regarding the way forward, it was agreed that: 

• An effective national communication plan would be developed for Mauritius;
• Resources, including training sessions and toolkits, would be shared by the grantees; 
• The grantees from Mauritius and Rodrigues would network more closely;
• The national consultant would submit the country implementation plan by mid-May 2016.