President Hage Geingob said the protection of the ocean for the common benefit of humanity is a collective responsibility of all geographic regions of the world.

Geingob at the first edition of the One Ocean Summit in Brest, France, on Friday said Namibia has a coastline that stretches over 1 572 kilometres, therefore, the cooperation of Namibia’s landlocked neighbours who are considered sea-linked will help with sustainable ocean governance as a shared public responsibility.

Initiatives resulting from this summit must respond to the impacts of the climate change crisis. Through equitable and better governance of the oceans and they must lead to a path of sustainable fishing, combating plastic pollution and coastal erosion, he said.

‘Namibia is in the final stage of developing a Sustainable Blue Economy Policy among others, aimed to effectively protect, maintain and restore biodiversity, productivity, resilience and intrinsic value of Namibia’s marine and aquatic ecosystems. Namibia is also developing Green Hydrogen as a means to limit the impacts of climate change and its consequences on rising sea levels and global warming,’ said Geingob.

He added that world leaders cannot continue to talk about threats to the ocean in an abstract way or to offer one-dimensional solutions that could hinder the implementation of the recommendations from climate change experts because the ocean gives food, it gives life and connects human beings in extraordinary ways.

‘Therefore, its protection is not optional, but vital for the survival of our global village. As such, through initiatives such as the One Ocean Summit, we should recommit to act now to protect the vital resource of our ocean for our continued livelihoods,’ stated Geingob.

The summit was attended by 20 other heads of state, to discuss and mobilise the international community to take tangible action towards preserving and supporting a healthy and sustainable ocean.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency