The Chief Commissioner of the Regional Assembly of Rodrigues, Hon. Johnson Roussety (G.O.S.K) and the Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Mauritius, Milko Van Gool participated in the launch of the study for the update of the ‘Sustainable Integrated Development Plan for Rodrigues’ in the presence of local authorities, representatives of the private sector and the civil society. This study will enable the Regional Assembly of Rodrigues to adopt an integrated approach covering social, environmental and economic issues for the socio-economic development strategy of the island. The launch was followed by a consultation with stakeholders in the Water, Energy and Blue Economy sectors, three priority sectors of Rodrigues’ integrated sustainable development plan.
According to Johnson Roussety, G.O.S.K, Chief Commissioner of the Regional Assembly of Rodrigues:
“Updating the Sustainable and Integrated Development Plan is among the highlights of our Electoral Manifesto as well as our five-year regional development program. In my regional government, we believe that this plan is the sine qua non if we really want to develop our island. Today is therefore a historic and important moment in the life of every Rodriguan. It is not every day that we have the opportunity to decide and define our own priorities for the socio-economic development of our country.
Milko Van Gool, Minister Counsellor and Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Mauritius said:
“During the last few years, Rodrigues has experienced important infrastructural developments such as the installation of fiber optics. Even more important developments, such as the expansion of the airport and the port, are planned in the coming years; these will bring major changes to the island. While these infrastructures are necessary for the socio-economic development of the island, it is important that this development is long-term, integrates ecological and social dimensions and is based on the principles of integrated sustainable development. To achieve this, the island must have a long-term strategy with the guidelines of the integrated sustainable development policy and the objectives to be achieved.”
Sustainable Integrated Development Plan of Rodrigues
The update of the ‘Sustainable Integrated Development Plan for Rodrigues’ is a request from the European Union, in the context of the airport development project (whose financing is planned on the basis of a Team Europe approach combining a grant from the EU and a loan from the Agence Française de Développement), to ensure that this strategic project does not generate negative impacts on the environment.
The European Union has mobilized a multidisciplinary team of 10 experts since the beginning of the year to update Rodrigues’ integrated sustainable development plan, which dates from 2009.
This update will support the socio-economic development of Rodrigues and the vision of the Regional Assembly of Rodrigues for a more ecological island.
In addition to this update, the experts also have the mission to prepare 3 other documents, namely
An action plan that covers 8 priority sectors, including: water; organic agriculture; blue economy; renewable energy and energy efficiency; sustainable tourism; environmental protection and preservation (terrestrial and marine); land use plan and small and medium enterprises.
The action plan will have to determine the needs in each of these sectors, the cost of implementing the recommended actions and the identification of possible sources of funding.
Updating the tourism master plan, which dates from 2001, with the main objective of promoting sustainable tourism.
The update of the land use plan which dates from 2010.
The experts conducted the first consultations in Rodrigues in May. The second part of the consultation, which concerns the sectors ‘Water’, ‘Energy’ and ‘Blue Economy’, takes place from June 13 to 16.
The EU is fully financing this mission, which will last 8 months, for an amount of 535 000 euros.
The support of the European Union for sustainable development in Rodrigues :
For decades, the European Union has been funding and accompanying projects and initiatives in favor of sustainable development in Rodrigues. Some examples :
Ongoing project: the EU is financing a project of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation entitled “Mitigating climate change through reforestation in the Grande Montagne and Anse Quitor Nature Reserves, Rodrigues” for an amount of 600,000 euros. The project, which started in 2021 for a duration of 5 years, has the following objectives: i) the planting of 150,000 endemic species in Rodrigues (Anse Quitor and Grande Montagne Nature Reserves) using 32 green jobs, to increase the carbon absorption capacity and ii) raising awareness of stakeholders and communities on the importance of biodiversity conservation for the fight against climate change
Other projects: The EU has financed and accompanied through the Switch Africa Green program a project of the Frère Rémy Agricultural Center and two projects of the Environment Commission. The EU has also contributed through bilateral and regional programs to promote renewable energy, protect marine biodiversity, promote sustainable fisheries and encourage sustainable tourism.
