COP 22- Mauritius- Workshop and ministerial conference: Towards a sustainable blue econonomy in Africa-
By Houmi Ahamed-Mikidache
Mauritius will organize a ministerial conference on Climate-smart Ocean Economies in Africa on September 1-2. Ahead of this conference, the World Bank is organizing its second journalists workshop from August August 29 to 31.
A few months ago ( February 28 to March 4), the World Bank and the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) in collaboration with USAID and the West Africa Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission organized a workshop known as “The African Journalists for Sustainable Fisheries” in Ghana. The aim was to assist African journalists in producing accurate reporting on fisheries issues.
The primary objective of the second workshop is to raise journalists’ awareness on the challenges and opportunities of the oceans economies and how it contributes to economic growth and improved livelihoods in Africa the bank said. 14 journalists will be invited from the priority countries of the program: Cabo Verde, Comoros, Ivory Cost, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania, and Togo and 20 journalists from Mauritius.
This workshop will deal with mix of technical themes related to oceans economies and mirroring the conference agenda: Fisheries and aquaculture, integrity of the coastline, ports and shipping, renewable energy, tourism, and finance. It will also include media training to sharpen journalists’ reporting skills.
After the three days training, the 34 journalists from Africa will cover the ministerial conference.
“Diversifying economies beyond land-based activities and along coasts all in a climate-intelligent way is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and delivering smart, sustainable and inclusive growth globally”, the Bank emphasized in one of its report.
The 22 UN Climate Change Conference ( COP 22) to be held for the second time in Africa, in Marrakech ( Morocco) will be an opportunity for this continent to implement the commitments made in Paris, according to some experts. The sustainable blue economy are part of the broader global action of COP 22, the bank recalled.