2008 ASOSAI Seminar on Environmental Audit on Climate

2008 ASOSAI Seminar on Environmental Audit on Climate Change and Air Pollution Prevention

Country Paper Presented by Mrs. Tse Yuet Cheong Deputy Director of the National Audit Office of Mauritius

The Republic of Mauritius Located in the Indian Ocean Constituted of several islands of volcanic origin : - Mauritius (main Island) - Rodrigues Island - Agalega Islands - St. Brandon Island NAO Mauritius - October 2008 3

Mauritius Area of 1, 864 km 2 Located in latitude 20° south and longitude 57° east of Greenwich 2, 000 km off the east coast of Africa Capital: Port-Louis Population : over 1. 2 million Summer : November to April Winter : June to September NAO Mauritius - October 2008 4

The Other Islands • Rodrigues Island -560 km to the east of Mauritius with an area of 108 km 2 -Population of about 35, 500 • Agalega Island -1, 000 km north of Mauritius with area of 2, 600 hectares -About 300 inhabitants • St. Brandon Island - Archipelago 430 km to the north-east of Mauritius NAO Mauritius - October 2008 5

Economy of Mauritius • Economic activities successfully diversified from a mono-crop economy • Tourism - third pillar of the economy after Agriculture and Textile • Tourist arrivals : 103, 000 in 1977 to 906, 971 in 2007 • Gross receipts from Tourism : Year 2007: MRs 40, 687 million (US$ 1, 453 million) (27. 4% higher than 2006 ) Year 2008: MRs 48, 000 million (US$ 1, 714 million) (Estimates) NAO Mauritius - October 2008 6

Climate Change Impacts Mauritius has many reasons for being deeply concerned with the consequences of climate change: Ø Inherent constraints and challenge Ø Ecologically fragile Ø Particularly vulnerable due to its physical size, geographical isolation and proneness to natural disasters NAO Mauritius - October 2008 7

Climate Change - Conventions Mauritius signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change during the UNCED conference at Rio (Sept. 1992) was the first member state to ratify it ratified the Kyoto Protocol (April 2001) NAO Mauritius - October 2008 8

Ministry of Environment • A Ministry specifically for Environmental matters • Ministry of Environment Strategy : Ø Develop and promote the adoption of new environmental policies Ø Assist in the adaptation and mitigation of climate change impacts Ø Coordinate implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements NAO Mauritius - October 2008 9

Ministry of Environment- Strategy Ø Maintain air, noise and water pollution within safe levels Ø Inculcate a holistic environmental culture through integrated environmental education and sensitization programme Ø Improve the Coastal zone management and protect the environmental sensitive areas NAO Mauritius - October 2008 10

Environment – Legal Framework A Department of Environment at MOE to coordinate all activities relating to the environment Numerous Legislations controlling various environmental problems Environment Protection Act (EPA) 2002 Various enforcing agencies responsible for the different environmental medium or pollutant NAO Mauritius - October 2008 11

National Budget 2007 -08 Implementation of Program Based Budgeting 2007 -08 2008 -09 July- Dec. 2009 Total Budget MRs 62 billion (US$ 2. 2 billion) MRs 75 billion (US$ 2. 7 billion) MRs 40 billion (USD$ 1. 4 billion) Ministry of Environment MRs 874 million MRs 887 million MRs 489 million (US$31. 2 million (US$ 31. 7 million (US$ 17. 5 million) Energy Services MRs 100 million MRs 180 million Programme (US$ 3. 6 million (US$ 6. 4 million) (MPU) Solid Waste Management (MOLG) MRs 813 million MRs 908 million (US$ 29 million) (US$ 32. 4 million NAO Mauritius - October 2008 12

National Budget 2008 -09 More emphasis on environmental problems and on importance of “Building a Green Mauritius” Examples of projects : Ø Rs 1. 3 billion to kick start a Fund to build energy independence Ø Explore all potential for sources of renewable energy Ø Wind energy to produce 3% of electricity consumption in Mauritius - Expected Cost Rs 1 billion Ø Loan schemes and grants to double the use of solar heaters by December 2009 NAO Mauritius - October 2008 13

National Audit Office SAI of the Republic of Mauritius Established under Section 110 of the Constitution of Mauritius Other main legislations Ø The Finance and Audit Act Ø The Statutory Bodies (Accounts and Audit) Act Ø The Local Government Act NAO Mauritius - October 2008 14

NAO Mandate To audit and report on the public accounts of Mauritius and of all courts of law and all authorities and officers of the Government Financial Audit Performance Audit NAO Mauritius - October 2008 15

NAO Mandate NAO responsible for the audit of some 428 accounts, including 35 Government Ministries and Departments ü All Local Authorities (5 Municipalities, 4 District Councils and 124 Village Councils) ü 84 Statutory Bodies ü Rodrigues Regional Assembly ü Foreign –funded Projects ü NAO Mauritius - October 2008 16

NAO Mandate • An Annual Report on the accounts of Government is submitted by the Director of Audit to the Ministry of Finance to be laid on the table of the National Assembly • Main stakeholders: ü Public Accounts Committee ü Members of the National Assembly ü Public at large NAO Mauritius - October 2008 17

NAO Staffing & Organisational Setup Director of Audit is assisted by: ü two Deputy Directors ü staff of some 150 officers comprising of Assistant Directors, Head Examiner , professional accountants, technical and experienced officers and support staff 13 Divisions, each with a portfolio of mixed audit assignments comprising of Ministries, Departments, Statutory bodies, Local Authorities etc. NAO Mauritius - October 2008 18

Use of IT by NAO has to date widely applied computer technologies to audit work Staff of NAO are now provided with laptops Computer audit softwares such as IDEA and Team Mate are used during audit assignments NAO Mauritius - October 2008 19

NAO - Training In its quest of professionalism and more experienced personnel NAO has resorted to continuous training of staff both locally and overseas Staff trained in ü auditing in a computer information system environment ü use of computer audit softwares. NAO Mauritius - October 2008 20

Published NAO Reports Ministry of Environment ØAir pollution ØCoastal Zone Management ØEnvironment Investment Programme ØEnvironmental Management ØNational Solid Waste Management NAO Mauritius - October 2008 21

Published NAO Reports Ministry of Local Government Ø Operation and Maintenance of Mare Chicose Landfill Ø Solid Waste Management Contracts - Cleaning and Maintenance of Public Beach Ø Allocation of Contracts for the Operation and Maintenance of Transfer Stations and Transportation of Wastes NAO Mauritius - October 2008 22

NAO Report Air Pollution Audit Objective To make a contribution to the efforts of the Ministry of Environment to create an awareness among the various stakeholders about the importance of air quality NAO Mauritius - October 2008 23

NAO Report Air Pollution Scope of the Audit and Methodology Techniques used during research works : ü Interview ü Document analysis ü Collecting statistical information ü Consultant's tests and analysis ü Site visits NAO Mauritius - October 2008 24

NAO Report Air Pollution Key Findings Major contributors of the pollution problem: Vehicle emission and industrial combustion processes 69 % death in Mauritius relates to diseases where air pollution is a contributory factor (year 2000) Current legal and institutional framework not adequate to discourage polluters Lack of monitoring on the part of the Ministry due to limited human and technical resources. NAO Mauritius - October 2008 25

NAO Report Air Pollution Recommendations The current legal and institutional framework needs to be revised to empower the Ministry to enforce the air quality standards. The Ministry must have the appropriate human and technical resources to control and monitor the air quality. A national campaign must be launched to sensitise the public about the importance of air quality for human health NAO Mauritius - October 2008 26

NAO Report Air Pollution Recommendations (cont’d) Companies in the industrial sector must prepare an annual Corporate Environmental Report An in-depth study must be carried out to assess the impact of air pollution on health in Mauritius. NAO Mauritius - October 2008 27

NAO Report Coastal Zone Management Introduction Tourism industry (one of the major pillars of Mauritius economy) almost entirely coastal-based Any degradation of the marine environment will have a negative impact on this industry Therefore need for proper management of the coastal zone NAO Mauritius - October 2008 28

NAO Report Coastal Zone Management Methodology ü Interview of staff of the Department of Environment ü Meeting with staff of the Meteorological Services ü Site visits ü Documents analysis ü Reference to Consultants' Reports NAO Mauritius - October 2008 29

NAO Report Coastal Zone Management Observations Ø Ministry did not adopt an integrated approach for the management of the coastal zone Ø Short-term measures have been taken to minimise impact of coastal erosion Ø Rs 18. 4 million spent on installation of 3, 500 metres of gabions at six critical sites Ø No systematic follow-up of these sites NAO Mauritius - October 2008 30

NAO Report Coastal Zone Management Observations (cont’d) Ø Complete database on erosion problems as well as research works performed in this field not available Ø Lack of technical expertise at Ministry to ensure the proper management of the coastal zone Ø Policy and legislative framework inadequate NAO Mauritius - October 2008 31

NAO Report Coastal Zone Management Recommendations There is a need to carry out a complete study on Coastal Erosion in Mauritius, its causes, and effects An Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan must be prepared to ensure a holistic approach to the management of the coastal zone NAO Mauritius - October 2008 32

NAO Report Coastal Zone Management Recommendations (cont’d) The existing laws and regulations must be reviewed to facilitate control and monitoring The staff of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Unit must be trained in coastal zone management NAO Mauritius - October 2008 33

Thank You NAO Mauritius - October 2008 34