The answer dates back to 2015 when the national government presented a strategic plan like the blue economy would be central to the island nation’s future, as well as a number of investments that have been made since then.
But tonight, as Mr. Guterres gazed at nearly a dozen boats competing in the Ocean Race and docked in Mindelo Harbour, their 10-story masts cutting the sky over São Vicente Island, Mr. Guterres witnessed one of the bet’s most visible payoffs .
Calling the blue economy “a fundamental opportunity to promote sustainable development in the archipelago,” the Secretary-General said the UN looks forward to working with its government and people to “turn this ambition into reality”.
Cape Verde’s Prime Minister José Ulisses Correia e Silva said his country wants to “become better known and have more relevance” in the international arena and that the ocean is the sector where they want to make their voices heard.
“It makes sense to position yourself in this specific space and do it with relevance. It makes sense that this message is coming from here,” he said.
For the past five years, as part of this effort, the country has held an “Ocean Week” each year, and next Monday, Cabo Verde is partnering with the Ocean Race to host a summit that will feature speakers from around the world, including the Secretary General.
An existential threat
Cabo Verde’s commitment may not be enough. As Mr Guterres warned, the country is “on the frontlines of an existential crisis” – climate change.
“Sea-level rise and loss of biodiversity and ecosystems pose an existential threat to the archipelago,” he said. “I am deeply frustrated that world leaders are not providing the necessary response and investment to address this life-and-death emergency.”
Some of this impact can already be felt in the port where the race takes place, one of the best on the entire west coast of Africa, the reason why it attracted merchants and pirates centuries ago and now welcomes the greatest challenge of sailing around the world.
In recent years, Cabo Verde fishermen have noticed a decline in their catch of black mackerel, one of the most popular fish among locals. In 2022, the packaging industry reported a decline in tuna catches and a lack of black mackerel, the raw material for the industry.
According to the preliminary findings of a United Nations-led assessment due to be presented earlier this year and discussed with key national stakeholders, the biomass of large pelagic fish — those that live in the pelagic zone of ocean or lake waters — will be neither others may be near the bottom or near the shore — like albacora, a species of tuna, is expected to decline by up to 45 percent. In the neighboring Senegal-Mauritanian Basin, the decline will be even greater.
Changes like these can have a profound impact on the islands’ economies. In 2018, the fisheries sector provided employment for 6,283 people and was a touchstone in the diet of 588,000 residents. These products also accounted for almost 80 percent of the country’s exports.
“Climate change is an obvious threat to the future of fisheries, but also to biodiversity as a whole,” the Secretary-General said later in the evening while attending the Prime Minister-sponsored speaker series at the Cabo Verde National Center for Arts, Crafts and Design.
“The fact is that there is a very clear connection between the fishing industry and climate protection. Experience has shown that protecting a given region has a multiplier effect in other areas and everyone benefits,” added the Secretary-General.
fight back
The two men sat in an annex of the National Center, the facade of which was covered with the circular tops of oil drums painted in primary colors.
The installation is a statement of the country’s commitment to sustainability, but also a nod to its large diaspora of over a million people; These barrels are often used by immigrants to send gifts to their families.
“Climate challenges are becoming more and more frequent, but we always face difficulties and have always found a way to overcome them,” said the prime minister.
According to Mr. Correia e Silva, the loss of species can also affect Cabo Verde in other ways.
The archipelago is considered one of the top 10 marine biodiversity hotspots in the world and for decades the 24 species of whales and dolphins counted in these waters – nearly 30 percent of all cetacean species – have attracted many of these visitors, making tourism a stronghold of the world economy of the country.
In 2022 alone, after a few years dominated by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the islands have received almost 700,000 tourists, bringing the sector’s contribution to around 25 percent of its GDP.
Climate justice for Cabo Verde
Cabo Verde has begun to resist these changes.
The secretary-general said the country had “demonstrated leadership in words and actions on climate action” and “highlighted efforts to turn debt into climate projects, including in the blue economy”.
Up to 20 percent of Cabo Verde’s energy production now comes from renewable sources – one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa – and the goal is to increase renewable energy use by up to 50 percent by 2030.
The prime minister said his country must “balance the needs of the economy, the environment and communities” because it “needs those resources that will bring prosperity to the country”.
Mr. Correia e Silva shared an example of how this can be done. In the municipality of São Pedro on the island of São Vicente, in recent years part of the population has switched from fishing to a service where tourists can safely swim with turtles.
He went on to highlight a number of initiatives to tackle plastic pollution and promote the circular economy. He also recalled how the country passed an “ambitious” new fisheries law and is working to expand the protected area from six to 30 percent.
“We want to go further, but for that we need resources,” he said.
“We need justice for those who – like Cabo Verde – have done little to cause this crisis but are paying a heavy price,” the Secretary General agreed.
As the conversation wound down, the crews of the Ocean Race paused at the docks a few blocks away. In just a few days they will start the second leg of the competition, which will take them from Cabo Verde across the equator along the South American coast to Cape Town on the southern tip of South Africa.
A few hours earlier when the sailors had met Mr Guterres, who was recounting how his son had taken a sailing trip across the Atlantic with three friends a few years earlier.
This story prompted one of the skippers, Kevin Schofield, to ask him, “Would you ever do something like that?”
“Maybe one day,” he joked. “When I retire.”
