Global leaders attending the conference on climate change taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, have expressed enthusiasm and pledged to accelerating action on the Great Blue Wall initiative.
The "Great Blue Wall" (GBW) initiative is an Africa-led effort toward a nature-positive world that enhances the planet's and societies' resilience to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.
It aims to create interconnected, protected, and conserved marine areas to counter the effects of climate change and global warming in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region.
It also aims at unlocking the blue economy's potential to become a driver of nature conservation and sustainable development outcomes.
鈥淎ll of us here are advocates, promoters, and leaders in the blue space.听We have to take on this challenge, and we cannot do it alone; it has got to be a collective effort,鈥� said听President Wavel Ramkalawan of Seychelles.
The President underscored the need for all to 鈥渟top talking about the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean,鈥� and instead 鈥渢alk about the one ocean we must protect."
He was speaking at an event co-hosted by the UNECA, the government of Seychelles, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the UN High-Level Climate Champions.
Other high-level speakers included Amb. Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Oceans; Nigel Topping; UNFCCC High-Level Climate Champion, B酶rge Brende, President, World Economic Forum and representatives from the United Nations General Assembly, and officials from the governments of Kenya and Mozambique.
In her opening remarks, IUCN President, Razan al Mubarak, said the Great Blue Wall initiative had听"garnered support from both inside and outside of Africa, and had raised the profile of the plight of our oceans and returned energy and faith in international collaboration and cooperation."
Mahmoud Mohieldin 鈥� the UNFCCC High-Level Climate Champion - emphasized the importance of ocean conservation, noting,听"oceans are our biggest ally in the fight of climate action, but, unfortunately, we are compromising this solution by not protecting it.鈥�
鈥淥ceans are the world's largest heat sink; they absorb around 90% of the excess heat caused by climate change and they are also very efficient carbon sinks, absorbing 23% of human-caused carbon emissions," said Mr.听Mohieldin.
The event, which focused on the nexus of climate change, nature conservation, and the blue economy, showcased the first-of-its-kind impact-driven regional initiative - the GBW - to scale up and accelerate ocean-climate action in Africa. It also showed how critical international events can be steppingstones towards achieving the GBW objectives; and called on parties and partners for support and partnership.
African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment, Josefa Sacko, underscored the importance of collaboration and African-led solutions to African problems.
"If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together 鈥� we have to work hand-in-hand. The Great Blue Wall is an African-led initiative which speaks to the African Union ethos of African solutions to African problems,"听said Ms. Sacko
On way forward for the GBW initiative, Nigel Topping, UNFCCC鈥檚 High-Level Climate Champion, highlighted the need to focus on mobilizing financing for climate projects, regionalizing work, and centring science and rigour to attract investors.
Acting Executive Secretary of UNECA, Antonio Pedro, emphasized the importance of implementation.听
"It's about moving from demonstrating what is possible to rising to another level of scale and ambition so that we have a combination of nature conservation and the empowerment of local communities to have sustainable livelihoods," said Mr. Pedro.
