The blue economy movement gains traction in Africa

A Coastal City, Sierra The capital of Leone, Freetown, is an area where people have relied on the ocean for food and employment as long as they have lived there. A growing number of African countries are now embracing the blue economy for its potential to provide solutions to their most pressing development needs. Credit: Travis Lupick / IPS

NAIROBI, July 16, 2018 (IPS) – A growing number of African countries are now embracing the blue economy for its potential to provide solutions to their most pressing development needs – especially extreme poverty and

Countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Mauritius, Comoros, Madagascar and Seychelles – which has already created the Ministry of Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy – recognize the need to diversify their economies. "The African Union has also embraced the blue economy, which consists of exploiting resources such as oceans, lakes and rivers, in its development agenda for the socio-economic transformation of 2063," explains IPS. Danson Mwangangi, researcher and independent economic analyst.

He says that for agrarian economies like Kenya, "agriculture alone will not be enough to stimulate the economy because the sector is facing many challenges, including the"

The blue world will be a victory for Africa only if there are strategies to exploit and protect it. – César Bita, Chief of Underwater Archeology at the National Museums of the Kenya

In Kenya, for example, World Bank statistics show that in 2017 alone maize production dropped by 20 to 30 percent. In this context, the experts urge African countries to diversify and look beyond terrestrial resources by exploring the blue economy, as it has immense untapped potential

The World Bank and the World Bank United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in their 2018 policy brief plead in the blue economy.
Mwangangi says that it can allow Africa to significantly improve its global trade volumes, achieve food security According to the International Energy Agency, the 39, renewable energy from the oceans could meet 400% of today's global energy demand.

"Seventy percent of African countries are either coastal or island, we must exploit such valuable coastlines," says Caesar Bita, head of underwater archeology at Kenya National Museums.
He tells IPS that the blue world can be important. transform the lives of the communities that live closest to these water schemes, as they lead very precarious lives.

According to John Omingo, chief commercial shipping officer at the Kenya Maritime Authority, very little has been done to exploit these "The African coastline spans about 31,000 kilometers and yet trade flows between African countries account for 11% of total trade volume, which is the lowest compared to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Europe and America, explains there.

Bita tells IPS that while Africa is the largest island of the land as it has the Atlantic Ocean to the west; the Indian Ocean to the east; the Antarctic Ocean to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, "there is very little navigation in Africa. African-owned vessels account for less than 1.2% of global shipping. "

In anticipation of the next conference on the sustainable blue economy, which will be co-hosted by Kenya and Canada in Nairobi in November, economic experts are optimistic
The high-level conference is expected to Advancing a global agenda on the sustainable exploitation of oceans, seas, rivers and lakes.

One of Freetown's largest fishing ports is Goderich Beach, less than 30 minutes by car Downtown, where a single motorized boat can bring in up to $ 300 worth of fish in one day Credit: Travis Lupick / IPS

"Hold conference in Africa with Canada as that co-host is also very strategic and shows that the continent is enrolled in this program as an important partner. "African countries must evaluate their own capabilities and interpret the blue economy in the way they see fit the most logical of An economic point of view, "says Bita
.

"The concept is not a single size – every country will have to evaluate what natural water-based resources are available to it," he says. Indian continent where we have South Africa and Mauritius, countries tend to take an industrial approach, "he adds

.The blue economy because it should create a million new jobs by 2030 and add about 13 billion dollars to the economy of the country.

The experts also point to Mauritius which is one of the smallest countries in the world but has territorial waters South Africa's size makes the small nation one of the strongest blue economies in Africa.Bita adds that Mozambique, which lies next to the US, is the only country in the world. Indian Ocean, is characterized by the highest species of diverse and abundant natural resources.

Kenya is among the African countries q There are strategies for integrating the blue economy into its national economic plan. Bita says that the blue economy of this East African nation includes shipping and logistic services, fishing and aquaculture, tourism as well as extractive industries such as oil and gas extraction offshore, titanium and niobium

. Bita, expressed concern that ongoing talks on the blue economy have largely turned around full exploitation, so that countries will grow rapidly in the next 10 years, and little on sustainability.

"This is a problem showing that the resources of the oceans are limited, for example, explorers have presented evidence that at least 90% of the largest predatory fishes have disappeared from the world's oceans," warns -he.

The blue world will be a victory for Africa only if there are strategies for it to exploit and protect it, he adds.