The Spanish energy company Acciona has begun to design the Integrated Sustainable Development Plan 2023-2022 for Isla Rodrigues, a remote island in the Indian Ocean located 560 kilometers from Mauritius. This plan has been designed to establish a road map that adjusts biodiversity together with the environmental protection of the place with sustainable progress.
Faced with this proposal made by the European Union to Acciona, it undertook to finance the consultancy within its policy of support for resilience and protection of natural resources in the most vulnerable areas of the area, jointly with Cowi, Cye Consult , Poseidon and Suez.
In this way, Rodrigues Island becomes an example of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), accredited by the United Nations Organization as special territories due to their small size, which generates pressure on resources and limitations in terms of diversification economy.
Protect the environment and sustainability
The consulting study makes a first initial analysis of the environmental, social and economic aspects of the island under the prism of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), obtaining as a result the identification of priority axes of action in strategic sectors to address the main gaps detected and a set of concrete actions to implement them.
The priority axes of action are the protection of diversity and natural resources; comprehensive and efficient management and development of the water cycle; renewables and energy efficiency for self-sufficiency; climate change mitigation and adaptation measures; socioeconomic development for growth and employment; sustainable agriculture, tourism and marine economy; innovation, digitization and infrastructures for progress; and a funding and policy management framework based on sustainability credentials.
Thus, nearly 200 actions are gradually materializing, with measures such as the development of a value-added chain for honey or lime, the creation of a microfinance fund or a territorial planning plan for tourist use and tactics of public management and regulation.
