Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity and Environment and Sustainable Development
The NDC highlights that as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), Mauritius is highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and its adverse impacts on socio-economic development. It provides that, according to the latest World Risk Report (2014), Mauritius is ranked as the 14th country with the highest disaster risk and ranked 7th on the list of countries most exposed to natural hazards.
The NDC sets out that the country is highly vulnerable to the threats of climate change, including: atmospheric temperature and sea level rise, rainfall patterns, tropical cyclone intensity, storm surges, droughts and floods which impact adversely on many economic sectors, and human health.
It describes that Mauritius faces multi-faceted environmental challenges, including changes in rainfall patterns both temporally and spatially. Agricultural production may decline in the medium and longer term due to increased rainfall variability. Furthermore, the ecosystem and natural habitat of fish and other marine species are being rapidly eroded due to adverse impacts of climate change. It is said that the deterioration of natural assets, such as beaches, that are vital to the tourism industry, pose a threat to some $50 million in value from the sector by 2050.
The NDC goes on to state that the frequency of extreme climatic events is also on the rise, as well as the extent of damage to infrastructure and toll on human life. The functioning of the ecosystem is also suffering from episodes of coral bleaching and accentuated beach erosion. The low-lying areas of the country, in particular Agalega, are vulnerable to sea level rise, and Rodrigues is exposed to long periods of water scarcity. The intensification of cyclones in short periods of time has also been observed.
Mauritius’s NDC lists the following priority adaptation actions:
Within its priority adaptation actions, Mauritius’ NDC lists a Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy, the objective of which is to understand disaster risk, implement disaster risk strategy, strengthen management of related governance, and invest in resilience.
The NDC emphasises that the costs of adaptation measures are so exorbitant that Mauritius can only achieve its targets if financial support in terms of grant and technical support from partners is made available to enable it to implement the plans to protect life and property and mitigate any propensity of migration of its population.
Mauritius’ NDC includes a section on means of implementation which highlights the requirement of international support to adapt to the negative impacts of climate change that affect several sectors of the economy. It states that the implementation of the NDC will require about USD 4 billion for adaptation measures across all sectors up to 2030 in the form of finance, investment, technology development and transfer, and capacity-building to fully realize its intended contribution.
The Ministry of Environment Sustainable Development, and Disaster and Beach Management (Climate Change Division) has put in place a system to monitor and assess vulnerability and adaptation to climate change that allows for the monitoring of climate vulnerability and the results of adaptation actions, taking into account gender issues.