Joint management of the extended continental shelf of the Mascarene Plateau |11 May 2018

Mauritius, Seychelles delegations review progress on joint management measures

Delegations of key stakeholders from Mauritius and Seychelles involved in the joint management of the extended continental shelf of the Mascarene Plateau, yesterday morning, met in yet another joint commission meeting to discuss and review progress made since their last meeting in January in Mauritius.

Before the joint commission meeting yesterday, the two countries’ delegations held a two-day technical committee meeting to prepare and finalise a report to be presented and discussed at the joint commission meeting.

The technical committee of the Mauritius delegation is headed by Ambassador J. Koonjul, while the Seychelles side is led by Raymond Chang Tave, who is also the consultant for maritime boundaries to the blue economy department.

Yesterday morning at the start of the joint commission meeting which was held at the Seypec House, Ambassador J. Koonjul and Mr Chang Tave signed and exchanged a report of the technical committee meeting.

The joint commission of the Mauritian delegation is chaired by N.K. Ballah, Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Civil Service, while the Seychelles side is headed by Philip Michaud, economist and special advisor in the department of the blue economy.

Both delegations welcomed the progress made on different components of the framework to sustainably develop the Joint Management Area (JMA).

Mr Ballah noted that at the last meeting of the joint commission in January they pursued discussions on a number of issues, signed an agreement with a company to carry out a multi client seismic survey in the JMA as well as signed an agreement with the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) to fund a standalone project in the development of the JMA. The project will help both countries to better manage that area and the UNDP has already advertised the post of manager for the project.

With regard to the seismic survey, Mr Ballah said: “Things have evolved positively over the past three months and the company already has a seismic vessel ready for the survey which may start next month”.

Mr Michaud added that an environmental impact assessment has already been prepared as per the JMA code.

“This survey will also be an excellent opportunity to provide hands-on experience to our nationals who will be on the vessel,” he added.

Mr Michaud also welcomed the arrival, last week, of the research vessel Dr Fridjtof Nansen on which scientists from Seychelles and Mauritius will take part in an expedition to enrich their knowledge of the huge oceanic area of the Mascarene Plateau. The fact that they will be interacting with world re-known scientists will also provide them invaluable practical experiences. 

Among the other issues that were discussed yesterday include the realisation of the project with the UNDP, organisation of a ministerial meeting as well as an international symposium in November to officially launch the JMA to attract potential investors, and the need to reinforce local capacity.

“We are all confident that nature has bestowed the JMA with an immense potential for natural resources. There is consensus among geo-scientists that the JMA is endowed with vast resources, given its geological set-up,” Mr Ballah affirmed.

He went on to point out that the governments of Mauritius and Seychelles are “investing in us and our meetings for us to develop a sound and comprehensive exploration strategy’’.

He highlighted that steady progress is made at every meeting to meet the essential requirements to have in place an effective framework and regime to sustainably explore and exploit the potentials of the JMA.

“However challenges before us are daunting and we all agree that there is a long way to go before we can effectively start exploiting the JMA,” he said, noting that the two countries should continue to work relentlessly to expedite the process with the hope that the commercial exploration of the JMA will in the near future enhance revenue generation for the benefit of the people of the two states.