VICTORIA, Seychelles, Dec 02 (IPS) – The ocean is our source of life, but for decades it has been damaged by humans. With ocean pollution, overexploitation of Marine resources and human-driven temperature increases, the Ocean is changing and not for the better. Our oceans are warming, corals are dying, fish populations are declining, toxic chemicals are being released into the ocean – these effects are clearly visible today, but there is hope. There are organizations from all over the world fighting to save our Ocean.
While the Great Blue Wall will act as a wall against the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss, it will also protect coastal communities, their cultures and livelihoods, and create the enabling conditions and mechanisms needed to accelerate the development of a vibrant green economy. By 2023, the Great Blue Wall will protect, preserve and control at least two million square kilometers of ocean; will support the achievement of net biodiversity benefits by conserving and restoring at least two million hectares of critical biodiversity and sequestering more than 100 million tonnes of carbon; and will open up livelihood opportunities and create at least two million green jobs, while promoting and providing assistance to countries in the global south.
At the 26th session of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, held in Glasgow in 2021, I delivered the opening speech at the launch of the Great Blue Wall Initiative. There, I urged all countries to continue to present a strong agreement and work together to transform aspirations into concrete steps to unleash the power of the Blue Economy, and I asked countries and organizations with resources to join us in this journey to develop and promote an inclusive nature-people economic architecture based on Great Blue Wall, unlocking the full potential of the development of a blue economy driven by environmental conservation and regeneration.
Since its launch, the Great Blue Wall has achieved many milestones:
With these milestones, the Great Blue Wall promises to deliver. It promises to accelerate and scale up ocean conservation actions while promoting social and environmental sustainability and the development of a regenerative blue economy by encouraging political leadership and financial support.
When I was introduced to this program for the first time, I was immediately convinced of its uniqueness, its purpose, the results it aims to achieve and the relationship between nature and people it wants to establish and strengthen. So, I pledged my full support to the Great Blue Wall and developed it from there. In November 2024, I was appointed as the High Level Champion of the Green Wall at the 29th Session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. And during this conference, it was also announced that the Great Blue Wall will partner with the ODISEA expedition in an expedition to explore and protect biodiversity in the Western Indian Ocean. In this press conference I was touched by the words of Thomas Sberna, IUCN Regional Head for Coastal and Ocean Resilience of Eastern and Southern Africa:
- “ it’s about giving a voice to the voiceless and bringing light to the unseen. It’s about telling their stories. It’s about allowing them to generate the science that will inform their decisions and uncover the local knowledge that will guide their actions. This journey will witness and be an actor in what will be remembered as the Rise of our Blue Guardian.”
Today, many people are taking ownership of their responsibility for the future of the ocean on behalf of current and future generations. Today, the Blue Economy is seen as a driver of environmental conservation and development and we are unlocking its full potential. It can be sustainable. It can be refreshing. It can be people-oriented.
To guide its development and implementation, as well as to achieve its goals, the Great Blue Wall is based on the foundation of three important pillars – regenerative sea areas, climate change and a regenerative blue economy – to create strong systems built on strengthening communication and diversity at all. levels and the whole environment.
Fourteen years ago, I saw the formation of the concept of the green economy as the savior of our planet. Today, this fact is being talked about in all countries around the world. There are environmental imbalances in the ocean and the eEcts are reaching us. It is important for all of us to remember that our relationship with the Ocean is reciprocal. Although we depend on it for our survival, it is up to us to ensure that it is able to continue to provide for us.
James Alix Michelformer President of Seychelles.
IPS UN Bureau
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
