Regional conference on climate change opens in Balaclava

The theme of the conference is 'The impact of climate change, adaptation and mitigation in the Indian Ocean Western region: Solutions to the crisis'. The aim, according to one official of the Oceanographic Institute of Mauritius, is to disseminate correct information that will help them improve their capacity to plan and implement measures aimed at reducing the disastrous consequences of climate change on the communities and on ecosystems. In his address at the opening ceremony, the Mauritius environment and sustainable development minister, Devanand Virahsawmy, said that this part of the world was the hardest hit by climate change, although it hardly contributed to greenhouse gas emissions.

Participants are expected to prepare a regional strategy on the implications of climate change in countries of the region and a regional plan for the islands to confront the problem.