A two-day workshop aiming to facilitate knowledge exchange on Infrastructure Resilience with a focus on tourism, transportation, telecommunication and energy sectors as well as consolidate efforts towards migitation of climate and disaster risks, opened, this morning, at the Le Meridien Hotel in Pointe aux Piments.
The Deputy High Commissioner of the Republic of India to Mauritius, Mr Vimarsh Aryan; the Senior Chief Executive of the Ministry of Local Government and Disaster Risk Management; Dr Dhanandjay Kawol; the Director of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), Ms Ragini Mukherjee; and the Officer-in-Charge of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Centre (NDRRMC), Mr Mr Premanand Budhoo, were also present on the occasion.
The workshop, an initiative of the NDRRMC in collaboration with the CDRI, is being attended by some 70 stakeholders namely from various Ministries, Metro Express Limited, Central Water Authority and Special Mobile Force, amongst others. The CDRI is a
partnership of national governments, United Nations agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and knowledge institutions with the aim to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems.
Addressing the participants, Mr Vimarsh Aryan underlined that Mauritius is an important country in the Indian Ocean Region and is highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as cyclones, torrential rain, and flooding. The CDRI is a multi-stakeholder global partnership that aims to build resilience into infrastructure systems to ensure sustainable development, he stated, adding that Mauritius is a founding member.
He acknowledged the potential of Mauritius as a Small Island Developing State (SID) and having an important Exclusive Economic Zone for the prosperity and well-being of the citizens. Hence, he stressed the need to develop timely preparedness and mitigation plans to protect the oceans. He is confident that the workshop will enhance capaciti
es of authorities to come up with resilient infrastructure to favour sustainable development.
For his part, Dr Kawol, indicated that hazards and disasters are becoming more intense and frequent across the world leading to high vulnerability and greater risks. The SIDS Report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, he emphasised, highlights the urgency of addressing the impacts of climate change for a stronger sustainable development. ‘A resilient, sustainable and safe infrastructure is the backbone of development in any country’, he said, while underscoring the importance of embedding resilience as a core principle in engineering, ecology and social development areas.
As for Ms Mukherjee, she recalled that CDRI was launched in 2019 to increase finance to support climate adaptation in developing countries, create and share best practices, build capacity and find new solutions for critical infrastructure. She reiterated the support of the CDRI to assist Mauritius in terms of funding, increasing res
ilience, knowledge exchange, and building the current generation for future.
Mr Budhoo enumerated key measures taken by the Government to strengthen efforts towards improving preparedness and mitigation plans and improving disaster-resilient infrastructure. Important legislations such as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act and the Land Drainage Act, he added, have also been introduced to further build Mauritius’s capacity in disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
Source: Government of Mauritius