GERICS presenting project results in workshops at Mauritius

While climate change is a global phenomenon, adapting to climate change adaptation is a local issue, and thus largely dependent local authorities. It is therefore imperative to further understanding in local governance and its role in coastal management and climate change adaptation.

This was precisely the aim of the WIOMSA (Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association) funded MASMA (Marine Science Management) project entitled “Emerging Knowledge for Local Adaptation” (EKLA). Active partners include the Mauritius Oceanography Institute (MOI), Coastal Oceans Research and Development – Indian Ocean East Africa (CORDIO), the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences (FCSH) of NOVA University Lisbon, and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa. The main involvement of GERICS was in the Mauritian case study, of which the core research was carried out in August 2017 through applying the Capital Approach Framework with Village Councils, District Councils, Ministries, and NGOs to assess the capacity of local governance to implement climate change adaptation.

In March 2018, two workshops were held at the Mauritius Oceanography Institute to showcase the findings of the study to local stakeholders, and to develop recommendations for improving the local management of climate change issues. The findings of the project were presented and validated to District Councils in the first workshop, before discussing the future role and strategic objectives of the local authorities in the context of the climate change adaptation. Strategies and actions were identified in local coastal governance in order to effectively and efficiently address the climate change issues.

The second workshop was ceremonially opened by the Hon Premdut Koonjoo, Minister of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, who stressed the importance of climate change research studies and supported international exchanges in climate change research programme. During the workshop, the validated results of the study were presented and followed by a deliberation on potential strategies and actions for the improvement of local governance in relation to climate adaptation.