French senator Thani Mohamed Soilihi is exploring whether Taiwan’s desalination and wastewater reuse could help Mayotte, he told CNA in an interview published by Focus Taiwan, as a planned plant faces a suspended environmental authorization.
“Water is absolutely crucial for Mayotte,” Soilihi said, adding that drinking water had been rationed for several years. He said he had asked Taiwanese counterparts about ways to cooperate. Focus Taiwan reported that he identified a visit by Taiwanese specialists to assess Mayotte’s conditions as a possible next step. Soilihi also described reliance on rainwater collected in reservoirs.
Mayotte is a French territory in the Indian Ocean. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said an 11-member delegation from Mayotte visited Taiwan from Nov. 5 to 10, making it the first official delegation from Mayotte to visit Taiwan. Penghu County said the group toured Fenggui Elementary School, a seawater desalination plant and the Shuanghuyuan wastewater recycling facility on Nov. 6.
The Mayotte Administrative Court’s account links the Ironi Bé project to a water crisis that followed exceptionally low rainfall. Designed for Dembéni, the plant would produce 10,000 cubic meters of treated water per day. In a July 31 ruling, the court suspended the project’s environmental authorization.
The court identified three correctable legal defects: inadequate information for the Mayotte Marine Natural Park about lagoon chemical discharges and insufficient wetland compensation; no suspended-matter screen for marine-floor work; and no specific measure to protect the Bruguiera gymnorhiza mangrove.
The ruling gave Syndicat mixte Les Eaux de Mayotte (LEMA) or the prefect of Mayotte six months from notification to notify the court of a corrective measure. After that period, the court said it would rule on associations’ challenge to the authorization.
