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Mauritius local government associations and mayors connect on climate change

Published: 27 Aug 2018
Climate Finance
Mauritius local government associations and mayors connect on climate change

Mayors of mid to small sized communities in Mauritius, with their local government associations, participated in the ICLEI World Congress in June 2018 to explore latest trends on sustainable development.There is a considerable interest in understanding and tackling climate change, among others, specifically on the role of local governments and engaging their communities. The climate resilience perspective is an entry point, but also with recognition that low emission development needs to be connected as well.

Discussions with the ICLEI team, included an introduction to the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA), where ICLEI Africa and the ICLEI World Secretariat partner with several other organization, to address scaling up of local climate action. Represetnatives of the Local Government Assocation of Mauritius (LGAM), including Mrs. Margueritte Berty Hans (Mayor of the Municipal Council of Curepipe and Chairperson of the Association of Urban Authorities), Mr. Teeluck Shyam (Chief Executive of the Association of District Councils), Mr. Dormah Nirmal (Chairperson of the Association of District Councils), Mr. Ramkissoon-Mungoosing Taijuswini Devi (Chief Executive of the Municipality of Curepipe), Mr. Ellayah Prembhoodas (Chairperson of the District Council of Rivière du Rempart), Mr. Teeruthraj Hurdoyal (Chairperson of the District Council of Flacq), Mr. Gajadur Kamaksaw (Chairperson of the District Council of Savanne) and, Mr. Vijaye Busawon (Chairperson of the Disctrict Council of Moka), shared their views and needs on the topic, with a keen interest in the CoM SSA and understanding what support this initiative could provide.

Follow up on clarifying  opportunities for their engagement and defining the benefits of cities and towns in Mauritius committing to the  CoM SSA is planned. The CoM SSA is the Sub-Saharan Africa chapter of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM).

Further, discussions focused on enabling political, institutional and technical environments for local climate action in Mauritius. Multilevel governance and cooperating on re-defining the NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) including a local perspective are of great interest, to ensure communiites are protected, engaged, and capacitated.

The representatives of LGAM expressed their appreciation and recognition for ICLEI’s leading role in climate advocacy, extending a clear signal of interest in future engagement with ICLEI to overcome some practical challenges they face in-country, dialogue with national ministries and accessing finance. News on the planned launch of the new call for projects to be included in the Transformative Actions Program (TAP) managed by ICLEI was met with avid interest.

 

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