Looking at the efforts towards “Ocean- based Resources” or what has lately been known as “The Blue Economy” by African countries bordering oceans and having ports, Somaliland is blind to what is taking place around her, given her wide access to the Red Sea, that is vital and important for the global economy.
Below piece sheds light on an international conference sponsored by the government of Mozambique for the sole purpose of exploring the potential in the oceans.
Marine-based ‘Blue Economy’ Offers Massive Potential
Uniting around a global call to see oceans managed more sustainably, more than 500 people are gathered in Maputo on May 23, 2019 to attend an international oceans conference hosted by the Government of Mozambique.
Envisaged to become a biennial event, this international dialogue will explore opportunities to expand the “blue economies” of countries in the western Indian Ocean region. Stakeholders engaged in two-days of formal plenaries and side events related to “Growing blue – sustainable and shared exploitation of the ocean”.
Since the launch of the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal 14 on the conservation and sustainable use of the marine environment, the oceans have become a key priority of many high-level discussions
For example, Kenya’s Blue Economy Conference, hosted in November last year, served as a catalyst for international, regional and local cooperation on the sustainable development of the region’s oceans. At this event, participants discussed how best to make use of marine resources to improve human wellbeing and social equity, while maintaining and conserving healthy ecosystems.
The “blue economy” refers to the expansion of ocean-based industries and sectors to enhance economic growth and strengthen livelihood opportunities, without undermining the marine ecosystems that underpin social and economic benefits. It includes some of Africa’s key income-earning sectors, such as small-scale and commercial fisheries, as well as aquaculture, coastal tourism, transport and ports, mining and energy.
Based on extensive research by the World Wildlife Fund and others, the direct outputs, services and adjacent benefits associated with the ocean and its coastlines in the western Indian Ocean region have been estimated to represent a total asset value of at least US $333.8 billion, with an annual “Gross Marine Product (GMP)” – the equivalent to a country’s GDP – of U.S. $ 20.8 billion. The statistics make clear why the African Union has heralded the blue economy as “the New Frontier of the African Renaissance”.
The main funding partner of the Mozambique event, Norway, is internationally recognized for its leadership in developing its own blue economy and supporting global ocean governance efforts. In 2017 Norway presented its first national Ocean Strategy and White Paper, placing oceans at the center of its foreign and development policy. The country has recently committed U.S. $200 million to support addressing marine plastic pollution and has also spearheaded the establishment of a global high-level panel to consider challenges facing the oceans.