The WWF is run at a local level by the following offices...
- WWF Global
- Adria
- Argentina
- Armenia
- AsiaPacific
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belgium
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Borneo
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Caucasus
- Central African Republic
- Central America
- Central Asia
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Croatia
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Denmark
- Ecuador
- European Policy Office
- Finland
A sustainable blue economy for Madagascar: Challenges and ways forward
Madagascar defines the Blue Economy as: "Exploitation of all maritime and inland water bodies and their resources for economic growth while preserving ecosystems". A definition that emphasizes the conservation of ecological habitats and associated species, with particular attention to the exploitation and sustainable use of resources that benefit the economy and local populations.
In its first series of Policy Brief for a sustainable Blue Economy in January 2023, WWF issued 5 recommendations that could be strategic entry points for Madagascar:
- The preservation and restoration of ecological habitats to ensure the productivity, integrity and connectivity of ecosystems. A framework to identify Madagascar’s marine and coastal ecosystems, habitats, biodiversity and species needs to be up to date to strengthen conservation priorities.
- Management and conservation actions are to empower and recognize the rights of coastal communities, who are pivotal in the development of the blue economy and local governance. Community resilience and environmental sustainability are intrinsically linked.
- Deter, and implement measures to prevent, illegal activities such as IUU fishing, while implementing robust and precautionary measures that protect oceans from potential ecological impacts. The means of implementing these policies and non-compliance with existing regulations are hampering challenges.
- Redirect mainstream finance (under government leadership) towards more sustainable activities and stop subsidies activities that impact the environment with short-term benefits for the economy. Sustainable mechanisms focusing on finance and market development improve value chains and nurture innovative financing initiatives.
- Decisions must be based on research & science to improve data availability and decision making.
Towards advancing sustainable blue economy, Madagascar is not starting from scratch. The country’s current initiative that supports expanding and consolidating Madagascar’s marine protected areas network help set conservation priorities for identified key biodiversity areas. And in 2022, Madagascar signed the charter establishing the SADC Monitoring Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre (MCSCC) dedicated to the collective fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Beside sustainable blue economy principles, the implementation of marine spatial planning (MSP) has been deemed to maintain a balance between environmental conservation and economic development. MSP refers to a process that takes particular account of the principles of integrated management based on ecosystems, human rights and climate change. In Diana Region (Diego, Ambilobe, Nosy Be and Ambanja), approximately 100 stakeholders were identified and consulted including governmental institutions, members of the private sector, NGOs and CSOs. In that perspective, MSP process in Madagascar is a bridge between communities and policy makers, enabling community representatives to raise their voices and have their perspective taken in account and addressed in the establishment of marine policy frameworks. Bridging this gap between high level decisions and local realities is critical as sustainable blue economy will not work if not at scale and implemented at local level. This inclusive principle is not only about ocean governance, it is on all aspects. An illustrative example putting coastal communities in the center of sustainable finance flow is happening in Mahafaly seashore, southwestern Madagascar, with seaweed farming. There, communities benefit training, capacity building and equipment donation from a private operator to ensure their production complies to the norms. This win-win partnership is ensuring stable revenue for communities while making up for the loss of income related to meteorological events, or climate change effects to their livelihood. While communities are farming on the seashore, pressures to the reefs are believed to decrease thus enabling renewal of fish stocks. It is also ensuring sustainable production of seaweed to be exported abroad to Madagascar, guaranteeing the entry of foreign currency into the country and developing entrepreneurship.
Sustainable blue economy is underway in Madagascar, from the country’s Blue Policy Letter drafted in 2015 to the establishment of its Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy in 2021. With a cross-sectoral and integrated approach, Madagascar will surely move towards achieving target 6 of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life below water) by emphasizing coordination between the various sectors and stakeholders involved in the blue economy, in order to maximize economic benefits while preserving the integrity of ecosystems.