Union of the Comoros

The Comoros are an archipelago of volcanic islands, located in the Indian Ocean, north of the Mozambique channel. They are made of three main islands: Grande Comore, (with capital Moroni), Anjouan, and Mohéli. The country is poor and overpopulated, the economy is supported by agriculture, in particular by the cultivation of vanilla, coconut, copra, ylang-ylang, cereals, sweet potatoes, rice and cassava. Tourism and fishing are also practiced, while tourism is struggling to take off due to the almost total lack of infrastructure.

The collaboration between Italy and the Union of the Comoros in the environmental field began in 2015 with the signing of a Climate Change Agreement. The project resulting from the agreement has, as its objective, the construction, in the city of Moroni, of an integrated system for municipal solid waste management. On the COP27 occasion, in November 2022, MASE and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Environment, Tourism and Handcraft of the Union of the Comoros signed the new Agreement.

Counterpart: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Environment, Tourism and Handcraft of the Union of the Comoros
Intervention areas:

• Improve water resource management and protect water-related ecosystems (SDG 6)
• Promote access to sustainable, renewable and efficient energy (SDG7)
• Promote the adoption of conscious consumption patterns (SDG 12)
• Strengthen and coordinate efforts to combat global climate change and address its adverse effects (SDG 13)
• Promote sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources (SDG 14)
• Protect, restore and enhance the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15)
• Increase international support for capacity building in developing countries (SDG 17)