[…] Africa’s Great Blue Wall initiative aims to establish a network of seascapes that benefit both people and nature more sustainably. The initiative sets out to help countries reach the following targets: protect 30% of the ocean by 2030; achieve net gain of critical blue ecosystems – such as mangroves, corals, seagrasses – by 2030; develop a regenerative blue economy and create millions of jobs by supporting local communities through funding, training and technical assistance. […]
Led by Western Indian Ocean countries, and supported by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and a coalition of partners, the Great Blue Wall initiative has called upon innovators to help enable the regeneration of the WIO while creating economic opportunities for the 70 million people currently dependent on it.
Start-ups and social enterprises are being asked to help the sustainability and resilience of the WIO by submitting solutions that are beyond the ideation or prototype phase, in the following five focus areas: sustainable and equitable use of ocean resources; supporting activities; pollution (excluding plastic); seascape conservation and restoration; and protecting and restoring blue carbon ecosystems.
Submissions for the Great Blue Wall Challenge are already underway, with a deadline of 24 April 2023. Winners will be announced on World Ocean Day on 8 June 2023.
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Thomas Sberna, World Economic Forum, 6 April 2023. Article.
