Credit: Great Blue Wall

By James A Michel
VICTORIA, Seychelles, Dec 2 2024 (IPS)

The Ocean is our life source, but for decades it has been repeatedly marred by humankind. With the disposal of pollutants into the Ocean, overexploitation of Ocean resources and the human-driven increase of global temperatures, the Ocean is changing and not for the better. Our Oceans are warming, corals are dying, fish stocks are declining, toxic chemicals are being released into the Ocean – these eAects are clearly visible today, but there is hope. There are organisations from all around the world that are fighting to save our Ocean.

James A Michel

Whilst the Great Blue Wall will act as a wall against climate change impacts and biodiversity loss, it will also protect coastal communities, their culture and livelihoods, and create the enabling conditions and necessary mechanisms to accelerate the development of a regenerative blue economy. By 2023, the Great Blue Wall will equitably and eAectively protect, conserve and manage at least two million km square of the Ocean; it will support the achivement of a net-gain of biodiveristy by conserving and restoring at least two million hectares of critical ecosystems and sequester more than one hundred million tons of carbon; and it will unlock regenerative livelihood opportunities and create at least two million blue jobs, whilst advocating and providing support to countries in the global south.

At the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which took place 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 presenting a strong common front and work together turning ambitions into concrete actions to unleash the potentials of the Blue Economy, and called on countries and organisations with resources to partner with us on this journey to promote and develop an inclusive nature-people blue economy architecture based on the Great Blue Wall, unlocking the full potential of the development of the blue economy driven by conservation and regeneration.

Since its launch, the Great Blue Wall has achieved many milestones:

Credit: Great Blue Wall

Through these milestones, the Great Blue Wall promises to deliver. It promises to accelerate and upscale ocean conservation actions while enhancing socio-ecological resilience and the development of a regenerative blue economy by catalysing political leadership and financial support.

When I was first presented with this initiative, I was immediately convinced of its uniqueness, its purpose, the outcomes it aims to achieve and the nature-people relationship it is seeking to re-establish and strengthen. So, I pledged my full support to the Great Blue Wall and have promoted it ever since. In November 2024, I was appointed as a High-Level Champion of the Great Blue Wall at the 29th meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. And during this conference, it was also announced that the Great Blue Wall will be partnering with the ODISEA expedition on an expedition to explore and protect biodiversity in the Western Indian Ocean. In this press conference I was moved by the words of Thomas Sberna, IUCN Regional Head Coastal and Ocean Resilience of Eastern and Southern Africa:

“[This expendition] is about giving a voice to the unheard and bringing a light to the unseen. It’s about telling their stories. It’s about enabling them to produce the science that will inform their decisions and unveiling the local knowledge that will guide their actions. This expedition will bear witness and be an actor in what will be remembered as the Rise of our Blue Guardians.”

Today, many people are taking ownership of their responisibilty of the future of the Ocean behalf of present and future generations. Today, the Blue Economy is seen as a driver of conservation and development and we are unlocking its full potential. It can be sustainable. It can be regenerative. It can be people-centred.

To guide its development and implementation, and to achieve its goals, the Great Blue Wall is based on a premise of three key pillars – regenerative seascapes, climate change and a regenerative blue economy – to create resilient systems built upon strengthening connectivity and diversity at all levels and of all nature.

Credit: Great Blue Wall

Fourteen years ago, I saw the architecture of the blue economy concept as the savior of our planet. Today, this reality is being talked about in all countries around the world. There is an ecological imbalance in the Ocean and its eAects are reaching us. It is important for all of us to remember that our relationship with the Ocean is one of reciprocity. Whilst we are dependent on it for our survival, it depends on us to ensure it is able to continue to provide for us.

James Alix Michel, former President of Seychelles.

IPS UN Bureau

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Alongside climate finance, COP29 currently being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, was expected to serve as an important platform for nations to demonstrate their intention to submit stronger national climate commitments, strengthen adaptation efforts, and show tangible progress and action on previous pledges.

James A Michel

Stating that, “The United Nations’ COP climate talks are ‘no longer fit for purpose’ and need an urgent overhaul.”

The UN’s climate talks have made significant progress in recent years, despite the fact that unanimous agreement is needed among almost 200 countries to take action.

The Paris climate agreement, signed in 2015, to keep that rise under 1.5C this century.

But are we on track to achieve these stated goals to save life on the planet?

Definitely not !

It is not a lack of resources which is holding it back but a lack of commitment. WWF (early in 2020) predicted that three of the four targets for 2020 would not be achieved, and one (on MPAs) only partially so. In another critical study it is stated that a failure to achieve this is due to the fact that 70 per cent of all countries had not by then met a single one.

More worrying, though, is the conclusion that, for many countries the ocean is simply not a priority.

It is no coincidence that of all the 17 goals, SDG 14 attracts the least funding; the shortfall to enable targets to be met is estimated to be close to $150 billion.

Small island states are a case in point, all of which are totally dependent on the surrounding ocean but which are invariably without sufficient funding to invest in improvements. The unifying factor, though, is not geography but economic performance, which can be evident in large as well as small countries.

Hampered by such obstacles as trade barriers, debt distress, food insecurity, climate change and meagre resources, the world’s poorest countries lagged furthest behind in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.*-

The basic contradiction, of course, is that getting to a state of sustainable development costs money – but if that is in short supply, how can everyone get there?

It follows from this that it is in the world’s interest to transfer funds from richer to poorer nations to make the changes that will benefit the world. Alas, the outcome of lengthy discussions and the various COPs have so far failed to offer any practical suggestions to achieve this. Words again, without action.

Therefore for now one has to go down the scale, to the level of individuals, communities and NGOs to find more promising ways to rescue the situation. The UN can be retained to add gravitas (given its record, an irony in itself) but the real energy for change will come from those who care most and are not shackled by endless rules and factional interests, and the financing of wars as a priority.

(The author served as the third President of Seychelles from 2004 to 2016).

IPS UN Bureau

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Beneath the vast expanse of the ocean surface lies another world. At first, around the shores, the continental shelf is little more than an extension of the adjoining landmass. But then one reaches the edge of the abyss and, with the sudden drop that follows, everything changes. Remarkably, in view of what is known about the rest of the planet, and even outer space, most of the ocean floor remains largely a mystery. The scientific consensus is that only 5% of the deep sea has been explored in any detail. When a passenger jet was lost somewhere in the Indian Ocean in 2014, rescuers floundered without definitive maps of the maritime space and its currents at different depths that might have helped in their search.

James A Michel

Such is the remarkable physical backcloth for a new era of underwater activity – mining for an array of metals – that is currently high on the commercial and political agenda for ocean development. There is growing pressure from multi-national consortia working with individual countries, small as well as large, to go beyond the present limits of exploration, with a view to widespread excavation. On the basis of a series of targeted explorations, the list of minerals to be found in the deepest parts of the ocean is becoming irresistible for countries and corporations alike. The potential costs of extraction will be enormous but so, too, the returns. Gold, platinum, copper, cobalt, nickel, manganese, lead, lithium, titanium and zinc are amongst the treasures that might soon be brought to the surface. Reserves include rare earth elements that are used in products such as memory chips, batteries for electric vehicles and solar panels. Paradoxically, some of these seabed minerals can help to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

There is, however, a very high price to pay in terms of ocean sustainability. What is already known about the seabed reveals a unique ecosystem that has been intact throughout human history. In the deepest reaches, myriad creatures have adapted to an inhospitable world without sunlight. Some have developed their own forms of illumination, others survive in total darkness. They are extraordinary creatures, most of which we still know little about. Yet this fragile environment that has taken millions of years to evolve could be devastated in a short burst of mining, where science-fiction machines are lowered to scrape and collect for a new generation of mobile phones and smart gadgets in the home. In the words of David Attenborough:

The rush to mine this pristine and unexplored environment risks creating terrible impacts that cannot be reversed. We need to be guided by science when faced with decisions of such great environmental consequence.

The United Nations’ agency, the International Seabed Authority, has granted exploration licences but has so far been constrained by international pressure from going to the next stage of allowing excavation. A moratorium is urged, at least until we understand the implications of what is proposed, and so far the agreement is just about holding.

My own view is that it would be tragic to destroy such an enthralling wilderness, containing so many unique features and on this vast scale. There are too few undeveloped areas of the world and this of one of the last. Surely we have a responsibility to do what is right for the planet, putting ethics before raw profits. Options need to be properly explored, asking if we really need these metals and whether the price can be justified. There is still time to pull back, but only just.

It is humanity itself which is now on the edge of the abyss.

James A Michel is Former President of the Republic of Seychelles.

IPS UN Bureau

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ICS Conservation Team protecting Alphonse Island's fragile nearshore ecosystems by retrieving a drifted FAD. Credit: Pep Nogues

By James A Michel
VICTORIA, Republic of Seychelles, Feb 21 2024 (IPS)

For most of history, only those who made their living from the sea chose to live on the coast. Fear of being battered by storms, not to mention vulnerability to attacks from foreign navies, kept most people inland. Gradually that changed and, along with fisherfolk and their families, the idea of a coastal location became something of a cult. High property prices still reflect its popularity. But is it any longer so desirable?

One reason to question the trend is rising sea levels. Scientists may argue about precise measurements but the rise is unmistakable. The warming of the ocean and melting ice are causing it. And by the end of this century it will be in feet rather than centimetres. Individual houses, the lower reaches of cities and even large swathes of continental nations will be under water. Bangladesh has for long been in the danger zone but so, too, are island communities, especially in the Pacific. Some of these islands have already been lost to the sea.

A second reason why a coastal location is no longer so attractive is marine pollution. Waste materials in the sea and around the coast are ubiquitous. Some are deliberately dumped by municipal bodies without adequate disposal units. In other cases waste is swept ashore, often emanating far away. Even in some of the remote islands of Seychelles, volunteers on beach-cleaning operations collect, literally, tons of rubbish from what should be a pristine shoreline.

What should we be doing to reverse trends and save coastal communities? Answers are not so difficult to find. The best way to slow down the rise of sea levels is to reduce global temperatures. But progress in achieving this is disappointing. In turn, marine pollution can be drastically reduced if poorer nations have the capacity to properly treat waste materials. Easy enough in theory but it calls for a massive transfer of resources from North to South. And there are precious few signs of that.

Discarded fishing nets: Brikole is a business startup in Seychelles which recycles the high volume of redundant fishing nets in the surrounding seas. Credit: Ardfern/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

There are more attainable ways to mitigate the situation but by definition, these generally offer little more than sticking plaster for deep wounds. Building new houses on stilts, raising sea walls, clearing rubbish from beaches on a regular basis, and more effective codes for the fishing industry and other shipping to minimise waste in the sea.

A bigger question is to ask who will take action on much-needed global solutions?

– Each year, thousands of delegates attend the latest climate change extravaganza. The next one will be COP 29, in Azerbaijan. But what is really achieved at these events? Fine words are spoken, with a majority in agreement, but if just China and India opt out there is little that will work.

– Also at a global level, the United Nations encourages its members to meet sustainability targets. To loud acclaim, 2015 saw the launch of 17 Sustainability Development Goals, to be achieved by 2030 at the latest. We’re past the halfway mark now and all seventeen of these flagships are trailing, Goal number 14, ‘Life Below Sea’, is all about the ocean and no one could fault the analysis and selection of targets. The problem remains one of how any of this will be implemented.

– Individual nations are little better. Their leaders make fine speeches, travel around the world, and then promptly go quiet when they have to find the necessary resources to make the changes.

Experience shows that some of the most promising initiatives are not to found in the great debating chambers but closer to the ground. Smaller organisations cannot solve all of the world’s problems but they can make a difference at a local level. NGOs, for instance, have the advantage of being nimble and strongly focused on specific issues. Restoring a mangrove forest, protecting the habitat of marine mammals in a particular location, or reviving a coastal coconut industry can all bring tangible benefits.

Coconut plantation revival: Kentaste is a local company reviving the coconut industry along Kenya’s beaches. Credit: Picture courtesy of Joanne Muchai

Even without the formal status of an NGO, schools and local communities are active in beach-cleaning projects, providing visitors with information and renewing worn-out fencing. These might too easily be dismissed as superficial but, without such interventions, the coastal environment would be all the poorer.

A third source of innovation is to be found in business startups. Entrepreneurs, invariably young, are prepared to invest their own savings in ideas that might one day evolve into profitable businesses but which, in any case, yield outcomes for the common good. Recycling waste products is one example that can be seen in different countries.

Coastal communities need all the help they can get. If national and international bodies are slow to respond, we can’t afford to wait. There are many individuals and groups ready to make a much-needed start. From small beginnings, who knows what will result? They need all the help we can give. The time for waiting is over.

James A Michel is Former President Republic of Seychelles (2004-2016) and Executive Chairman James Michel Foundation.

IPS UN Bureau

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