In Nairobi, a breakthrough for a global blue economy

TORONTO – About 4,000 people will gather in Nairobi this week for the first global conference that will focus solely on the blue sustainable economy. Organized by Kenya, with Canada and Japan as co-hosts, this event will be the first to focus on how to channel global water resources in a sustainable manner to enhance development.

Described as a "bold initiative" by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, the conference on the sustainable blue economy is expected to attract participants from some 180 countries, as well as heads of state. It will build on the momentum created by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Call for Action on Climate Change. action launched at the first United Nations Conference on the Ocean, last year, announced the organizers.

According to an estimate from the World Bank, the blue economy contributes $ 3,600 billion to the global economy. The bank highlighted the potential it holds for small island developing States and the least developed coastal countries.

The blue economy is able to "broaden the frontiers of development and job creation opportunities to a previously underestimated scale," said Japhet Ntiba, Permanent Secretary of the Department of Fisheries and the Blue Economy of Kenya. According to the World Bank, sustainable fisheries, a sector of the blue economy, account for more than $ 270 billion a year in global gross domestic product. In addition, coastal and marine tourism generates more than 6.5 million jobs.

Kenya Branch

"Kenya is looking forward to providing global leadership in one of the most important issues of this century: the sustainable use of the world's water resources," Ntiba told Devex.

Nancy Karigithu, senior secretary at the State Department of Maritime Transport and Maritime Affairs of the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development of Kenya, said Nairobi had taken the lead for a number of reasons.

"First of all, Kenya has had a long and interesting association with the governance of the seas and oceans, the late Professor Frank Njenga being widely recognized as the father of the maritime concept of exclusive economic zone," said Karigithu. The EEZ is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea in which the rights and jurisdiction of coastal States and the rights and freedoms of others are governed by the provisions of the Convention. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"The government has recently taken a number of steps to influence policy changes to make Kenya a maritime country," added Karigithu.

Article 15 of the African Union Agenda 2063 defines the continent's blue economy and how it can contribute to Africa's "transformation and growth". She emphasized that this can be achieved through knowledge of marine and aquatic biotechnology; the growth of a continent-wide shipping sector; the development of maritime, river and lake transport and fisheries; and "exploitation and recovery" of deep seabed and other mineral resources.

Kenya itself has a maritime territory of 230,000 square kilometers, but the country's blue economy is not being exploited to its full potential, according to a 2017 report from the country's maritime authority. And Kenya, a member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, has been criticized by its own government for not doing enough to exploit its marine resources.

The blue economy is included in the government's development project, Kenya Vision 2030, which aims to transform the country into a middle-income country.

In 2016, the Kenyan government created a state department responsible for fisheries, aquaculture and the blue economy, Karigithu said. The Center for Maritime Technology Cooperation for the African Region, one of only five global institutions created by the International Organization for Migration with funding from the European Union in order to strengthen the capacity of the Climate change mitigation in the maritime and maritime sectors, was also launched Kenyatta unveiled a new coastguard service earlier this month, intended to target illegal fishing, costing about $ 100 million a year to the nation.

"Kenya is hoping to get investment agreements in the sector," Karigithu said to the question of what the country hoped to gain from the conference.

Global partners

The summit comes after Kenya has sought the help of some of the largest ocean-dependent donors.

With the longest coastline in the world, Canada has decided to join the Kenya Summit to find international solutions to issues such as sustainable fisheries and ocean pollution.

"Unless we approach [such problems] at the international level, they obviously create challenges for us all, "said Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

The country is contributing $ 2 million to the conference, "to enable participation from all corners of the world, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries, with special emphasis on women", said Wilkinson.

"Their representation at the conference allows us to take advantage of their perspectives, because we all have a lot to gain from the sustainable blue economy.

Asked about the desired results of the conference, Wilkinson said that a "positive result would be an agreement to continue the conversation".

"Canada will certainly come out with statements on things we have committed to do, and we hope others will do the same," he said.

Yannick Beaudoin, Executive Director of Ontario and Northern Canada at the David Suzuki Canadian Foundation, non-profit, will attend the conference and talk about the management and maintenance of marine life, conservation and activities sustainable economies.

"My main goal will be to work towards a sound and sustainable economic policy rather than an environmental one," he told Devex.

"This is not a lack of people gathering on the oceans, the problem is always about how we can conduct a good environmental policy," he added.

Beaudoin said he would be interested to see "real creativity and experimentation" that other countries could present at this event. "I would like to see a government like the Seychelles, for example, who innovated in the field of innovation very interesting in terms of financial instruments."

At the same time, Japan announced in October that it would co-host the conference with nearly $ 3 million in funding.

A spokesman for Japan's Foreign Ministry told Devex that the country had decided to co-host the conference "in accordance with Japan's development history through the" Free Indo-Pacific Strategy and open "and prosperity between Africa and Asia.

"We hope that the conference will deepen the discussions between Japan and the countries involved, such as promoting the free and open Indo-Pacific strategy and the progress of connectivity with Africa," said the spokesman. .

Organize a conference of such magnitude and globally [has not been] a walk in the park, "said Karigithu, from the Maritime and Maritime Department of Kenya.

"Kenya is expected to lead the way in the sustainable use of its blue economy space, which seeks to balance productivity and sustainability, taking into account all aspects of the economy." 39; inclusion ".