Climate change is currently one of the biggest challenges facing the world, posing a major threat to natural, economic and social systems worldwide. Greenhouse gases are heating up the seas, causing acidification, creating dead zones in the oceans and making it impossible for marine life to survive. It’s impossible not to mention that human action on the environment needs to be deconstructed, to adopt a more serious view of the effects we have on the environment.

Therefore, the impact of climate change is present in all sectors of activity, with environmental, social and economic consequences that are there for all to see. And, of course, the maritime economy sector is no stranger to these effects, especially in archipelagic, oceanic and tropical countries such as Cape Verde, with more than 99% sea, a practically “liquid” country, in which the sea represents one of the main pillars for building a diversified economy in the coming decades. As such, the ocean is becoming an urgent issue for Cape Verde in terms of climate change, because, given the consequences of climate change, in the near future, the country will experience rising sea levels and will be more susceptible to extreme events such as droughts or torrential rains, as well as other more significant effects.

Cape Verde’s exports are about 85% fish, and 10% of the working population is employed in the fishing sector, highlighting the importance of the environment for the population’s livelihood. Tourism, which is one of the most dynamic sectors of the country’s economy, depends on the conservation of ecosystems and the general state of the environment, and is therefore highly dependent on the natural beauty of the archipelago.

However, land and sea actions have been the main drivers of climate change, and Cape Verde is suffering the impacts in sectors that are important for the economy and food security, such as fisheries. Coastal communities where fishing is the main economic activity are facing an increasingly difficult economic situation. Fishing resources are increasingly distant from the coast or at greater depths, forcing fishing vessels to travel great distances to reach fishing grounds, making fishing operations increasingly costly, calling into question the very economic and financial viability of the entire fishing industry.

In this sense, joint efforts are needed from the main players to combat and mitigate the negative effects of climate change, in order to create alternative responses and solutions to ensure that families can earn an income and have better living conditions.

And the Ministry of the Sea, through the National Directorate for Maritime Policies, has been working to find more resilient responses and solutions to the impacts of climate change in Cape Verde, through proposals for policy measures and legislation that promote the sustainability of the oceans, through actions to communicate, raise awareness and mobilize civil society for the preservation and protection of our blue lung and to foster the development of a culture focused on the sea.

Cape Verde recently approved the National Strategy for the Sea and its action plan, a document that will guide Cape Verde’s sustainable maritime future. It is a holistic dossier that integrates all national activity, anchored in scientific knowledge, with the aim of protecting the sea and its resources, promoting and enhancing its sustainable economic use in all aspects of the blue economy. The Instrument will respond to the major challenges of the decade and will strengthen Cape Verde’s position and visibility in our region and in the world, as a historically and geographically maritime nation.

The formulation of the strategy took into account Cape Verde’s national and international commitments to the conservation of aquatic and marine ecosystems, the sustainable use and management of resources, based on the principles of low-carbon development, energy efficiency, etc., in other words, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG14) and anchored in a strategic vision of mitigating the impacts of climate change on the maritime sector.

With this strategy, Cape Verde is building on the value chains of the sea, with the aim of achieving good maritime governance. The blue economy sector with its key sectors, on the one hand the traditional ones (fishing and aquaculture, tourism and aquatic ecotourism, maritime transport, port area and shipyards) and on the other hand the emerging ones (blue biotechnology, ocean renewable energies, digital technology), have been elected as fundamental pillars of the Cape Verdean government’s policy, offering a different and innovative vision of the sea and our coast to turn challenges into opportunities, creating solutions for economic growth and human health.

The country is taking an environmentally responsible stance, anchored in the conservation of aquatic and marine ecosystems, as well as the creation of sustainable jobs, and in this way achieving the goals and commitments assumed in the United Nations 2030 agenda, and has taken a huge step towards strengthening its capacities in addressing the effects of climate change on the different sectors of the maritime economy, and in implementing the priorities defined in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and the National Adaptation Program (NAP).

In this sense, there is an urgent need for our country to strengthen its commitment to the challenges of preserving and sustainably using our marine and maritime ecosystem, thereby mitigating the impacts that humans have on the marine environment, with a direct impact on the health and well-being of our seas, conserving biodiversity and habitats and acting effectively to minimize climate change, transforming our nation into an example of success in the blue economy. Climate change should be seen as an opportunity to increase efficiency in the use of resources, namely water, energy and soil, and also to modernize the country and make it as sustainable as possible in the future.

Author

Anísio Évora
National Director for Maritime Policy, Ministry of the Sea