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Poverty
battle continues
Prime Minister
Sir Anerood Jugnauth has reaffirmed the country's commitment to
the UN Millennium Development Goals and the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) target to fight poverty and protect the environment.
"My government
is fully committed to Agenda 21 of Rio, the Barbados Programme
of Action and the WSSD plan of implementation. We are committed
to building a humane, equitable and caring global society, cognisant
of the need for human dignity for all" he said.
Sir Anerood
was speaking at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) workshop "on the use of the guidelines for the
preparation of national communications from non annex I parties"
at the Berjaya Le Morne Beach Resort Hotel. The Prime Minister
warned that small island developing states have a uniquely fragile
climate and ecosystems and as such will be most vulnerable to
the adverse impact of future climate changes. "We are small in
size, have to compete for land use and are vulnerable to natural
hazards including droughts, floods and tropical cyclones. Our
water services face constraints to sustainable water and waste
water management. So you can imagine what is going to be the fate
of small countries in a future climate which will adversely impact
on their economies," he said.
Mauritius,
he pointed out, is party to the Climate Change Convention and
has assumed its role together with other nations in the implementation
of activities related to the reduction on the emission of greenhouse
gases, the main cause of climate change. Mauritius was the first
country to have ratified the convention in September 1992, acceded
to the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, and has already submitted its initial
"national communication" which includes the effects of climate
change on its socio-economic sectors.
The Prime
Minister said small island developing states have been made more
vulnerable because of climate change and sea level rise and will
have to divert resources intended for social investments to address
these problems.
News
on Sunday, 11-17 April 2003
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