Africa-Press – Mauritius. The annual meeting for stakeholders of the TWENex (Transformation du secteur des déchets en une filière déchets-énergie dans la région sud-ouest de l’océan Indien) project is being held, from 11 April 2023 to 14 April 2023 at the Pearle Beach Resort in Flic en Flac.
The opening ceremony was held, this morning, in the presence of the Secretary General of the Commission de l’océan Indien (COI), Professor Vêlayoudom Marimoutou; a representative from the Research and Innovation-TAU team of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), Mr Gerard Denouden; the Project Manager of the European Union (EU), Mr Rajesh Parboteeah and; the Director of the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC), Professor Theesan Bahorun; and other personalities.
In his keynote address, Professor Marimoutou highlighted that the TWENex project being implemented with the MRIC within the framework of the OACPS’s Research and Innovation programme constitutes an opportunity to mobilise local players to transform the waste sector into an energy source.
Furthermore, he indicated that the IOC foresees the evolution of its cooperation based on the preservation of regional public goods. “Research and Innovation, as well as technical and professional training and, stability and security, are levers that we will use in our projects and will be at the heart of our partnerships, notably with the EU and the OACPS”, he added.
The Professor underlined that the insularity of the Indian Ocean region is, in some ways, an additional factor of ecological, economic and social fragility and the current production of waste in our islands is out of proportion with the actual management capacities.
“Demographic evolutions and persistent consumerist tendencies, in spite of the more restrictive legislations on the use of certain single-use materials, require new behaviours such as significantly reducing the waste and, transforming the waste into something good,” he said.
On this score, Professor Marimoutou stressed that the application of a circular economy principle by creating an industrial ecosystem, more or less extensive and innovative, in which waste is a raw material that can be transformed into energy, is required.
“In this respect, the TWENex project fits perfectly into the regional frameworks adopted by our Member States, including the regional action plan for waste reduction and management and the regional energy transition strategy,” he pointed out.
This annual meeting of project stakeholders, Professor Marimoutou observed, is, therefore, an opportunity to consolidate operational planning and the provision of harmonised project engineering tools for all local multipliers.
Mr Parboteeah, speaking on behalf of the Ambassador & Head of Delegation of the European Union, Mr Vincent Degert, indicated that the impact of this project on the environment is significant with emphasis laid on the transformation and valorisation of waste for energy production.
“Indeed, the project addresses, on the one hand, the circular process and, on the other hand, the mitigation of climate change by reducing the use of fossil fuels,” he pointed out.
Furthermore, Mr Parboteeah stressed that the TWENex project represents a great opportunity to translate the two priorities to which the EU jointly committed itself during the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), namely on climate and biodiversity, into concrete actions.
Speaking on the European Green Deal, a set of policy initiatives approved by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union climate neutral in 2050, the EU representative observed that this pact reiterates the EU’s commitment to addressing climate challenges as well as those related to environmental conservation.
On this score, he appealed to the participants present to discuss together during this three-day workshop on how this TWENex programme can be used to address climate change and environmental issues, as well as how to establish synergies between research and its application.
For his part, the Director of the MRIC underscored that through the implementation of demonstration projects and living labs, the TWENex project will not only build competencies in research, project implementation and policy development, but also promote local, field-adapted knowledge in renewable energy technologies.
The TWENex project, Professor Bahorun remarked, is in line with the National Roadmap for Research and Innovation elaborated by the MRIC in 2022 within the framework of a national consultation.
“Within this framework, we plan to promote a multisectoral collaboration in the region as well as the creation of a regional research and innovation pole,” he said.
He further emphasised that this project is an important initiative that will have a significant impact on the development of waste-to-energy technologies in the southwestern Indian Ocean region and will provide opportunities for capacity building and skills development.
“The knowledge area will also be supported by tools for effective information gathering and exchange at national and regional levels,” he added. The TWENex Project
The TWENex project, co-financed by the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union, targets countries such as Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius and, Madagascar.
The programme, launched in December 2021 and spanning over a period of 42 months, seeks to stimulate national innovation systems and strengthen research and innovation capacity by supporting the research community.
A first meeting on national focal points and local multiplier groups was held on 16 November 2022 to set up the steering committee and present the roles of local multipliers.
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