VICTORIA, Seychelles, Dec 2 (IPS) – The ocean is the source of our life, but has been repeatedly damaged by humans over decades. Due to the disposal of pollutants into the oceans, overexploitation of marine resources, and human-induced increases in global temperatures, the oceans are changing, and not for the better.
Oceans are warming, corals are dying, fish stocks are declining, and toxic chemicals are being released into the ocean. These impacts are clearly visible today, but there is hope. There are organizations all over the world fighting to save our oceans.
A global multi-stakeholder partnership is growing, led and driven by the Global South, with support from coastal communities, governments, the private sector, NGOs and donors.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Great Blue Wall Initiative stands out as the first effort to build a connected network of marine protected areas to combat climate change and global warming in the Western Indian Ocean. This is a roadmap that leads the construction of a connected network of regenerated marine landscapes.
This network will be connected by a living blue wall that will serve as a regional ecological corridor formed by conserving and restoring important blue ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrasses, corals and coastal forests.
The Great Blue Wall will act as a barrier against climate change impacts and biodiversity loss, while creating the conditions and necessary mechanisms to protect coastal communities, their cultures and livelihoods, and accelerate the development of a renewable blue economy. no see.
By 2023, the Great Blue Wall will protect, conserve and manage at least 2 million square kilometers of ocean equitably and efficiently. It will help achieve a net gain in biodiversity by conserving and restoring at least 2 million hectares of critical ecosystems and sequestering more than 100 million tonnes of carbon. This will unlock renewable livelihood opportunities and create at least 2 million blue jobs, while also championing and supporting countries in the Global South.
I gave the opening speech at the launch of the Great Blue Wall Initiative at the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Glasgow in 2021.
There, I urged all countries to continue to present a strong united front and work together to translate their ambitions into concrete action to unleash the potential of the blue economy. An inclusive nature-people blue economy architecture based on the Great Blue Wall unleashes the full potential of blue economy development driven by conservation and regeneration.
The Great Blue Wall has achieved many milestones since its launch.
With these milestones, Great Blue Wall is committed to delivering. By promoting political leadership and financial support, we commit to accelerate and expand marine conservation activities while strengthening socio-ecological resilience and the development of a regenerative blue economy.
When I first encountered this plan, I was immediately convinced of its originality, its purpose, the results it seeks to achieve, and the relationship between nature and humanity that it seeks to rebuild and strengthen. So I pledged my full support for the Great Blue Wall and have been promoting it ever since.
In November 2024, I was appointed as the Great Wall High-Level Champion at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. And at the meeting it was announced that the Great Blue Wall would collaborate with the ODISEA Expedition on an expedition to explore and protect the biodiversity of the western Indian Ocean.
At this press conference, I was moved by the following words from Thomas Sberna, IUCN Regional Representative for Coastal and Marine Resilience in Eastern and Southern Africa:
(This expansion) is about giving voice to the unheard and bringing light to the invisible. It’s about telling their stories. This is to enable them to produce the science that informs their decisions and to expose local knowledge to guide their actions. This expedition will be both a witness and an actor in what will be remembered as the rise of our Blue Guardian.
Today, many people are taking responsibility for the future of our oceans on behalf of current and future generations. Today, the Blue Economy is seen as a driving force for conservation and development, and we are leveraging its full potential. It can be sustainable. Playback is possible. It can be people-centered.
To guide development and implementation and achieve its goals, the Great Blue Wall builds resilient systems that strengthen connectivity and diversity, premised on three key pillars: Renewable Ocean Landscapes, Climate Change and Renewable Blue Economy . Levels and all personalities.
14 years ago, I saw the blue economy concept of architecture as the savior of the Earth. Today, this reality is becoming a hot topic around the world. There is an ecological imbalance in the ocean and its effects are affecting us.
It is important for all of us to remember that our relationship with the ocean is a reciprocal one. We depend on it for our survival, but it’s up to us to make sure it continues to provide for us.
james alix michelleFormer President of Seychelles.
IPS UN Secretariat
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© Interpress Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Interpress Service
