Risk and resilience: A Commonwealth for the blue economy The 2015 theme of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly is ‘Delivering on and Implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda’. This will include a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs), thus integrating the development agenda (until now the Millennium Development Goals) and the sustainability agenda. The implications for the Commonwealth are significant, as the universal application of the 17 SDGs comes to replace the historic North–South paternalism of development aid, requiring developed countries to adjust their consumption and production practices to reduce their impact on planetary boundaries. The SDGs will be applied in the context of recognising common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR), or, differentially, given historic differential impacts of different countries on the planet. This integrated environment and development agenda invites a new approach to the economy, and SIDS have developed the concept of the blue economy, a variant on the green economy, that recognises the scope of marine resources and jurisdiction of SIDS, the ‘big ocean states’. To this end, a side event was held at the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States to address the potential of the blue economy and recognise the contribution of SIDS to a sustainable political economy. The year 2014 was UN International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS)1, of which the Samoa Conference was the high point. It produced the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action (the SAMOA Pathway) and was the second meeting in the history of the UN to have its outcome document more or less finalised prior to the event. This enabled the meeting to concentrate on the development of partnerships for implementation of the pathway. The result was a plethora of commitments to partnerships, some new, some evolving, as well as a conference that was universally lauded as safe, friendly, efficient and welcoming. According to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon The International Year of SIDS was ‘an opportunity to appreciate the extraordinary resiliency and rich cultural heritage of the people of small island developing states’, and the conference reflected both this resiliency and the value to the global community of SIDS’ cultural heritage, as well as the wealth of natural resources in SIDS. All this serves to underline the loss to us all when SIDS’ integrity is threatened by global warming and globalised plunder of the oceans. At recent CHOGMs and Rio+20, Commonwealth Human Ecology Council (CHEC) has advocated an enhanced Commonwealth commitment to sustainable oceans and fisheries, including Commonwealth Governance 124 Handbook 2014/15 sustainability of livelihoods and food security for small-scale fishers (SSFs) and their communities; building data capacity, especially in small-scale fisheries; enhanced South–South co-operation between states, regional agencies and fisherfolk organisations; and building partnerships to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing at all scales. These issues are now integrated in the blue economy promoted by SIDS, the Commonwealth’s continuing engagement with the needs and vulnerabilities of SIDS’ vulnerabilities leaves it well-placed to champion leadership in this area. Climate change and sustainable fisheries in the Caribbean Neville Trotz The issue that those in the climate change community are most concerned about is the potential for climate change to exacerbate an already very serious situation as far as health of the marine environment is concerned. Sea-level rise, sea surface temperature rise and ocean acidification are all new challenges that are already having a deleterious effect on marine ecosystems. With respect to fisheries, rising sea surface temperatures are already wreaking havoc on coral reef ecosystems with bleaching episodes becoming more frequent and more severe. Very disturbing recent publications show the migration of stocks out of the province of artisanal fisheries. This threatens the livelihoods of fisherfolk and, looking down the line, may compromise the nutritional integrity of the Caribbean population, as a significant amount of protein intake comes from the marine environment. Furthermore, ocean acidification is potentially very detrimental to the crustaceans found in coral reefs. In the climate change arena we are now looking at ways to address these threats. We have come to the realisation that as far as ecosystems go – mangroves, seagrass beds, coral reefs – the basic tenet is that the healthier the ecosystem, the more likely it will be able to resist some of these new, emerging threats from climate change. The notion of ecosystem-based adaptation has recently become part of discussions about SIDS. Central to applying this methodology in the marine environment is the designation and sustainable management of marine protected areas. A four-year project, funded by UKaid (Department for International Development – DFID), is currently applying this approach to ecosystem restoration in the marine environment of the Caribbean. The project is being implemented on the ground by the Caribsave partnership, part of our CARICOM regional framework for Nicholas Watts This article brings together voices from the UN Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Conference side event ‘A Commonwealth for the Blue Economy: Sustainable Oceans and Fisheries’ in Samoa, September 2014. Samoa: Commonwealth Human Ecology Council (CHEC).
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