A series of activities to mark World Environment Day (WED) 2022 were launched, this morning, at Phoenix Mall, in the presence of the Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mr Kavydass Ramano.
The Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS), Mr Serge Gilbert Bablee, the Mayor of the Municipal Council of Vacoas-Phoenix, Mr Praveen Kumar Ramburn, and the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator, Ms Christine Umutoni, were also present.
In his address, Minister Ramano recalled that the WED is celebrated yearly since its establishment as a result of the first UN Conference on the Human Environment in 1972, known as the Stockholm Conference.
Mr Ramano indicated that each year, a new host country among participating countries is chosen to serve as the focal center for all of the celebrations adding that Sweden has been chosen for this year. Sweden, he underlined, is sponsoring the celebration of World Environment Day to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stockholm Conference, under the theme “Only One Earth”.
Furthermore, the Minister pointed out that Sweden will launch its Forest Plan, among many other activities, and, like Sweden, many countries around the world are organising several activities to mark this WED. These include: a family beach clean-up campaign with the theme “Step up for Plastic Reduction” in China; Kenya has set a goal of planting 10,000 trees by the end of 2022 to achieve a 10% forest cover; India is launching the third edition of the ‘Act Now India’ campaign, a nonstop online environmental event in which groups and people submit their activities to battle climate change and create awareness about environmental protection; and a Convention in Mexico to discuss difficulties in different sectors as well as the need to take action to prevent and reverse the effects of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
As regards Mauritius, Minister Ramano highlighted that to mark this event, the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change in collaboration with various stakeholders, is organising several activities, following the official launching today at the Phoenix Mall.
These are: nation-wide intense sensitisation campaigns on plastic pollution, the harmful effects of plastics and the alternatives to plastics products through posters on billboards and three-dimensional structures as well as through radio and TV programmes; three-dimensional maquettes are being displayed in shopping malls of Ascencia Group and Coeur de Ville – Cepage properties; lagoon Clean-ups at four public beaches, namely, Mon Choisy, Flic en Flac, Belle Mare, and Blue Bay as from 05 June 2022 till 07 June 2022; launching of start of Greening and Embellishment of Segments 5 and 6 of the Motorways M1 and M2; and enhanced enforcement on Plastic Regulations and vehicular smoke emission around the country.
He further dwelt on some key measures advocated by his Ministry as regards the protection of environment, namely: the organisation of a Plastic-Free Mauritius Conference in October 2021 in order to make the country a plastic-free country as soon as possible; finalisation of the Master Plan to switch towards an ecological transition; strengthening of Frameworks and Laws such as the Environment Protection Act; investment of more than Rs 200 million yearly to protect the coast from erosion; the future implementation of a Climate Change Bill; and the setting up of two waste disposal facilities, to be increased in the future.
As for Ms Umutoni, she shared the message of the UN Secretary-General, Mr Antonio Guterres, on the occasion of the WED 2022 which highlighted the importance of safeguarding the health of Earth’s atmosphere, the richness and diversity of life on Earth, its ecosystems and its finite resources as Earth’s natural systems cannot keep up with our demands.
She also indicated that 2022 is a historic milestone for the global environment community as it marks 50 years since the first international meeting on environment, in 1972. “This year’s theme of ‘Only One Earth’ with its focus on living sustainably in harmony with nature is a message that even today these needs to be reinforced across all sectors of society, and will require a global movement for sustainable consumption and production that drives post-pandemic recovery efforts, while ensuring that no one is left behind,” the UN Resident Coordinator highlighted.
For their part, both PPS Bablee and Mayor Ramburn cautioned that with this continuing trend, the world’s biodiversity will suffer considerably, and this will also generate economic losses, impact on food security and also the quality of life of the population of the whole world. Thus, they added that on this symbolic day, everyone must respond to this alarming wake-up call and place the protection of the nature at the core of our concerns.
