Edson Baraukwa | Africa Guardian
Africa’s blue economy is emerging as a pivotal focus area, aligning with the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Despite its immense potential, many African nations face challenges in controlling and benefiting from their oceanic resources.
Securing financing for global environmental initiatives has become increasingly difficult. For example, negotiations at COP16 on Nature and Biodiversity ended without a dedicated fund to implement the 2022 Montreal-Kunming agreement on biodiversity. This gap between global commitments and actual resources disproportionately affects African countries, which often lack the means to self-fund ambitious environmental projects.
African negotiators continue to advocate for accountability in multilateral agreements, ensuring that pledged resources materialize. In parallel, countries across the continent are exploring innovative financing tools such as debt swaps, green bonds, and blue bonds to support climate and environmental resilience efforts.
Addressing Disparities in Fisheries Management
Africa’s blue economy is hindered by inequitable practices like harmful fisheries subsidies. On average, distant fishing nations subsidize their fleets operating in African waters at twice the rate African nations can support their own. This disparity depletes marine resources and undermines local economies, complicating efforts to build sustainable ocean-based industries.
The Great Blue Wall Initiative
To redefine the use of oceanic resources, African nations have launched the Great Blue Wall initiative, which envisions a “regenerative blue economy.” This concept focuses on reinvesting in oceans to create jobs while empowering local communities to steward marine ecosystems.
The initiative aims to conserve and restore seascapes, protecting 30% of participating countries’ Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) by 2030. It seeks to achieve a net gain in critical ecosystems such as mangroves, corals, and seagrasses, while creating up to 70 million livelihoods and 10 million blue jobs by the same year.
The Great Blue Wall brings together ten countries: Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, and France (through La Réunion). These nations collaborate to enhance ecological resilience, improve livelihoods, and bolster climate adaptation.
Financing Africa’s Blue Economy
A key feature of the Great Blue Wall is its collaborative financing strategy, which pools resources to create economies of scale. This approach also supports transitioning from extractive fisheries subsidies to community-led resource management.
Elsewhere, countries like Cabo Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe are leveraging innovative climate finance through debt-for-nature swaps. For instance, Cabo Verde converted €12 million of its national debt with Portugal into investments in water, sanitation, and renewable energy projects, such as solar-powered desalination plants. Similarly, São Tomé and Príncipe redirected €3.5 million into a national climate fund, supporting green investments and climate adaptation projects.
São Tomé and Príncipe also established a Conservation Trust Fund to preserve natural heritage and promote eco-tourism, using these efforts as catalysts for larger funding mobilization.
The Path Forward
These financing initiatives highlight the urgent need for global processes to deliver predictable and scalable funding for climate and environmental resilience. Equally important is the role of African-led innovations built around the needs of vulnerable communities.
Investing in the intersection of climate, nature, and resilience can unlock the immense value of Africa’s natural assets, estimated by the African Development Bank to be worth $6.2 trillion. By empowering local communities and aligning with global commitments, Africa is paving the way for sustainable development and a thriving blue economy.
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