Africa-Press – Mauritius. The “Roadmap and Action Plan for a Circular Economy in the Republic of Mauritius” is about the steps and actions that we need to take towards achieving the vision of becoming a nation that makes use of resources judiciously, generates less waste in the supply chain and share the economic potential this transition brings.
This statement was made this morning by the Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mr. Kavydass Ramano, at the opening of a Workshop to validate the ‘Roadmap and Action Plan for a Circular Economy in the Republic of Mauritius’ and, to reflect on its implementation, at the Caudan Arts Centre in Port-Louis.
The Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Vincent Degert, was also present on the occasion. The Minister also proceeded with the launching of a video clip and a website on Circular Economy.
In his address, Minister Ramano highlighted that the development of the Roadmap is yet another milestone which bears testimony of the commitment of the Government to achieve the much sought after, “transition écologique”, in line with the Ministry’s Master Plan for the Environment.
He expressed gratitude to the EU and UNEP through the SWITCH Africa Green project for assisting his Ministry in the formulation of the Roadmap to accelerate the country’s transition towards a circular economy.
Mr. Kavydass Ramano stressed that it was high time to shift our focus to resource management and to understand the opportunities of going circular with our resources.
He pointed out that the country’s current linear economic model is not sustainable both economically and environmentally and urgently needs to move from a linear to a circular economy based on extended product life cycles, intelligent product design, favouring re-use, repair, recycling, re-purposing, and remanufacturing. This will design out waste and pollution and also offer substantial economic benefits, he said.
The Environment Minister further remarked that transition to a circular economy is no longer a choice, but a necessity, especially for us as a Small Island Developing State, which needs to navigate on an affordable, resilient, and feasible path by having in place an economy where circular business models become mainstream.
Mr Ramano underlined that the implementation of the Roadmap will respond to the aspirations of this year’ Budget 2023-2024, that is, “continuing the transformation of Mauritius into a Sustainable Economy”.
He expressed conviction that the Roadmap on Circular Economy will provide an opportunity to address the existing resource constraints and significantly contribute to the aspiration of building a carbon-neutral, climate resilient and prosperous economy as well as meeting our targets of the Nationally Determined Contributions.
In addition, he dwelt on the key role that consumers play in fostering the transition to a circular economy, by editing their choices and make informed decisions.
On that score, the Minister announced the implementation of a new project in collaboration with local authorities, “Creating sustainable communities through local authorities”, that consists of the development of sharing platforms to leverage circular initiatives at community level.
A series of “Marché à puce” in view to raise awareness on circular practices including repair, reuse, repurpose, recycle, recover and the availability and accessibility of circular products, and incentivise a change in behaviour, will be organised across the island, indicated Mr Ramano.
As for the EU Ambassador, he also raised the alarm pertaining to the impacts of the current production and consumption pattern based on linear model including environment degradation due to resource extraction, increased generation of waste and depletion of stock of resources.
According to Mr Vincent Degert, we should urgently act to save our suffocating planet, which includes the shift to a circular economy. He stressed that Government has to ensure the proper implementation of the roadmap and action plan in Mauritius, while pointing to the need to involve children and the youth and sensitise the population at large to change their deep-rooted habits as consumers.
Development of a roadmap on circular economy for the Republic of Mauritius For a holistic approach to a circular economy paradigm, it was proposed to develop a Roadmap on circular economy to provide for a shared vision, the strategies, policies and goals, enabling instruments, incentives, regulatory and institutional frameworks as well building synergies among national stakeholders in the identified key sectors.
With the collaborative support of UNEP, a national consultant was recruited for the development of a Roadmap on Circular Economy for the Republic of Mauritius. The objectives of the project are:
to develop a Roadmap on Circular Economy to provide the strategic orientation to bring circularity in key economic sectors such as (i) Agri-food systems: (ii) Construction; (iii) Consumer Goods; (iv) Solid Waste Management; (v) Transport and Logistics; and Sustainable Consumption and Production as cross-cutting, with focus on Education and Procurement;
to develop a Costed Action Plan for each of the identified key economic sectors; and to develop a set of indicators to monitor the implementation of the Roadmap on Circular Economy.
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