Blue Economy as the Foundation Of Sustainable And Equitable Growth
Sun, 17 November 2013 | Blue Economy
President James Michel called on Commonwealth leaders to develop the Blue Economy concept as the foundation of equitable and sustainable development during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo during the retreat sessions at the Waters Edge Resort in Battaramulla, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
“We also emphasize the importance of the Blue Economy for sustainability. Over the last few centuries, our oceans have not been prioritised as spaces for sustainable development. They have rather been sources of competition for extraction of finite resources. In the post 2015 agenda we must transform our relationship with the ocean. We must find the right framework to reconcile the protection, promotion and development of marine resources in accordance with the sovereign rights of states, and principles of shared development,” said the President during his intervention.
The President added, “We also urge for more attention to be given to better define the vulnerabilities of small states, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in particular. We believe that the Commonwealth is well placed to establish a resilience index to better support small states,”.
Furthermore, President Michel intervened about Climate Change whereby he noted that it is also a key issue that affects the ability of developing nations and SIDS in particular to achieve sustainable growth and referred to the special Commonwealth report of the expert group on Climate Finance and the report of the expert group on small states' vulnerabilities.
“The urgency of mobilizing climate financing is increasing day by day. We must insist on the full operationalisation and capitalization of the Green Climate Fund as soon as practicable. We need to increase our advocacy in the international arena in relation to climate vulnerable countries, and SIDS in particular,” said President Michel.
The Seychelles delegation expressed their appreciation of the Summit's endorsement of the two reports which aim to find practical mechanisms to better support small states, and SIDS in particular.
One of the key recommendations included in the reports are the proposals for 'Debt for Adaptation Swaps' which Seychelles has been pioneering as a potential innovative development concept, most recently at the AIMS preparatory meeting held in Seychelles in July to prepare for the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States in Samoa in 2014.
The President also spoke about the importance of good governance, “As the Commonwealth of Nation, we are a family that shares the same values and ideals of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law. We need to continue to ensure that we build strong institutions to ensure these values and ideals through the Commonwealth organisation.”
“The issues under discussion are global issues and we look forward for the Commonwealth to advocate these ideas and explain these concerns in other major institutions of the global governance architecture such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the United Nations,” said President Michel after his final day at the CHOGM.