Lisa Singh, who’s the UN Resident Coordinator in Mauritius and Seychelles, was talking forward of the UN Food Systems Summit +2 which is going down in Italy from 24 to 26 July.
“It is a notably compelling time to be the Resident Coordinator for a small island state like Mauritius. Since my arrival right here in 2022, I’ve skilled examples of utmost climate situations reminiscent of flooding and cyclones on the one hand and water shortages on the opposite.
This seen impact of local weather change mixed with our geographical remoteness, small scale of economies, and excessive import prices have grave penalties for our island’s meals safety. It has gained better momentum because the COVID-19 pandemic and Ukraine war-related provide and commodity shocks, elevating robust preoccupations with meals safety as a key to the sustainable financial transformation agenda.
![Lisa Singh, Resident Coordinator in Mauritius and Seychelles, meets a group of young people. Lisa Singh, Resident Coordinator in Mauritius and Seychelles, meets a group of young people.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Collections/Embargoed/18-07-2023-Resident-Coordinator-Lisa-Singh.jpg/image1440x560cropped.jpg)
UN Mauritius
Lisa Singh, Resident Coordinator in Mauritius and Seychelles, meets a gaggle of younger individuals.
Meals methods have emerged not solely as an agricultural problem however as a game-changer to catalyse outcomes throughout a number of SDGs. The upcoming occasion in Italy offers a possibility for the 2 international locations to give attention to the way in which ahead to speed up the transformative energy of meals methods.
Meals manufacturing should be seen throughout sectors and never in isolation. Water and vitality are direct inputs in any respect levels of the meals worth chain, whereas pure assets, ecosystems, and their companies underpin the safety of those inputs. Agriculture accounts for 30 per cent of water use in Mauritius alone. Globally, one third of the world’s out there vitality is consumed by the meals manufacturing worth chain.
![The livelihood of artisanal fishers like Nazma has been significantly affected by climate change. The livelihood of artisanal fishers like Nazma has been significantly affected by climate change.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Collections/Embargoed/18-07-2023-RS-Mauritius-artisanal-fisher.jpg/image1024x768.jpg)
UN Mauritius
The livelihood of artisanal fishers like Nazma has been considerably affected by local weather change.
Taking holisitic method
Addressing water shortage and investing in renewable vitality is essential to meals safety. Mauritius imports three quarters of its vitality with renewable vitality, accounting for twenty-four per cent of its present vitality combine. It imports over 77 per cent of its meals necessities with households underneath pressure as meals costs on staple items reminiscent of bread, black lentils, powdered milk, and cooking oil proceed to rise. Our reliance on imports reminiscent of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, expertise, and gear go away it weak to worldwide commodity and provide disruptions.
Remodeling meals methods can play a key position in international locations’ local weather change mitigation and adaptation methods. As an example, according to its nationally decided contributions, Mauritius has re-affirmed its commitments to scale back greenhouse gasoline emissions from the agricultural sector. The nation has additionally recognized agriculture as a precedence sector for local weather change adaptation with a lot give attention to environment friendly irrigation strategies and climate-smart agriculture.
Clearly for the UN staff, supporting a holistic methods method to handle the interlinkages between meals, local weather, water, vitality, and gender is essential.
Energy of partnerships
We’re taking a twin focus. There’s the institutional engagement to tell the methods, insurance policies, and budgets needed to remodel meals methods in addition to influencing finances allocations.
We additionally goal at strengthening neighborhood resilience, leveraging the facility of partnerships, digital platforms, private-public modalities, and knowledge, with the inclusion of girls and youth on the centre.
For international locations like Mauritius, the place tourism is a major supply of GDP earnings, the affect of local weather change poses a sustainability danger given its uncommon but fragile pure ecosystems.
Lives and livelihoods of communities, notably in coastal areas, are straight impacted. Coral bleaching and human air pollution is placing stress on the lagoon ecosystem affecting our artisanal fishers like Nazma and her household.
She has been an artisanal fisher for over 30 years alongside together with her husband and several other of her youngsters. It is a sustainable means of fishing, as solely strains are used not like in industrial fishing. Moreover, many of the fish caught by them are for consumption in Mauritius versus export.
Nazma says that she loves the whole lot about fishing. It’s a ardour that has grow to be her job. However, she emphasizes that life is pricey, gasoline is pricey, and there are fewer fish within the lagoon.
The UN, in collaboration with the European Union by means of the Ecofish venture, is utilizing improvements in expertise to empower artisanal fishers to maneuver out of over-exploited lagoons.
Nurturing ‘good’ agriculture
By enhancing the financial resilience of those conventional fisher communities, meals safety will likely be strengthened by means of better-managed marine assets.
In Rodrigues, which is a part of the archipelago of Mauritius, we’re working with eight girls who’ve shaped the Rodrigues Turmeric Producers Affiliation to develop and course of turmeric into powder on the market.
Addressing the vitality inputs into agriculture, one of many affiliation members, Marie-Anne, says that with monetary backing from the Small Grants Programme (SGP) of the UN-supported World Setting Facility (GEF), she and her friends had been capable of purchase a photo voltaic dryer to exchange an electrical one which consumed lots of vitality and value some huge cash.
![Coastal communities in Mauritius like Port Sud-Est are being exposed to the adverse impacts of climate change. Coastal communities in Mauritius like Port Sud-Est are being exposed to the adverse impacts of climate change.](https://global.unitednations.entermediadb.net/assets/mediadb/services/module/asset/downloads/preset/Libraries/Production%20Library/22-06-2020-UNDP-Mauritius-03.jpg/image1440x560cropped.jpg)
UNDP Mauritius/Stéphane Bellero
Coastal communities in Mauritius like Port Sud-Est are being uncovered to the opposed impacts of local weather change.
Her colleague and pal, Perrine, explains how the enterprise permits girls to emancipate themselves. It would additionally allow their grandchildren to proceed this work as a result of turmeric will at all times be there.
There are different revolutionary sustainable meals methods options being piloted by UN companies in Mauritius. The UN Growth Programme (UNDP), along with the Meals and Agriculture Group (FAO) and UN Women underneath the Joint SDG Fund, are selling low-cost biofertilizers made regionally from seaweed.
Initiatives to nurture good agriculture are being supported by FAO, UNDP, the UN Convention on Commerce and Growth (UNCTAD), and the UN Inhabitants Fund (UNFPA).
With solely seven years left to ship on the 2030 Agenda our UN Country Team in Mauritius will proceed its efforts to assist the diversification of the economic system, strengthen the round economic system, and spend money on human capital to fight provide shocks.
Working in partnership to additional local weather motion and foster resilient pathways is vital to defending the way forward for Mauritius for our individuals, planet, prosperity, and peace.”
UN Resident Coordinator
- The UN Resident Coordinator, generally referred to as the RC, is the highest-ranking consultant of the UN development system on the nation stage.
- On this occasional collection, UN Information is inviting RCs to weblog on points necessary to the UN and the nation the place they serve.
- Study extra in regards to the work of the UN in Mauritius here.
- Discover out extra in regards to the UN Growth Coordination Workplace here.