Hibapress
Prince Albert II of Monaco indicated, Thursday in Tangier, that the destiny of Africa, like that of the entire planet, is intrinsically linked to that of the seas and oceans.
Speaking at the 2nd edition of the Blue Africa Summit, organized under the High Patronage of King Mohammed VI, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco specified that the destiny of Africa, like that of the entire planet, is intrinsically linked to that of the seas and oceans, calling for action to respond to the challenges linked to the oceans and preserve the seas.
“The seas are indeed at the heart of the major challenges of our future”, underlined the Prince of Monaco, noting that we are talking about the coastal ecosystems of Zanzibar, the great beaches of Morocco, the fishing boats which provide food coastal populations of Senegal or Gambia, or even ships leaving the port of Abidjan loaded with fruit or cocoa.
“The future of Africa concerns all of humanity, and the future of African ocean resources determines a large part of the future of our planet,” noted the Prince of Monaco, adding: “Beyond the “Africa, the entire blue economy needs financing, which is why my foundation has launched several initiatives aimed at bringing together and channeling green funds for sustainable investments.”
“Ocean Innovators Platform” brings together scientists, entrepreneurs and financiers in order to offer solid expertise to the numerous projects sparked by the emergence of the blue economy and the ReOcean Fund is in the process of mobilizing 100 million euros around respectful projects. of the seas and capable of ensuring their future, said HSH Prince Albert II, recalling that the Principality of Monaco will host the “Blue Economy and Finance Forum” next June, which will precede the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Oceans ( UNOC-3) planned for Nice.
“This mobilization will allow us, I hope, to finally give the blue economy the importance it should have in Africa, as everywhere else, because this is how and only this way we preserve our oceans and our planet” , said the Prince of Monaco.
“Today we have at our fingertips effective responses, capable of ensuring the development of local populations without compromising the future of their environment,” noted, moreover, HSH Prince Albert II, adding that “these responses know how to combine the daily lives of people and the future of our planet, its climate and its biodiversity.”
The Prince of Monaco said he noted, year after year, the effectiveness of these solutions in the Mediterranean and throughout the world, believing that “resolute actions succeed in reversing the course of things”.
Prince Albert II mentioned three examples in this sense, the first being that of fishing. “To feed an increasingly populated planet, terrestrial resources will not be enough. This implies no longer supporting fishing practices that destroy the environment such as deep-water trawling, demarcating exclusion zones necessary for the regeneration of stocks and the conservation of species, and more generally promoting environmentally friendly practices”, underlined the Prince of Monaco.
Another example is that of tourism, where it is a question of reconciling the short time of actors and the long time of resources, noted HSH Prince Albert II, explaining that the degradation of ecosystems, under the effect of tourism uncontrolled threatens this sector in the short term, and that conversely, the development of environmentally friendly activities is increasingly popular with tourists, aware of conservation issues.
The Prince of Monaco presented as a third example, marine protected areas (MPAs), which provide a framework particularly suited to the development of sustainable activities that respect natural environments, emphasizing that their benefits are well known and proven: benefits for biodiversity with an increase in the density, diversity and size of the animals concerned, benefits for the climate since the good health of marine ecosystems allows the oceans to play their role in mitigating climate change, and benefits for populations with the promise of sustainable growth.
“It is therefore fundamental that economic players take up these issues and these solutions, that they understand that the unreasonable and destructive exploitation of resources can never be a source of global and sustainable growth and that they commit their resources and their creativity in the service of a model which truly ensures the future of the oceans and therefore ours”, underlined HSH Prince Albert II.
The second edition of the Blue Africa Summit, organized at the initiative of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco, in partnership with the World Maritime Forum and the Blue Season, brings together nearly 100 scientific experts, economic actors and political leaders to debate of the challenges and opportunities that the ocean represents for Africa.
