{"id":6590,"date":"2021-10-08T02:57:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T17:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/?p=6590"},"modified":"2024-01-28T03:02:40","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T18:02:40","slug":"coastal-developing-countries-count-on-a-sustainable-ocean-economy-in-the-aftermath-of-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inpsjapan.com\/en\/sdgs-2\/coastal-developing-countries-count-on-a-sustainable-ocean-economy-in-the-aftermath-of-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Coastal Developing Countries Count on A Sustainable Ocean Economy in the Aftermath of COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Jamshed Baruah<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GENEVA (IDN | UNCTAD<\/a>) \u2014 Barbados, Belize and Costa Rica are looking beyond the pandemic and climate shocks by developing and implementing national trade strategies strongly linked to resilience, conservation and the sustainable use of their marine resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A regional experience-sharing workshop <\/a>held on September 23-24 highlighted the need to adopt, elaborate and implement evidence-based and policy-coherent oceans economy and trade strategies (OETS) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)<\/a> framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UNCTAD organized the workshop in conjunction with the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS), as part of a project<\/a> to boost the ocean economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe value of ocean assets has been estimated to be at least $24 trillion and it could be more,\u201d said UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Isabelle Durant. \u201cUnderstanding the value of oceans and the trade and governance aspect to sustainably manage them can support millions of livelihoods globally and ensure prosperity for all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applying the OETS approach<\/a>, the project identified marine coastal fisheries and big pelagics as the most promising sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, Costa Rica is developing its first collective certification mark (Pura VidaTM<\/sup>) for sustainable fish, seafood and aquaculture products. The mark to be launched in the last quarter of 2021 guarantees that such products are of high quality and sustainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fishermen and other stakeholders who implement Pura Vida\u2019sTM<\/sup> sustainability ethos can use the mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough the OETS collective branding strategy, Costa Rican fishery and aquaculture products can compete and be distinguished in international markets,\u201d said Andr\u00e9s Valenciano, Costa Rica\u2019s minister of foreign trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica is also formalizing the employment of fishers, boosting domestic demand for fisheries products, and working on doubling its marine areas of responsible fisheries from 11 to over 20 in the next few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belize<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belize\u2019s minister of the blue economy and civil aviation, Andre Perez, announced that despite COVID-19 pandemic shocks, the country\u2019s GDP growth estimates over the last six months exceeded the 2% projected by IMF, with its seafood industry recording an excellent performance. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe fully support the OETS project and are committed to ensuring Belizean fishing communities, stakeholders and vulnerable groups continue to receive fair and enhanced economic benefits from our blue resources,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OETS project in Belize developed  a science-based adaptive multispecies finfish management plan<\/a> that complements the country\u2019s finfish data collection methodology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are expected to introduce new measures to promote the sustainable management of the marine capture fisheries and seafood manufacturing sectors, encourage great export and tourist consumption, while reducing illegal fishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This approach will directly improve the livelihoods of more than 2,500 fishers and indirectly benefit more than 15,000 Belizeans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barbados<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the project\u2019s three beneficiary countries, Barbados reported the greatest COVID-19 impact in terms of its capacity to receive technical assistance and implement related activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the pandemic-induced challenges, the OETS project continued, with the country receiving multi-agency technical assistance on fisheries and coastal and marine environmental services<\/a> and legal and institutional frameworks governing ocean-based economic sectors<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latter contributed to the selection of the pelagic longline fishery as the most promising subsector for further development. This will be followed by country-driven programming and delivery of subsequent activities on climate-resilient fisheries, based on UNCTAD\u2019s ocean economy pillars<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis OETS project through the current workshop is promoting and allowing more South-South learning opportunities in the area of sustainable ocean economy development,\u201d said Sonia Foster, permanent secretary in the ministry of maritime affairs and the blue economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COVID-19 impacts and other vulnerabilities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the tourism-dependent economies of small island developing states (SIDS) hard, slashing their GDP by about 7% due to the collapse in international tourism. During the first weeks of the pandemic, marine fisheries and aquaculture production also decreased by between 40% (in the Americas) and 80% (in SIDS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the three beneficiary countries reported economic disruption that could last for years due to the pandemic and the measures put in place to contain it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite some interruptions in project implementation \u2013 worsened by climate-related events \u2013 the experiences shared at the workshop demonstrated that resilience, adaptability, transparency and cooperation enhance preparedness against climate, health and man-made vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key messages to forge ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n