MENA Oceans

The Sustainable Coastal Development MENA Forum recently held in Dubai was a great opportunity to reconnect with partners, establish new collaborations, and advance key discussions on the challenges and opportunities surrounding sustainable coastal development in the MENA region. Tatiana Antonelli Abella, Chair of the Advisory Board - MENA Oceans, joined an important discussion on “Protecting Marine Life to Minimise Environmental Impact”, moderated by Christoffel Botha, Fugro - with co-panelists including HE Aseela Moalla - Fujairah Environment Authority, Capt. Saif Al Mheiri - Abu Dhabi Maritime and Yasser Othman - Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD). The panel echoed insights from discussions that the MENA Oceans Initiative has been driving with its stakeholders: emphasising proactive regulations, improved data sharing, and enhancing technologies for sustainable coastal management. Tatiana also highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration, reinforcing the Initiative’s commitment to advocating for regional priorities and amplifying them globally in preparation for upcoming global meetings, including COP29 Azerbaijan and the United Nations Ocean Conference 2025, Nice. #blueeconomies #coastaldevelopment #sdg14 #sustainable #menaoceans

MENA Oceans hosted the 2nd regional maritime stakeholder consultation last week, supporting the 'Navigating the Future of Shipping programme' developed by the High-Level Climate Champions Team, United Nations Foundation, The Sustainable Shipping Initiative and Equal Routes. Building on the momentum from our MENA Oceans Summit sectoral deep dive, and facilitated by Katharine Palmer; this session brought together diverse stakeholders including ports, researchers, bunkering and fuel companies, banks, and youth. The session aimed to gather regional input into the first draft of the '2030 Marine Biodiversity and Ocean Health' Maritime Breakthrough Goal and Roadmap, to be shared at COP29 Azerbaijan, with the final version to be ready by the UN Ocean Conference 2025 in Nice. Discussions brought forth the following inputs: 🎯 Advocating for ambitious yet achievable milestones that engage all value chain stakeholders 🌱 Integrating existing tools like Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) and Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSAAs) 🔬 Boosting data collection in under-researched areas; proposing ship-based live animal sighting reports. 🌍 Categorising milestones into minimisation, restoration, and offsetting actions 🏙️ Considering both offshore and coastal waters, including new port and harbour developments 📊 Refining the roadmap's language to align with scientific terminology and frameworks To learn about the key takeaways from the MENA Oceans Summit sectoral deep dive download our Insights Paper on “Sustainable Maritime Decarbonisation for Healthy Oceans”: https://lnkd.in/eUMT2PXj For more information, reach out to us at menaoceans@goumbook.com. Goumbook #menaoceans #sdg14 #maritimebreakthrough

Last week was an incredible opportunity to interact with and hear from +25 coastal nations across Africa, alongside representatives from Europe and Asia, during the Africa Ocean Week, in Tangier, convened under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI; in partnership with the Académie du Royaume du Maroc, La Saison Bleue and the Forum Mondial de la Mer - Bizerte - It was an honor to meet with esteemed leaders including, 𝐇.𝐒.𝐇. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐈 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐨; 𝐌𝐫. Mohammed Sadiki, Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development, and Water and Forests, Morocco; 𝐇.𝐄. Peter Thomson, United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean; 𝐇.𝐄. Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, Special Envoy of the French President and Ambassador for the Poles and Maritime Affairs; 𝐌𝐫. Pascal Lamy, Co-chair of the Ocean Europe Africa Foundation and Co-chair of the Blue Africa Summit. Day 1 brought together Heads of Delegations from African states for the Africa to UNOC-3 consultations; followed by the Blue Africa Summit on Day 2, where experts, scientists, political leaders, and economic stakeholders drove discussions on bridging gaps. Both days highlighted some critical themes for the African region: ✅The importance of enhancing resilience for both ecosystems and coastal communities, with science, youth, women and innovation at the forefront ✅ Leading impact through enhanced governance mechanisms at a regional level ✅ The role of international cooperation to drive best practice sharing and financing towards research and adaptation projects across the region ✅ A focus on challenges of key sectors such as fisheries; and the role of maritime transport Tatiana Antonelli Abella, Founder of Goumbook and Chair of #menaoceans made a strong call to action towards North African countries to extend collaborative efforts with countries in the Middle East, forging links across the #mediterranean Sea, #red Sea and #arabian Sea, as part of the MENA Oceans Network. The recommendations formulated led to the adoption of the "𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨f 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒", marking a collective commitment to protect Africa’s maritime regions and ensure marine sustainability; and will be highlighted at the upcoming UN Ocean Conference 2025 in Nice. We look forward to building on the partnerships forged! Rym Benzina Bourguiba, Patricia Ricard , Ashok Adicéam , Fedra Francocci, Silvia Guzzini , Anuradha Bhattacharya #unoc3 #sdg14 #oceanaction #menaregion #collaborativeaction #oceanhealth #coastalresilience

Great news from the #MENA region, as Egypt signs the High Seas Treaty, bringing the number of signatory countries to 105. It's the second in the region, after Morocco. Commonly referred to as the BBNJ* treaty, it will only enter into force 120 days after 60 countries will formally 'ratify' the agreement. The high seas are the open ocean that are beyond national jurisdiction.  This area is vital to the global environment because it absorbs about 30% of the CO2 produced by humans each year. The treaty aims to protect the marine life and ecosystems in the two-thirds of the ocean that are beyond any country's jurisdiction. *The Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) was adopted on 19 June 2023 by the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction convened under the auspices of the United Nations. The BBNJ Agreement becomes the third implementing agreement to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. #forourocean #conservation #menaoceans #biodiversity #highseas #bbnj

Recently, we had the honour of meeting with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's المركز الوطني لتنمية الغطاء النباتي ومكافحة التصحر NCVC in Riyadh. Discussions included the upcoming UN Convention to Combat Desertification COP16, being hosted in Riyadh, as its largest meeting to date and the first in the Middle East. In addition, we gained further understanding of the Kingdom’s extensive efforts to combat desertification and climate change, by enhancing mangrove forest cover which would be vital for the coastal environment and biodiversity. Aligned with the Saudi Green Initiative and in collaboration with partners, NCVC aims to plant 100 million mangrove trees along the #redsea & #arabiangulf coasts in the coming years. We further discussed enhancing regional collaborations to share best practices and scientific developments within similar climate landscapes, through our joint work with the Global Mangrove Alliance. We look forward to continuing our discussions and driving important outcomes at the upcoming meetings in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. #menaoceans #mangroves #coastalecosystems #cop16riyadh

Just published: Insights Paper on ‘Sustainable Maritime Decarbonisation for Healthy Oceans’, by Goumbook, in collaboration with DP World, High-Level Climate Champions and Roland Berger. The report shares important outcomes from the UAE Maritime Sectoral Deepdive convened by DP World, hosted at the 2nd Annual MENA Oceans Summit 2024 by Goumbook - bringing together diverse stakeholders across the shipping value chain, including: conservation agencies, scientists and the community. The sectoral deep dive was held as part of a series of global consultations to gather localised inputs, which inform the development of the sectoral Biodiversity Plan, an outcome of the 2030 Shipping Pact for People & Nature (SPPaN) under the Maritime Breakthroughs. To download the report, please click here: https://lnkd.in/eUMT2PXj Tatiana Antonelli Abella, Ignace Beguin Billecocq, Katharine Palmer, Dr. Jimena Rodriguez, Piotr Konopka, Anuradha Bhattacharya, Hani Tohme, Dragos Fundulea, Karim J-P Haggar, PhD, Jan Gerrit Köchling #maritimesustainability #biodiversity #oceanstrategy #sppan #oceanbreakthroughs

This week, we are excited to see two important developments from the United Nations General Assembly that support advancing a sustainable ocean economy; following H.E. Razan Al Mubarak's appointment as UAE’s Sherpa and High-Level Representative to the #oceanpanel. - #uae joins the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy as its 19th member, and the first nation from the MENA region. The UAE proposes to draft and implement a Sustainable Ocean Plan considering measures such as marine spatial planning, integrated coastal management, marine protected areas, and strategic investments into key blue economy sectors. - The launch of the Ocean Panel’s “100% Alliance” initiative, calling all coastal and ocean states to commit 100% sustainable management of all oceans under national jurisdiction also marking an ambitious mandate in the lead up to the UN Ocean Conference 2025, Nice where we expect to see coastal cities drive the agenda in securing resilient, sustainable ecosystems and blue economies. #menaoceans #developments #marineconservation #sdg14 #oceanpanel

The 10th IUCN Regional Office for West Asia Regional Conservation Forum held in Riyadh, hosted by National Center for Wildlife, KSA concluded with a strong call to action for policy makers, academia, the private sector and community organisations: that nature cannot be tackled as an isolated agenda - a clear need for converging business and humanitarian outcomes with nature, backed by science, was identified as crucial to drive conservation efforts in the region. Tatiana Antonelli Abella, Founder of Goumbook and Chair of the MENA Oceans Initiative highlighted the role of the private sector in enabling a nature positive transition, as she joined a panel discussion on “Navigating Ocean Challenges: Strategies for a Sustainable Future in West Asia”, moderated by Ameer A. Eweida. Discussions with co-panelists Dania Abdul Malak, Director, ETC-UMA and Abdulnasser Al-Qutub, Director, National Center for Wildlife drew attention to the following areas:  🌱 The importance of adopting ecosystem-based approaches integrated with circular economy principles 🔬 Enhancing the sharing of scientific evidence in shaping actions and decisions for coastal and marine environments 🎯 The power of establishing strategic cross-sectoral collaborations, with the government actively driving these efforts, and actively engaging the private sector Meeting IUCN members and thought leaders through the week, was a valuable opportunity to strengthen relationships with peers from the region and exchange notes on West Asia’s unique challenges and opportunities. We look forward to these talks driving outcomes at key upcoming events including COP29 Azerbaijan, UN CCD COP16 Riyadh, UN Ocean Conference 2025 Nice - culminating at the IUCN World Congress 2025, Abu Dhabi. #marinebiodiversity #blueeconomies #sustainable #conservation #sdg14

Interesting insights from Yiannis Issaris, Marine Ecologist (Phd) and Underwater Videographer, on World Dolphin Day, the anniversary of the largest single day slaughter of cetaceans in recorded history - both in memory of the 1428 dolphins killed in Faroe Islands in 12/09/2021, and a reminder that the dolphins around the world need more protection. For those who love wildlife and see ecotourism as a way of preserving nature, Yiannis offers an interesting perspective on the role of responsible eco-tourism practices in conserving marine species. How many of us, if given the opportunity, would pay to check off our bucket list, the experience of swimming with dolphins? In 2020, Shawky, Christiansen, and Ormond conducted a study on the impact of swim-with-dolphin tourism at Egypt’s Shaab Samadai (Samadai Reef) in the northern Red Sea, where regulations regarding tourist interactions are in place. Their findings showed that –despite the regulations– tourist activities significantly affected the spinner dolphins’ behaviour, increasing their milling, traveling, and avoidance, while significantly reducing their resting time. This highlights that even with management measures in place, tourist activities, unless led responsibly and with awareness created at all levels; disrupt dolphin behaviour more than previously recognised, potentially leading to long-term negative impacts on their energy reserves and overall well-being. Responsible tourism not only enriches our lives but also safeguards the delicate balance of marine ecosystems for future generations. REF: Shawky A, Christiansen F, Ormond R, 2020. Effects of swim-with-dolphin tourism on the behavior of spinner dolphins at Samadai Reef in the Egyptian Red Sea. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 30(7), DOI: 10.1002/aqc.3332 DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views, positions, or policies of any employer or affiliated organisations. #marineecosystems #conservation #dolphinday #menaoceans

The IUCN Regional Office for West Asia Regional Conservation Forum kicked off in Riyadh today, hosted by the KSA National Center for Wildlife, with opening keynotes by HE Razan Al Mubarak, HE Dr. Grethel Aguilar and other dignitaries; who further joined a high level opening panel bringing together HE Eng Abdulrahman Al Fadely, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and HE Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment Egypt - moderated by Dr. Hany El Shaer. The MENA Oceans team looks forward to engaging with IUCN members over the next few days to gain more insights into key conservation issues and effective implementation plans, identifying regional challenges and opportunities to accelerate the pace of ocean action. Tomorrow, we look forward to the Financing Nature and Strategies track, as part of which Goumbook Founder and Chair of the MENA Oceans Initiative, Tatiana Antonelli Abella joins a panel moderated by Dr. Ameer A. Eweida on Navigating ocean challenges: Strategies for a sustainable future in West Asia. #oceanconservation #collaborativeaction #regional #blueeconomy #menaoceans