Lessons for the World from the “Islands of the Moon” – Comoros: Opportunity, Ambition and Scale Up

Authors Deputy Regional Director, Regional Bureau for Africa RIAD MEDDEB Senior Principal Advisor for SIDS PRADEEP KURUKULASURIYA Director and Executive Coordinator, Nature, Climate and Energy, UNDP One of the most striking features upon descent into Comoros’ Moroni Airport is the breathtaking view of the magnificent ocean. The beauty of the grey beaches is intense, juxtaposed with the effects of cooled lava, carcasses of used cars and uncollected waste — a reminder of the underlying development challenges that lay ahead. From the airport, we set off to visit a government-led initiative on livelihoods and economic empowerment in the agriculture sector supported by UNDP. En route, we see groups of women waiting to fetch water with their jerrycans. Plastic waste strewn by the roadside, a feature of the road that hugs the shoreline. However, when we arrived at the Centre Rural de Development Economique (Rural Centre for Economic Development – CRDE) in Diboini, we saw firsthand how some of the challenges just observed can be turned into opportunities, bringing transformative change for the people. An automatic weather station system (also covering other parts of the island) deployed through financing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for the Reinforcement of Comoros’ Resilience […]

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