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‘Greater awareness of ocean issues is a vital step towards Samoa,’ says Mancham |21 April 2014

The well-respected magazine The Economist last week released an executive summary of the World Ocean Summit which it hosted in San Francisco on February 24-26 this year in partnership with the prestigious National Geographic.

According to the report improved governance is urgently required if increasing economic activity in the ocean is to be effectively managed and environmental degradation altered and reversed.

Founding President of Seychelles, Sir James R. Mancham, represented Seychelles at this event which brought together leaders from government, industry and multilateral organisations along with scientists and environmental campaigners to share the latest knowledge on issues facing the ocean.

The summit was not simply an information exchange but also an opportunity for stakeholders from different industries and backgrounds to meet and forge connections: (a) speed-dating service whose most important results would come not necessarily from the summit itself but from the links made as participants continued to meet in the following months to discuss the Blue Ocean concept and the position of small islands states nations where Seychelles have already made considerable inroads and sees itself as almost the leader of small islands nations in their quest to find an acceptable, equitable solution to their problems.

Recently President James Michel has openly acknowledged Seychelles’ pro-active role in this sphere while his Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Paul Adam and Minister for Environment and Energy Professor Rolph Payet were echoing his initiatives in the work Seychelles has done in preparation for the small island meeting in Apia, Samoa from September 1-4, 2014.
In its report on the San Francisco meeting, The Economist singled out and highlighted the intervention of Mr Mancham:

“A recurring topic throughout the summit was how the ocean’s resources should be appropriately valued. Sir James R. Mancham, Founding President of the Republic of Seychelles, commented that ‘No country is small if it is surrounded by the sea’. He said that leaders of low-lying countries as well as larger developing countries are now calling on inter-governmental organisations, industry and developed countries to rethink how the rest of the world views these ocean-dependent states. Ms Kyte agreed that the international community should not think of small islands states as perpetual aid recipients but should instead invest in them heavily and immediately. By assigning these countries’ ecosystems appropriate value, investors could create sustainable economic futures for countries that need and depend on the ocean most.”

Fritz Van Paasschen, chief executive of Starwood Hotel and Resort which manages hotel chains such as Sheraton, Westin and Le Meridien, said that his company has persuaded owners of hotel properties they manage to make a number of sustainability changes such as saving energy and water.

“The payback is quick,” he said. The changes must not just be ecologically sound, but also economically viable, noting that he is “optimistic that there are still many things we can do”.
Earlier in the summit Sylvia Earle, an explorer in residence at National Geographic had asked: “How do you value what we are doing to the ocean? Even fish have a zero accounting balance swimming in the ocean. We take them out and what is extracted from the balance books? Nothing!”

In a statement issued yesterday, Mr Mancham said he was bringing the world ocean summit executive summary report to the attention of President Michel, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Paul Adam and the Minister for Environment and Energy Professor Rolph Payet in view of their pro-active involvement in the issues concerned.

He said that the challenges for best ocean policies are great but the net result could be most rewarding for humanity.

He said that the most important thing we extract from the ocean is our existence and that he was grateful to organisations like The Economist and National Geographic to have started an international campaign for ocean awareness as awareness of the oceans is at the same level as awareness of land issues was 40 years ago.

Meanwhile, as energetic as ever, Mr Mancham will leave Seychelles on Wednesday this week to take part in a meeting of the Club de Madrid in Baku, Azerbaijan.

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