RESIslands launched to advance Climate Resilience Across African Island States

The Minister of Agro-Industry, Food Security and Fisheries, Dr Arvin Boolell, has called on African Island States to join forces and move decisively from climate-resilience planning to concrete, investment-ready projects delivering tangible results.

Speaking at the launch of the RESIslands Initiative in Port Louis today, Dr Boolell said that it would help African island States strengthen their capacity to manage climate risks, build resilience and access international climate finance.

The Junior Minister, Mr Gilles Fabrice David, the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator, Ms Lisa Simrique Singh, the High Commissioner of Seychelles to Mauritius, Mr Nicholas Prea, UN representatives and other personalities were also present.

The initiative is being implemented by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), in partnership with the African Island States Climate Commission (AISCC), and covers the nine AISCC Member States, including Mauritius.

To be implemented over 2026–2027, the project will strengthen national capacity to anticipate and manage climate and disaster risks, improve access to reliable risk information and early-warning systems, and enhance coordination among key institutions. It will also support the development of a pipeline of bankable climate-resilience projects to unlock climate finance and deepen regional cooperation among the nine African island states through the AISCC.

In his address, Dr Boolell stressed that stronger institutional capacity, better use of climate and disaster-risk information, and closer regional cooperation are essential to enable island States to respond effectively to increasingly complex climate risks. He noted that the impacts of climate change are already affecting coastal communities, water resources, ecosystems and economic activities.

According to him, RESIslands provides an important platform for African Island States to share experiences, strengthen the science-policy interface and develop projects capable of attracting public and private financing. He also underscored the importance of a coordinated regional approach that enables countries to learn from one another and adapt innovative solutions to their national circumstances.

Dr Boolell commended the UNECA, AISCC, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and other partners for supporting the initiative and advancing efforts to translate climate-resilience priorities into concrete action.

For his part, Junior Minister David stressed the need for the nine African Island States to become “climate warriors”, noting that their contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is minimal, at around 0.01%. He called for greater regional solidarity to address the impacts of the climate crisis and strengthen preventive measures to better protect island States.

Ms Singh recalled that the GCF has approved a grant of approximately USD 4.95 million for the readiness project, with USD 250,000 allocated to Mauritius. She commended measures already undertaken by the Government to address climate vulnerabilities and emphasised the need to further translate knowledge into concrete action.

She also highlighted the regional value of RESIslands in promoting knowledge-sharing, collective advocacy and innovative solutions, while strengthening partnerships and coordinated action to address shared climate challenges.

25 September 2026

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Topics: Climate Change