2ND SYMPOSIUM OF THE AFRICAN MARINE ENVIRONMENT SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE (AFMESI) NOVEMBER 6, 2020.
The African Marine Environment Sustainability Initiative (AFMESI) held its 2nd Symposium
to deliberate on issues related to marine pollution prevention and control in
Africa’s oceans—while proffering sustainable strategies for the implementation of
holistic mechanisms and actions to tackle the urgent and emerging challenges
The theme of the event was Marine Pollution Prevention and Control Towards Blue
Economy. The Symposium was held physically and virtually (Livestream). The in-person event
was held in Victoria Island, Lagos State, Nigeria. COVID-19 precautionary measures
were observed. The event was organised by the Initiative for Inclusive Dialogue in
Nigeria (IIDN). Funding support for the event was generously provided by Ocean Networks
Canada, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The Nigerian Bottling Company
Limited provided some refreshments. Also, a pledge of support was made by The
Ocean Foundation, Washington, DC, USA.
The overall objectives of the Symposium were to critically review the impediments in
the development of a coordinated African Blue Economy, and develop a Roadmap for
the implementation of an inclusive Blue Economy framework.
A robust panel session took place and was
moderated by Dr. Awwal Bamanga. Panelists
also addressed the Lead Paper presented by
Dr. Mogo.
Dr. Bamanga noted that the previous presentations
provided major contexts of how
Africa’s Blue Economy can be developed.
The presentations had set out key actions,
as well as lessons learned based on best
practices from African and global perspectives.
Dr. Bamanga emphasized that institutional
collaborations are fundamental to the achievement of Blue Economy growth,
thus AFMESI’s support toward regional partnerships is fundamental
Prof. Magnus Onuoha, Professor of Economics, Gregory University, Uturu, Nigeria
and, Executive Director, West Africa Green Economic Development Institute
(WAGEDI)
Prof. Onuoha in his briefing, highlighted diverse benefits (jobs, plastic waste management,
ocean governance etc.) of the development of the Blue Economy. He explained
that a framework for the development of the African Blue Economy implementation
index needs to be concretely developed, urgently. He emphasised that the
index should take into account Governance issues, Mitigation, Adaptation, Finance
and, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV).
Key highlights from the Panel Discussions (including the Q & A session)
• There is need to promote effective institutional collaborations to drive ocean
governance.
• With over 60% of Africa’s population below 35years, there is urgency to create new
jobs with the participation of youths.
• There is need to bridge gender gaps and inequalities by ensuring affirmative actions
for gender inclusion in the Blue Economy;
• A sustainable, African Blue Economy will improve food security;
• There is need to outline and drive climate change responsiveness and resilience
towards achieving the overall Blue Climate targets.
• There is need for coherent policy advocacy and implementation of actions in
alignment with the ethos of a sustained African Blue Economy.
• There is urgency to reverse trends of marine pollution and prevent a potential
trajectory where the oceans and seas will contain more plastics than fish.
• Any sustainable strategy for the Blue Economy should ensure protection of local
fish markets and fish production across Africa.
• There is need to ensure adequate understanding and inclusion of the financial
costs of roadmap development and implementation, mobilisation of resources, as
well as costs of developing proposals for conducting assessment of existing blue
economy investments and their sources.
• There is also the need to ensure coherence of the AFMESI Strategy with other Blue
Economy Strategies and Instruments.
Outcomes of the Symposium
1. The mandates of AFMESI were clarified, especially for the benefit of participants
who may not have been familiar with the organization’s works.
2. Linkages were made with already-existing regional and international, marine
environment regulatory guides.
3. The Symposium generated a wide range of opportunities for stakeholders from
across the continent and different sectors to share experiences and lessons
learnt. Thus, providing a solid basis to establish new networks and partnership
ideas for driving the African Blue Economy roadmap.
4. The AFMESI Team stated its commitment to building a Strategic Workplan aimed
at facilitating the resolutions (see next section) that were made at the event.
Resolutions
The following resolutions were made at the 2nd Symposium:
1. A comprehensive program be established to monitor shipping noise in African waters.
2. A regulatory mechanism be established to address legal bottlenecks and security
issues along African waters.
3. The Blue Economy implementation index needs to be developed urgently and
should cover Governance issues, Mitigation, Adaptation, MRV and Finance.
4. A framework for research and development including partnership advocacy and
fireside dialogue platforms that would buttress the need for international maritime
standards to be developed.
5. Immediate development of business models to produce implementation plans
based on the roles of the petroleum, transport and coastal tourism industries vis-avis
the African Blue Economy roadmap.
6. Building a strong communication network starting with the stakeholders attending
this Symposium and build a critical mass of interests towards implementing the
Blue Economy in Nigeria and African in general
7. Development of a Blue Economy Roadmap by AFMESI that will include:
• Strategic planning of supports for AFMESI to implement the objectives.
• Selection of pilot African countries to drive engagements for the Blue Economy,
based on agreed criteria.
• Engagement of several African coastal communities, as well as, international
partners.
The closing statement was given by Dr. Mogo who is, in addition to her lead role at
AFMESI, the immediate past Director of the Marine Environment and Management Department
of NIMASA and Thematic Lead on Marine Ecosystem and Management at the
Nigerian Economic Summit Group.
Dr. Mogo thanked participants for the robust discussions and recommendations made.
She pledged that AFMESI will engage proactively towards those. She thanked the Symposium
partners, Panelists, Moderator and all present for taking out the time to attend
the event. Dr. Mogo also thanked members of the AFMESI Team for their commitments
to ensuring a viable Blue Economy for Africa.
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