MAURITIUS: Tsunami helps focus attention on needs of small islands

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

JOHANNESBURG, 7 Jan 2005 (IRIN) - In the wake of the tsunami emergency in south east Asia, disaster management experts in the Indian Ocean region have stepped up calls for the development of an early-warning system, especially for small island nations.

"It is absolutely critical that such an operative system be put in place as soon as possible to avoid the catastrophe underway in the Asian region. Nobody can afford a repeat of what has recently happened," Philippe Boulle, UN Development Programme advisor in Mauritius, told IRIN on Friday.

Earlier this week Anwarul Chowdhury, UN Under-Secretary General for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, said the early-warning system was "vital" and called on the international community to support its development.

The issue is expected to leap to the top of the agenda at next week's summit in Mauritius on the needs of small island nations. More than 2,000 participants, including 25 heads of island states, their traditional donors and other countries are expected in the capital, Port Louis, for the conference.

Boulle said one of the concerns raised was the cost of establishing an Indian Ocean alert system, but added that given the calamity that befell Asia in December, which killed nearly 150,000 people, the international community had "no option".

He said: "It is not necessary to put in place the most expensive or most elaborate early-warning system, especially since there are such systems ... already, and this kind of technology needs to be transferred to poor island nations."

It was equally important to ensure that the island states were equipped to manage natural disasters, "rather than waiting for things to happen".

The Mauritius summit, which kicks off on 10 January, is expected to tackle a number of wide-ranging concerns. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), freshwater shortages and global warming are among the top issues threatening the long-term stability of the Indian Ocean Islands.

UNEP has highlighted the Comoros continue to be seriously affected by shortages of fresh water. It noted that the archipelago has a per capita water availability at or below the water scarcity threshold of 1,700 cubic metres per person per year. The environmental agency said this represented a major challenge, especially in the country's impoverished urban areas.

In a report released earlier this week UNEP said: "Already scarce, water supply in Grande Comore, Moheli and Anjouan is threatened by the fragile equilibrium between freshwater and seawater, potential contamination of groundwater through seepage from septic tanks, substandard equipment and an insufficient number of water pumps."

Other factors likely to reduce the availability of potable water include pollution from agriculture and wastes. In Madagascar only six percent of rubbish is routinely collected and over half the population dispose of their waste "anywhere convenient", including on or near beaches and in mangrove swamps.

"The removal of solid waste does present a problem for the country, especially in the south ... where there are no [public] toilets and people have no other option but to use the rivers and beaches. But, while it is important to educate these communities about the dangers of such practices, one must understand that poverty is the main problem," UNDP environmental programme officer, Patricia Ramarojaona, told IRIN.

She added that a contributing factor to pollution was the failure of manufacturers to adhere to the country's environmental laws. "Companies still ignore the rules and continue to dump waste in water sources, which inevitably affects the health of poorer communities. There should be a greater awareness of their social responsibility towards these communities."

The Indian Ocean islands have also borne the brunt of climate change and each year experience around 10 tropical storms or cyclones between May and November. Last year Madagascar saw recurrent cyclones rip through the country, jeopardising long-term agricultural production.

UNEP warned that global warming was set to intensify the vulnerability of these islands to extreme weather events, including storm surges and increased wave action, with implications for water supplies, agriculture, beach erosion, the health of coral reefs and fisheries.