Mauritius demonstrated its commitment to the cause of sustainable development under the Maurice Ile Durable (MID) project with a meeting held last week to discuss the draft Green Economy Action Plan (GEAP) 2015-2024.
The GEAP focuses on seven crucial sectors, namely, transport, manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, waste, energy as well as water, and proposes steps and actions that Mauritius must undertake to transform its economy towards an inclusive and green one.
The Steering Committee on Maurice Ile Durable (MID) met for the first time on Thursday under the chairmanship of the Executive Chairman of the MID Commission, Osman Mahomed, at the seat of the MID Commission in Port Louis.
As a result of the meeting, the MID steering committee members have been given until 31 July 2014 to make proposals for the forthcoming budget.
Mahomed mentioned that the draft GEAP is a joint endeavor of the MID Commission and the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) of the UN, with technical support by the University of Mauritius (UoM).
Mahomed stated that this first meeting seeks to introduce members to the GEAP with view of taking their views and inputs/projects on board.
The timing is right as these inputs will be feeding into the forthcoming budget exercise and help in the preparation of the blueprint to embark the island economy on a transformation agenda underpinned by high income, inclusiveness, and sustainability.
During the Steering Committee meeting, Professor T. Ramjeawon of the UoM made a presentation on the GEAP which has been prepared basis the Green Economy Assessment report and the Green Economy Indicators report.
The GEAP calls for a clear path describing the steps and actions as well as the relevant timelines in transitioning to a modern economy. It also integrates the strategies identified in the green economy assessment report across sectors.
The aim is to identify initial green economy policy options that exploit policy synergies geared towards delivering outcomes across economic, social and environmental dimensions – taking people together as the economy creates wealth in a sustainable manner.
According to studies performed during this exercise for the Green Economy, some Rs 8.4 billion is collected annually as “Green taxes” and represents 2.6% of GDP.
According to the GEAP, an investment of 1-2% of GDP in projects identified in the seven sectors will trigger the transition to the Green Economy as defined by the GEAP.
The meeting also provided a platform for discussing investment in Green Economy in the forthcoming budget with the Finance Ministry represented by Dr Paligadu.
The Steering Committee comprises 12 key ministries and representatives from three Development Partners.
It has the mandate to monitor the implementation of the MID Policy, Strategy and Action Plan (MIDPSAP) and to make recommendations to address bottlenecks in the implementation of the MIDPSAP.
These inputs will feed into the forthcoming budget exercise and help in the preparation of the blueprint to embark the island economy on the path of sustainable development. (Image: Skyscraper City)
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