Context
The planet’s oceans and coastlines are more endangered than ever. The global Blue Solutions Initiative campaigns for the protection of biodiversity and maritime ecosystems.
The framework is provided by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). With more than 190 parties, it is the most comprehensive binding international agreement in the field of nature conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. Blue Solutions contributes to implementing its strategic plan.
Objective
Promising and inspiring concepts, methods and instruments to protect marine and coastal zones and promote their sustainable use will be transferred and implemented via global knowledge sharing and capacity development.
Approach
Blue Solutions supports selected partner countries and stakeholders in achieving their objectives for the protection and sustainable use of their marine and coastal areas. GIZ works closely with the Norwegian foundation GRID-Arendal, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment).
The project identifies inspiring Blue Solutions: successful, tried-and-tested solutions to marine issues. These are then prepared for the public and subsequently disseminated via conferences, webinars and the web platform PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet.
The underlying idea is that Blue Solutions consist of several elements (building blocks) which can also be applied in other contexts and regions to address similar challenges. The project thus promotes the exchange of knowledge, experiences and solutions – even between the countries of the Global South (south-south exchange).
Under the guiding principle of ecosystem-based management and in close collaboration with international experts, the project has developed four modular training courses and is carrying them out successfully in various countries in Latin America, South-East Asia and Africa.
This allows the project to help develop and improve skills and knowledge in the partner countries (capacity development), particularly in the areas of marine spatial planning and integrated coastal zone management, adaptation to climate change in coastal areas and the integration of ecosystem services into planning processes.
The project furthermore advises on policy-making for the conservation of marine and coastal biodiversity, contributing to the implementation of one of the central areas of activity under CBD.
Results
During the thirteenth and fourteenth meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the first UN Ocean Conference and the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23), the project organised side events with 40 to 100 participants; regional forums with participants from a total of 87 countries were held in Latin America, South-East Asia and Africa.
Thirty leading representatives from different social spheres and 14 countries explored new pathways to the sustainable management of marine ecosystems during Sustainable Oceans Lab, a leadership training programme held jointly with the Global Leadership Academy, which is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.
As a founding member of the PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet partnership, the project supports the thematic community on marine and coastal areas. There are currently more than 200 Blue Solutions from Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa in the portfolio. In order to achieve the greatest possible visibility, the solutions are regularly communicated via social media, brochures, websites and newsletters.
A total of more than 400 participants from over 20 different countries have taken part in 18 completed training courses on the subjects of marine and coastal spatial planning, adaptation to climate change and ecosystem services in coastal regions. People from more than 50 countries have taken part in a range of webinars on the sustainable management of marine resources.