Encouraging similar initiatives across Africa

President Pradeep Roopun emphasized the imperative of fostering partnerships and capitalizing on sectoral strengths to forge a cleaner, more ecological, and healthier environment for future generations. This declaration came during the launch of the IslandPlas Project on Tuesday, June 11.

The IslandPlas Project encompasses seven African islands: Comoros, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde, and Zanzibar. Partnerships with the Coca-Cola Foundation and the International Union for Conservation of Nature underpin this initiative, which President Roopun endorsed, urging similar endeavors across the African continent. He underscored the climate crisis’s human-induced nature and stressed the urgent need to preserve biodiversity.

Carlos Pagoaga, President of the Coca-Cola Foundation, and Luther Bois Anukur, Regional Director of the International Union for Conservation of Nature – Eastern and Southern Africa, attended the launch. President Roopun emphasized the islands’ significant reliance on the global food system and the critical importance of conserving natural resources, both on land and in the Indian Ocean. He highlighted the vulnerability of small island developing states to climate change’s repercussions and called for immediate and robust measures.