CODWAP project (118#23)homepages.hs-bremen.de/~office-ikrw/codwap/02... · The timely advertisement...

CODWAP project, Minutes of the coordinator’s mission to Mauritius, 17-24/02/2010 1

ACP-EU Cooperation Programme in Higher Education (EDULINK)

A programme of the ACP Group of States, with the financial assistance of the European Union.

CODWAP project (118#23)

Minutes from the mission of Prof. Avraam Karagiannidis from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

to the University of Mauritius

February 18-24, 2010

Thessaloniki, March 2010




INTRODUCTION The present mission is an additional one in the sense that it was not foreseen in the CODWAP project contract. However, it was deemed as necessary during the previous CODWAP project meeting in Sardinia/Italy (on October 2009 – cf. also Sardinia minutes), in order to provide to the coordinator a close insight on the facilities of the partner (i.e. University of Mauritius) to host 2 of the major project pillars (i.e. the MSc and the International Confernece) and also for the coordinator to be able to timely and efficiently support the University of Mauritius on a broad range of project-related issues. Timely authorisation for this additional project mission was enquired from the ACP-Secretariat (related document from AUT dated: November 6, 2009) and this was granted (related document from ACP-Secretariat dated: December 10, 2009).

TABLE OF CONTENTS Topic Page Introduction 2 Table of contents 2 Agenda and schedule of activities 3 Thursday 18/2 4 Kick-off meeting at University of Mauritius 4 Friday 19/2 6 Meeting at Ministry of Local Govenrment, Rodrigues and the Outer Islands 6 Venue #1 (Labourdonnais Hotel, Port Louis) 9 Mauritian Solid Waste Management Stakeholders Meeting 9 MSc Advisory Board Meeting 10 Saturday 20/2 10 Venue #2 (Maritim Hotel, Balaclava) 10 Venue #3 (The Grand Mauritian Hotel) 12 Monday 22/2 15 Site Visit to the Mare Chicose Landfill 15 Venue #4 (Sugar Beach Hotel) 18 Venue #5 (Moevenpick Hotel) 19 Tuesday 23/2 20 Meeting with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mauritius 20 Lecture to students from the University of Mauritius 21 Working lunch 22 Press Conference 23 Wrap-up meeting 24 ANNEXES 26




Visit of Prof Avraam Karagiannidis - Agenda and schedule of activities Date Time Activities Resource Persons

Thursday

18 Feb 2010

10.15

12.00

Arrival to Mauritius (Flight MK 0073 from Munich)

Lunch

Meeting with CODWAP team

RM

10.00-11.00 Meeting with Ministry of Local Government , Emmanuel Anquetil Bldg, Port Louis (Mr Kowlessur)

HR

11.00 – 12.00 Visit to Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel

12.00-13.00 Lunch

Friday

19 Feb 2010

13.00-14.00

14.15

Meeting with waste stakeholders

- Atics - Gamma Civic - Solid Waste Recycling Company (Mr Maurel) - Local Authorities (Municipalities of Curepipe

& Quatre Bornes; Moka Flacq District Council)

- Ministry of Local Govt - Ministry of Environment

Advisory Committee

HR

Saturday

20 Feb 2010

10.00-16.00

10.00

11.00

Visit of hotels

- Maritim Hotel (Balaclava)

- Grand Mauritian Hotel (Balaclava)

AM

Monday

22 February 2010

10.0 0- 11.00

13.00

15.00

- Visit to Mare Chicose landfill

- Movenpick Hotel (Bel Ombre) –

- Sugar Beach Hotel (Flic-en-Flac)

AM

9.30 – 10.00

10.00-12.00

Meeting with Vice-Chancellor

Session with students

HR

12.00-13.00 Lunch

Tuesday

23 February 2010

13.00-14.00

14.00 – 15.00

Meeting with the Press: Mr Joy Hemraz – Radio 1 Ms Anusha Boodhoo – The independent Mr T J Hussain – News Now CODWAP meeting (Wrap-up meeting)

RM, HR, AM, CS

RM: Prof Romeela Mohee HR: Ms Hema Rughoonundun AM: Mr Ackmez Mudhoo




Minutes of activities (meetings, events, site visits) performed during the period 18-24/2/2010

Thursday, 18 February 2010 - Morning arrival of Dr. A. Karagiannidis to Mauritius following an overnight flight via Munich-Germany. - Airport pickup (10:30 am). - Drive directly to the campus of the University of Mauritius (UoM). - Welcome lunch at UoM campus canteen: 12:00-13:00 (UoM). Kick-off meeting held in Faculty of Engineering, Conference Room, Phase III Building, UoM (13:00-18:00) Attendees: Prof. R. Mohee, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Chairperson Assoc. Prof. Avraam Karagiannidis

Ms H. Rughoonundun, Secretary Mr A. Mudhoo

Mrs G. Unmar

Summary of main issues discussed: - Approval / finalization of the agenda for the upcoming days. - Assessment of project progress and report(s) for the 1st year. - Determination of critical milestones in the upcoming days’ agenda:

o MSc Advisory Board approval. o Meeting with UoM’s Vice-Chancellor on various project administrative issues. o Survey and assessment of selected potential conference venues.

Opening of meeting The Dean opened the meeting, welcomed all members and made the introduction of Dr. Avraam Karagiannidis with Mrs G. Unmar and Mr A. Mudhoo.

Matters discussed

! Discussion of Agenda of visit of Dr A. Karagiannidis The Chairperson started by explaining that there shall be an Advisory Committee on Friday, 19th February 2010 regarding the upcoming MSc Programme on Solid Waste and Resource Management which is one of the core elements of the CODWAP Project.




The Chairperson also made clear that a Workshop prior to the International Conference (scheduled for September 2011) shall have to be conducted and that may be held early in 2011.

The Chairperson then brought forward two other important points, namely, the scheduling of a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Konrad Morgan, for Dr. Karagiannidis and a meeting with local press.

The successive items in the Agenda of Dr. Karagiannidis were then explained one by one by the Chairperson.

! MSc Programme Structure Ms. H. Rughoonundun then addressed some important points in the structure of the MSc Solid Waste and Resource Management programme. She explained that the programme has already been approved by the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering.

Taking over from Ms. Rughoonundun’s explanations pertaining to the changes brought in the programme with the Research Methods module becoming core and the exit points from the programme, the Chairperson added that the programme shall be having to clear 5 levels of discussions and approvals before being ultimately approved and be run starting August 2010.

The Chairperson also mentioned that at the Interdisciplinary level, the programme shall not be subject to much leverage and hence many points many not be changeable. To that Ms. Rughoonundun added that the Technical Needs Assessment (TNA) is a sine qua non requisite for the approval of the MSc Programme by the Teaching and Learning Committee of the University of Mauritius.

The timely advertisement of the course in African countries after the 5 levels of discussions and final approval was also discussed by Dr. Karagiannidis and the Chairperson. Additionally on this issue, the leaflet to be produced and circulated for the programme was discussed. Dr. Karagiannidis explained that the formal admission procedure and the production of the leaflet needed to be well planned. Prof Mohee indicated that the final approval of the Programme maybe expected in mid. April 2010.

! International Conference The next matter discussed was the 1st Conference on Solid Waste Management in Developing countries to be held in Mauritius in September 2011.

The Chairperson outlined the approval process of the International Conference to Dr. Karagiannidis by emphasizing that due to Governmental decision, the conference has been approved for Sept 2011. Following approval of the Government of Mauritius, the formal letter was issued.

Mention was also made by the Chairperson of Prof Ezin who shall be one of the key resource persons in Africa who shall be liaising and acquiring the involvement and commitment of other African scientists for the conference. To that, Dr A. Karagiannidis explained that it is very important to balance the remaining time so that all demarches for gathering the necessary human and technical resources be accomplished in their due timeframes. Prof. Mohee then stressed that once the Faculty Board gives its approval, it may be possible to circulate an Introductory Letter to African countries to serve as an Expression of Interest.




With regards to the venue for the Conference, Prof Mohee explained the mechanism of selection of the shortlisted hotels that shall be visited by Dr Karagiannidis. The number of bookings for the delegates, the conference room capacity, the running of parallel sessions, the prices and rates to be offered to the delegates and local participants and conference organisers were all outlined.

Dr Karagiannidis then highlighted the international approach to the accommodation reservations and registration of delegates from abroad. He explained that registration through payment at fixed rates for the conference is the normal practice, whilst arrangements for accommodation and aircraft ticket reservations remain the responsibility of the participants from abroad. Dr Karagiannidis also stressed that the visits to the prospective hotels (i.e. possible venues for the conference) shall be conducted in a non-binding manner so as not to commit too early.

! Local Organising Committee The Chairperson then stated the composition of the Local Organising Committee as comprising Prof R. Mohee, Ms H. Rughoonundun, Mr A. Mudhoo and Mrs G. Unmar.

Friday, 19 February 2010 Meeting at Ministry of Local Government, Rodrigues and Outer islands (MLG, 09:00-11:00)

Attendees: - Mr. Prakash Kowlessur, Director of the Solid Waste management Division (MLG:

[email protected]) - Mr. B. Beerachee (MLG: [email protected]), - Mr. Dookee (MLG: [email protected]) - Assoc. Professor A. Karagiannidis - Ms H. Rughoonundun

Matters discussed Assoc. Professor A. Karagiannidis briefly described the CODWAP project and its aims. He then asked several questions on the status of solid waste management in Mauritius, and the outer islands including Rodrigues and Agalega. A summary of the questions asked by Dr Karagiannidis and the answers given by Mr Kowlessur and the other local government officials are presented below: ! Is there a policy for Solid Waste Management (SWM) in Mauritius?

! A draft of the policy paper was prepared in 2003, which came up with a strategic plan for 2005. The policy paper is in the process of revision and will come up with new strategies for 2010 – 2015.

! Are there some specific priorities for Mauritius? ! The general objective for SWM in Mauritius is to maximize waste minisation. ! There are certain difficulties in SW which arise because the country has some specificities as

a small island developing state (SIDS). ! The improvements required to improve the SWM are: enhance partnership with all

stakeholders; better infrastructure for collection, transfer & disposal; optimization of transfer




operations; more education and awareness; training in terms of technical expertise at the ministry and local authorities.

! Management of Mare-Chicose landfill: ! The management of the landfill is under a joint venture of a local company and an Austrian

firm (Bilfinger-Berger Umwelt, thought to be German by the locals because of its mother company).

! It was reported that in the first phase of the landfill, a clay liner system was used, whereas in the next stages a double synthetic liner system is being used.

! Biogas is being currently collected and flared, whereas, the leachate generated is being carted away to the Roche Bois treatment plant, whereby primary treatment is applied to the leachate, diluted and then discharged at a distance of 1.5 km in the sea. To be noted that the wastewater management falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of public utilities. There is no immediate plan for construction of a leachate treatment plant at the landfill site.

! There is a future plan to convert the biogas at the landfill to electricity. The sale of electricity to the CEB is under negotiation.

! Transfer stations: ! The operation of transfer operations are effected by local companies, after a tender procedure

by the Ministry. ! The trucks currently used for transport of waste from transfer stations are of 60m3 capacity

and have a moving floor system. ! There are 5 transfer stations in Mauritius incl. at the sites: St Martin, La Brasserie, La laura.

! Integrated SW! in Mauritius: ! There is a composting project by a private company, which plans to compost 100,000 tons of

unsegregated municipal solid waste. There is no gate fee foreseen and the economics of the facility relies solely on the sale of the compost product (this was commented by Dr. Karagiannidis as to be very seldom). The plant will be located at La Chaumiere.

! The composting plant fits in the policy of the government to minimise waste. A compost quality standard is being prepared by the Mauritius Standards Bureau (MSB).

! Recycling plants that exist in Mauritius are as follows: o Scrap metal recycling to form metal rods. o Plastic recycling. Collection and processing done by the Bottlers Association. Around

30% (25 – 28 million bottles) of PET bottles are recovered, pelletised and sent to South Africa for recycling.

o Paper are recovered and sent to China and India for recycling. ! Scavenging by people has been noticed at the Roche Bois transfer station. To discourage that

training of staff should be done. ! Waste separation:

! There are presently no separate bins for collection of MSW because (1) there is no market for separated waste, and (2) There is no justification for the high capital investment.

! The government has embarked on sustainable consumption and production initiatives, one such example is the collaboration with supermarkets to segregate their waste at source.

! What is the view on waste-to-energy? ! Waste-to-energy is just like any other technology. It depends on the types of waste, moisture

content, and the method of storage. ! Types of hazardous wastes in the country include industrial wastes, medical wastes, and used oil.




o Used oil recovered, undergo physical treatment processes, are mixed with heavy fuel oil (HFO) and sold to companies as fuel.

o No centralized incinerator for medical wastes (hospitals incinerate their own insitu). ! Do household pay for their wastes?

o Municipalities charge a general rate based on the value of the property. o Only 5 out of 8 local authorities are municipalities, the rest are district councils.

! Cost of collection of waste o It costs around Rs 900/ton. o Over the whole life span of the landfill, the cost is $26/ton.

Overall outline of the performed discussion: - General, detailed discussion on SWM policies and practices in Mauritius. - Last dump site was closed in 2001. - Old dumps were constantly and consistently on fire. - The Strategy Plan on SWM was drafted on 2003 and is currently under revision. A new strategy

will be drafted for the period 2010-2015. - On the island of Rodrigues (population 36000), there is still a non-engineered landfill site. - In Mauritius, the sanitary landfill and the 5 transfer stations are privately operated (out-

contracted). - In the transfer stations, there is no piston compaction being applied (instead: walking-floor

containers). - In all TS there is controlled scavenging (by workers of the contractors). - A composting plant of 100000 t/year capacity is under construction. - There is a Mauritius draft compost standard (not yet finalized). - SW collection system: Open concrete bins. As a result: Significant water infiltration in the waste

already prior to collection. - Organic content. - However, analyses and waste characterization studies done by R. Mohee (UoM) and Karl Bro

(Danish consultant of the Mauritian government) showed that Mauritian SW is in the self-combustible zone.

- Training courses on SWM have been held in the past. - Hospital wastes: There are 5 hospitals in Mauritius, all of which have their own (often old)

operating incinerator for infectious – hazardous hospital wastes. Often, inter-hospital waste transport for combustion purposes is practiced.

- Scrap metal is led to a local smelter. - There is no paper mill in Mauritius; hence all recovered waste paper is exported (China mainly,

also S. Africa, India…). - Plastic wastes are extensively collected (out of the 80 million PET bottles consumed annually in

Mauritius, 28 million, i.e. more that 30%, were reported to be recovered in these ways) pelletized (3-4 companies in Port Louis) and then either used locally for down-cycling purposes or exported to South Africa (bottle-to-bottle concept).

- For new facilities (composting, WTE), it was stressed by MLG that the brains for running the facilities will also have to be ensured.

- The energy policy for renewables has not evolved yet into a regulation regarding e.g. feed-in tariffs.




- Nevertheless, 35% of the Mauritius electricity mix is produced from biomass (baggasse combustion in the 12 sugar factories with electricity generation and selling to the national grid).

- Waste collection: - Town centers: 1-2/day. - Households: 1-2/week. - Commercial waste producers: 1/day

- Commercial units producing > 2m3 / day of waste pay a yearly fee. - Green waste is being collected by lorries at a price of 300 Rs/lorry-load. - MLG is also responsible for collecting SW from public beaches, the motorway and from the 5

transfer stations (via private contractors).

Friday, 19 February 2010 Venue #1: Labourdonnais hotel, Port Louis (11:00-13:00) This was the 1st of 5 performed visits to possible venues for the 2011 conference that were visited in the frame of this mission. The pre-selection of the 5 candidate venue sites was performed by UoM. Each of the 5 visits on the possible venue sites had a similar structure as explained below: ! Prof. Karagiannidis met with the appointed local manager and explained the intention to hold an

international conference in September 2011 in the frame of the CODWAP project. ! Some general specifications and expectations regarding the conference were provided to the

local managers on the basis of some preliminary assessments by the CODWAP partners, e.g.: o 3 parallel sessions. o Dates: 6-9 September 2011. o Nr of expected delegates: 200.

! An offer was requested from the hotel managers at their earliest convenience regarding conference facilities.

! A visit of the available hotel facilities was performed next (conference rooms, internet locations, dinning facilities, room types available for delegates, etc.).

! Last but not least, the environmental policy of each visited candidate venue was considered (hotel’s wastewater treatment plant, solid waste management policy, etc.).

Friday, 19 February Mauritian SWM stakeholders’ meeting at UoM (13:00-14:00)

Attendees list: - Atics Co. - Solid Waste Recycling Company (Mr Maurel) - Local Authorities (Municipalities of Curepipe & Quatre Bornes; Moka Flacq District Council)




- Ministry of Local Govt - Ministry of Environment General content: - Feedback from SWM stakeholderson the CODWAP objectives. - Generic, very informative discussion on SWM in Mauritius (challenges, threats). - Promotion of the CODWAP project’s main local pillars (MSc, Conference). - Recognition of the need to organize a national workshop on SWM in Mauritius.

MSc Advisory Board Meeting (14:00-15:00) The advisory board comprised of numerous members of UoM and other external stakeholders. A letter of invitation to the meeting is attached. The content of the MSc was discussed and approved.

Saturday, 20 February 2010 Venue #2: MARITIM Hotel, Mauritius. Situated at Balaclava, Terre Rouge (in North-Western coastal part of Mauritius) (10:00-12:00). Venue #3: The Grand Mauritian Hotel, Turtle Bay, Balaclava, Mauritius (12:00-14:00) Attendees: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Avraam Karagiannidis Mr A. Mudhoo Main Visit Outcomes at MARITIM Hotel, Mauritius Contact person : Magali d’Avrincourt-Petite ([email protected])

! The Contact person welcomed Dr Karagiannidis and A. Mudhoo, and outlined the programme of the visit with respect to the expectations of the two visitors set out in an earlier email letter that was addressed to explain the purpose of the visit.

! Magali d’Avrincourt-Petite started direclty with the conference room and explained that all the necessary facilities to host an international conference were available at MARITIM Hotel. The capacity of the conference room was up to 350 persons and different seating arrangements could be explored to accommodate the delegates.

! Dr Karagiannidis inquired over issues related to provision of lunches, tea breaks and one dinner at the closing of the conference. Magali d’Avrincourt-Petite reassured that all the necessary arrangements could be readily made on request.

! Additionally, when questioned over Internet connectivity, she explained and confirmed that the whole premise of the hotel is serviced with Wifi internet connection, this being free of charge.

! Magali d’Avrincourt-Petite also made the visitors have a walk through visit in two smaller conference rooms which could readily accommodate 25-30 persons in a classroom seating




arrangement. The visit continued to the dinning halls and immediate beaches which offered a nice panaroma.

! Guided walk-in visits in the rooms available at MARITIM Hotel were also a major portion of the hotel inspection.

The visit at MARITIM Hotel ended on a positive note with Magali d’Avrincourt-Petite confirming that she would soon be emailing all the details of the normal rates, preferential rates, additional offered services, an elaborate brochure of the hotel and other relevant information to Dr. Karagiannidis. Some pictures of the MARITIM conference rooms are shown next.




Main Visit Outcomes at Grand Mauritian Hotel, Mauritius Contact person : Esmeeta Ramchurrun ([email protected])

! The Contact person welcomed Dr Karagiannidis and A. Mudhoo, and soon became attentive to the explanations of Dr Karagiannidis as regards the requirements and purpose of the visit.

! A similar visit was carried out in this establishment but for two major differences that were noted (except naturally also the preliminary rates to be charged):

! Esmeeta Ramchurrun highlighted that access and connectivity to internet was not free by Wifi on the hotel premises but there were a few computer terminals where the Web could be accessed against payment at some rates.

! The visit here ended at the on-site wastewater treatment plant of the hotel which treated on normal operating days 300 m3 of wastewater per day. The peak total daily inflow could however reach up to 550-600 m3 by reason of surface run off from heavy rainfall. Secondary treatment consisting of an activated sludge tank followed by sand filtration produced a final effluent which was then reused for irrigation of vegetation growing in the hotel premises.

Esmeeta Ramchurrun equally committed to send a detailed report on the facilities and rates that could be discussed and agreed for hosting the conference.




Some pictures of the Grand Mauritian conference rooms and facilities are shown next.




Monday, 22 February Visit to the Mare Chicose Landfill (10:00-12:00) Attendees: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Avraam Karagiannidis, Mr A. Mudhoo Outline: - Meetings with (a) Mr. Avinash Rajcoomar ([email protected], tel. 461-6607) and (b)

Mr. Frank Lautner (from Bilfinger Berger Umwelt, Vienna) - Only landfill site in Mauritius (now and in the future). - 1300 t/day (average), 1600 t/day (peak), increasing tendencies; this site is operating since 1997. - Currently: 6 cells; Initially: Clay liners; Cell 4 – onwards: Double membrane syntetic liner. - 315 mm leachate collection; Discussion about collection recurculation. - 500 m3 / day leachate collected; If too much rain, then almost double (900-1000 me/day). - < 1997: Old dumpsites, often on fire, some converted to transfer stations. - People around the landfill are re-localised; extensive discussion was performed on the future of

the landfill (diversion to be based on composting and recycling). - Biogas: 230 wells, 2 flares (capacity 1500 m3/h each) in place; biogas-to-energy project under

way for a 3 MWe plant (as the minimum requirement of 650 m3/h for 1 MW is fulfilled). - Gate fee: 25 euro/t paid by the Government of Mauritius (MLG) on a lump sum basis (daily

controls and calibrations of the weighing ramps were reported to be performed). - A fact sheet with landfill data and a drawing of the landfill were provided; monthly operational

reports are prepared and submitted to the MLG (now: Ministry of Local Government, Rodriguez and the outer islands, former Ministry of Local Government and Solid Waste Management).

Main components of the visit at the landfill ! The visit started with a welcome from the Landfill Manager. ! Mr. Rajkoomar then took Dr Karagiannidis and Mr. Mudhoo for a guided visit of the landfill. ! The two leachate collection ponds were firstly visited, followed by some explanations provided

by the Engineer on the hazardous waste cells currently under construction. These cells shall be used to encapsulate hazardous liquid wastes and solid wastes in concrete.

! Moving up the landfill and up to the tipping platform currently under operation, the gas flares, biogas collection system and leachate draining systems were described by the Engineer.

! Capping of one cell was also in progress in the landfill. ! Interestingly, a third extension to the last cell of the landfill (Cell 6) was under construction. ! Dr Karagiannidis interacted with the Engineer on various issues and outlined some latest

technologies that could be used to optimise landfill gas generation via bioreactor technology. ! The site visit ended in the office of the Engineer with discussions regarding the present

contractual requirements of the Landfill Operation and Maintenance Contractor, the scope and constraints to a potential extension and/or relocalisation of an additional landfill and the ongoing improvement and maintenance being conducted to harness the limited space in the landfill.

! The Engineer supported his explanations with an overview map of the landfill, which he gave to Dr. Karagiannidis. The latter also had a brief overview of one of the latest Monthly Report on landfill performance to be submitted to Ministry of Local Government and Outer Islands.

! Some documentation available was briefly looked at and commented upon. It became apparent that landfilled quantities are increasing, whereas expansion and re-siting prospects are poor if any. This iss a significant challenge in the SWM system of Mauritius within the next few years.




Venue #4: Sugar Beach Hotel (13:00-16:00) Like the 3 previous ones, this tour went along the same lines (briefing of the hotel manager as to the 2011 CODWAP conference and its organizational priorities, inspection of conference facilities, rooms and environmental infrastructure, agreement on preparation of a detailed offer by the hotel).




Venue #5: Moevenpick Hotel (16:00-19:00)




Tuesday, 23 February

Meeting with UoM’s Vice-Chancellor (9:00-10:00) 07:00: Hotel pickup 09:00-10:00: Vice-Chancellor’s office:

- Attendees: VC, Prof. R. Mohee, Assoc. Prof. A. Karagiannidis. - Topics:

o Management fee charged by UoM to external projects. o MSc dissemination and broader support. o The support of the Vice-Chancellor of UoM was considered a very important issue by

Prof. Mohee, especially concerning the multi-stage approval of the MSc within the structure of the UoM. Thus, she and Dr. A. Karagiannidis made this appointment and held a short meeting at the Vice-Chancellor’s office, in the frame of which the main ‘Mauritius’ pillars of the CODWAP project were clearly and shortly presented to the Vice-Chancellor and his support requested. One issue in particular that was explained to him was that of the management fees on the CODWAP budget imposed by the University of Mauritius, which were explained to him that had to remain below the 7% overhead rate. The VC showed a complete understanding of the CODWAP representatives’ positions and promised his full support to their requests and suggestions.




Lecture to students from UoM (10:00-12:00) 10:00-12:00: Lecture to students of UoM on SWM issues pertaining to developing countries and transitional settings. Prof. Karagiannidis held a lively lecture in from of more that 50 students, presenting the state-of-the-art on SWM in Greece and performing comparisons with Mauritius. - The introduction of the speaker was done by Mrs H. Rughoonundun. - The students engaged in a lively discussion at the end. - The general trends of SWM in Mauritius were also discussed, on the occasion also of the

speaker’s recent views and pictures from the stakeholders’ meetings and the site visits over the previous days.




12:00-13:00: Working lunch (UoM) The strategy of the following press conference was discussed between Prof. Mohee and Prof. Karagiannidis, due also to the sensitive and highly political character of the SWM issues at hand. Over and during this lunch (at a facility used mainly by faculty members), numerous informal introductions were made to often (high-level) members of the Mauritius academic community, as well as an informal follow-up short meeting with UoM’s Vice-Chancellor.




13:00-14:00: Press conference Location: UoM, Faculty of Engineering. Attendees:

- The local CODWAP team headed by Prof. Mohee, - Dr. Karagiannidis, - 3 media people (Mr Joy Hemraz – ‘Radio 1’, Ms Anusha Boodhoo – ‘The independent’, Mr

T J Hussain – ‘News Now’). Prof. Mohee opened the press conference by welcoming the press and providing a general introduction to the CODWAP project, focusing on its pillars effective in Mauritius (MSc, International Conference). Then she gave the word to Dr. Karagiannidis who elaborated a bit more on the CODWAP content and made some correlations to the present SWM situation in Mauritius and its upcoming challenges. Ms Rughoonundun then explained in detail the achieved progress in getting the MSc approved by the UoM and the on-going challenges and related activities. Numerous questions and clarification were then asked by the press people regarding the potential impact of CODWAP in Mauritius and the anticipated future of SWM in the island.




14:00-17:00: Wrap-up meeting (UoM, Conference Room, Phase III Building) Attendees: - Prof. Romeela Mohee, Dean and Chairperson - Dr. Avraam Karagiannidis - Ms Hema Rughoonundun - Mr Ackmez Mudhoo - Ms Sangeeta Oree

Opening of meeting: The Chairperson opened the meeting and welcomed all members present.

Matters discussed

! Master Course under CODWAP Dr Karagiannidis mentioned the publicity of the MSc Course once approval of the Programme may have been secured by end April 2010. Prof. Mohee added that she suggests to send an Expression of Interest letter to African countries in 1-2 weeks’ time to introduce this programme. She also expressed her keen interest to take on board as her target groups for publicity the SADC, African Union and COMESA countries, thus ensuring a far broader coverage. Regarding the leaflet of the MSc course which needs to be finalized, Prof. Mohee explained that at this stage she prefers an abridged version of the existing leaflet as she prefers to be on a safe side in an unfortunate event the course may not be approved by the University of Mauritius. To that, Dr. Karagiannidis suggested that a preliminary ‘simpler” leaflet be redesigned and circulated amongst the target academia but a more detailed one be finalised once the programme of study is approved formally.

Prof Mohee justified her suggestion to go with an initial simpler leaflet since she explained that there should be at least 15 students registered so that the break even point be reached to actually service the course, this being a mandatory requisite by University of Mauritius Regulations. Prof. Mohee also expressed her concern when she explained her observation that the concerned local stakeholders do not favour this MSc course as their potential attendees (who are full time employees) do not meet the entry requirements of the University of Mauritius for following a full-time basis MSc course. Prof. Mohee concluded on this part by indicating that she shall be discussing the matter with the concerned officials of the Ministry of Civil Service Affairs.

! Funds for advertising Both Prof Mohee and Dr Karagiannidis agreed that there was a more or less pressing need to disburse the necessary funds to undertake the publicity of the MSc course.

! Minutes of all meetings of Dr Karagiannidis It was agreed by all local contact persons who had been accompanying Dr. Karagiannidis to meetings and visits to submit their individual notes of the same to him. These notes were used by him to compile the present consolidated minutes. Prof. Mohee however mentioned that she would be personally communicating selected notes of the Advisory Committee for the MSc course to Dr Karagiannidis, the minutes of this meeting being confidential to the UoM proceedings.

! Local Workshop Prof. Mohee indicated that as concerns the local workshop, a brief and general kind of proposal shall be made to the Ministry of Local Government and Outer Islands, such that the workshop be fully




committed to, handled and coordinated by the latter body. Ms. H. Rughoonundun then added that “Hazardous/Medical Wastes” would be a potential theme of the workshop, an idea that was welcomed by all others. Dr Karagiannidis then added that he shall be preparing and sending a proposal “letter” to the office of the Ministry of Local Government and Outer Islands tailored as to gain the required commitment for conducting the workshop early next year or later this year. He proposed to organise for the assistance of specific resource persons from EU to the local workshop organisers, this being a support and motivation in its own respect.

! PNG Mission Prof. Mohee suggested to hold the August/September 2010 scheduled CODWAP meeting and training course not in PNG (as intended so far) but in Mauritius, in order to coincide with the initiation of the MSc course. This suggestion was seen favourably in principle by Dr. Karagiannidis due to the advantages explained by Prof. Mohee but he suggested putting the issue to all partners in the next scheduled CODWAP meeting in Bremen, Germany, as this is a decision that should be taken by the entire CODWAP team. On this issue, it was mutually agreed by Prof. Mohee and Dr. Karagiannidis that the travel budget needed to be split so as to allow a more collaborative exchange of resource persons from Mauritius to EU partners and vice versa.

! International Conference Hotel Venue Prof. Mohee indicated that so far (on date of wrap-up meeting) only the Labourdonnais hotel at Port Louis had responded with a detailed proposal of its conference hosting package. Prof. Mohee then added that once all proposals have been received from the remaining 4 hotels, further discussions could be entertained to finalise a potential venue. Dr. Karagiannidis explained in brief the features of the proposal so far received as consisting of conference rates, additional services being proposed, and rates for foreign delegates. He proposed to work out an objective assessment and comparison matrix to rank the hotels responding to the various features required for a most appropriate venue, once he shall be in receipt of all the proposals. Thereafter, Prof Mohee indicated that she shall thereupon discuss the Registration fees with the Budget Director of the University of Mauritius, given that the organization of an international conference in Mauritius would entail certain non-negligible cost elements. To that Dr Karagiannidis added that the conference shall be conducted as a non-profit international activity under a break-even situation to recover conference costs solely. After some preliminary discussions on this issue, it was mutually agreed that a provisional Registration fee of 400€ be proposed and be subject to amendments following upcoming suggestions from the EDULINK secretariat, other partners and parties involved. Dr. Karagiannidis mentioned his intention to initially put this issue to the EDULINK secretariat.

! Scientific Committee Composition All unanimously agreed that the Scientific Committee needed to be of a high International level and be hence comprising of experts from all over the world. To that, Dr Karagiannidis proposed the names of Prof. Themelis, Prof. Tchobanoglous and Dr. L.F. Diaz. Prof Mohee suggested the names of Prof. Ed Stentiford and Dr K.C. Das. Nevertheless, Prof. Mohee indicated that the list shall have to be soon populated with a minimum number of names that collectively transpire the utmost international character of the conference.

! Local Organising Committee Composition The Local Organising Committed was agreed to comprised of Prof. Romeela Mohee, Ms Hema Rughoonundun, Mrs Geeta D. Unmar and Mr Ackmez Mudhoo. Prof. Mohee also mentioned that she had had a discussion with the Director of the Information Technology section of University of




Mauritius as regards the setting up of a separate shared internet system whereby all papers submitted for the conference could be consulted in an organised and manageable manner by all partners in this project. Dr. Karagiannidis added that the University of Bremen partner shall be incorporating the Conference information to the CODWAP website.

! Publications and Collaborative Research Dr. Karagiannidis expressed keen interest to explore some specific areas where collaborative projects and research could be undertaken by the University of Mauritius and his team. Dr. Karagiannidis specifically mentioned that it would be a most interesting avenue to work constructively towards doing applied research on the economics of solid waste management in Mauritius. Dr. Karagiannidis also diligently proposed the development of landfill mining at Mare Chicose at some future point in time so that the whole and complete life cycle of the landfill and the biochemical processes therein occurrent be harnessed optimally, and sustainably.

! MSc Programme Modules In the end, Ms Hema Rughoonundun brought forward that the modules comprising the MSc Programme under the CODWAP project need to be finalised by end-of-August 2010 in terms of the lecture notes and the Module Information Sheets (MIS). Prof. Mohee added that the allocation of responsibility needs to be given a final touch and be such that things are finalised in concert with the other partners who have actively contributed in mounting the course structure.

! Follow-up opportunities Dr Karagiannidis mentioned the Erasmus Mundus programme which could be a platform facilitating the exchange of students of the MSc course falling under the CODWAP project. Nevertheless, the deadline being April 2010 for the Erasmus Mundus programme, the latter could not be applicable this year to CODWAP. Prof. Mohee then explained that the University of Mauritius has specific requirements but that, once the CODWAP and Master programme could have been started, this matter of student exchange under CODWAP would be a topic of discussion. She stressed that the present priority reamins the International Conference on Solid Waste Management. Dr Karagiannidis then added that the DAAD programme would also be a key bilateral tool to allow academic exchange with Germany for MSc students but once more, this not being applicable in 2010.

18:00: Return of Dr. Karagiannidis to hotel (at Pereybere) 20:30-22:00: Farewell dinner (Location: Pereybere, Attendees: R. Mohee, A. Karagiannidis) ANNEXES 1. Letter of invitation of Dr. Karagiannidis to the meeting of Advisory Committee of the MSc. 2. Appointment letter to one of the 5 candidate conference venues visited on 19-22/2. 3. Appointment letter to the Ministry of Local Government (meeting held on 19/2).

CODWAP project (118#23)homepages.hs-bremen.de/~office-ikrw/codwap/02... · The timely advertisement...

Documents

Transcript of CODWAP project (118#23)homepages.hs-bremen.de/~office-ikrw/codwap/02... · The timely advertisement...