Download Minister Jardim, Curacao - Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week

BlueChangeandtheClimateEconomy(TBD)
TheMillenniumEcosystemAssessmentconductedbytheEnvironmentDepartmentof
theWorldBankadecadeago,providedthefirstcomprehensiveglobalinventoryofthe
healthofEarth’secosystemsandfoundthatmarineandcoastalsystemsareamongthe
mostthreatenedecosystemsonourplanet.
Overharvestingandpollution,resultingfromoverfishing,unsustainablecoastal
developmentandclimatechange,areallcontributingtothenow-wellknown
destructionofhighlyproductivemangroveforests,seagrassbedsandcoralreefs,the
world’slargestreservoirofbiodiversity.
Thedestructionofthesecoastalecosystemsreducestheproductivityonwhichwe
dependforfoodrightnowbutalsolowerstheirresilience,i.e.,theircapabilityto
withstandstressorssuchasglobalwarmingandoceanacidification,inthefuture.The
economicvalueofNatureisoftenignored,buthasreceivedincreasinglygreater
attentioninrecentyearsnowpeoplerealizethatnaturalresourcesarecrucialfortheir
well-beingandevensurvival.
Mangrovesandcoralreefsprovidecoastalprotection,anaturalandcheapformofwater
management,tolow-lyingcoastalstatesandarethefirstlineofprotectionforcoastal
communitiesagainststormsandrisingsealevelsthatarebothexpectedtoincreaseasa
resultofglobalwarming.Coralreef-supportedtourismintheCaribbeanbringsin5.5
billiondollareachyeartothisregionbecausehealthycoralreefsattractdiversand
generatethesandforthebeachesthatsupportthisindustryinnationsthatoftenlack
othersignificantmeansofincome.Insummary,thecontributionofhealthymarine
ecosystemstotheeconomyofcoastalcommunities,especiallyinSmallIsland
DevelopingStates,isimportantandenormous.The“BlueEconomy”isfinallyreceiving
theattentionitdeserves.
Curacao,asmallislandintheSouthernCaribbean,isa“largeocean”morethanasmall
islandstateand,likemanyothernations,iscriticallydependentonthestateofits
marinenaturalresources.Whiledegradationhasoccurred,Curacao’smarineresources
wererecentlyrankedamongthebestleftintheCaribbeanbasedonthemost
comprehensivescientificstudyonthecurrentstateofcoralreefsintheCaribbeanbythe
IUCN.Whilecoralreefsaregenerallyappreciatedfortheiraestheticsandunrivalled
biodiversity,theygenerateservicesandproductsthatwillbeappreciatedevenbythose
unwillingtogettheirfeetwet.
Inadditiontocoastalprotectionandprovidersoffoodintheformoffish,crustaceans
andshellfish,coralreefsforexamplebecomeincreasinglyvaluedasreservoirsofnew
medicinestocuresomeofthehuman’smostcommonandseriousdiseases.Researchers
arestudyingbivalves,aclassofmollusks,tolearnmoreabouthumanagingprocesses.
Bioactivemoleculesproducedbymarineinvertebratessuchasseasponges,tunicates
andseahareshavedisplayedpotentanti-viral,anti-tumorandantibacterialactivityand
canbeusedtodesignnewmedicines.Compoundsfoundinavarietyoforganismson
Curacao’scoralreefsshowpromisingresultsinfightingvariousformsofcancer
illustratingthatprotectingthese“rainforestsofthesea,”isnotonlyaboutcoralreef
conservation,butalsoaboutensuringthecontinuationofexistingandstillto-bediscoveredservicestheyprovidetoourislandandhumanityasawhole.
Curacao’scoralreefsareamongthebeststudiedontheplanet.Therapidlygrowing
numberofscientificpublicationsresultingfromon-islandscientistsandvisiting
researchersisincreasinglyusedbypolicymakersandmanagersthroughoutthe
Caribbean,taskedwithprotectingtheregion’snaturalresources.Workingtogether,
scientistsandpolicymakersfromCuracaohaverecently,amongstothers,established4
internationallyprotectedareastoprotectCuracao’swetlands(includingcoralreefs)
undertheRAMSARtreatyanddesignedanewinternationallawthatwasapprovedbya
largenumberofcountriesinMiddleandSouthAmericainMaylastyeartoprotect
marineecosystemsinthisregion.
Despitetheseandothersuccess-stories,achangingclimatenowthreatenstheresources
andservicesprovidedbytheBlueEconomytoCuracao,otherSmallIslandDevelopment
States and to low-lying countries in general. According to the United Nations climate
changeisresponsiblefor70percentofallnaturalcalamitiesandthisnumberwillgrow
over the years. Acting now will be the only cost effective way of addressing the
inevitableeffectsofachangingclimateaseachdollarspendonpreventionisbetterthan
the30to50-foldhigherestimatedcostsofrepair.
Curacao, as well as every other low-lying country, is forced to make challenging
decisionsonhowtomitigateoradapttothesechangesinthenearfutureAsSIDS’swe
willserveastheworld’sconsciencerelatedtoclimatechangeandmustacceptthatthe
effects of climate change are already upon us, even though we are not its prime
provokersandthefactorsresponsibleremain,albeitincreasinglyless,contested.
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Nonetheless, we have learned that reefs, especially when helped through effective
management actions, possess an ability to recover and grow despite unfavourable
climatic or environmental conditions so that their services to us, their contribution to
ourBlueEconomy,remain.Curacaoiscommittedtofurtherprotectandexpanditsuse
of the island’s natural capital in sustainable manner through innovative, collaborative
approaches. The ongoing collaboration between technology, science and government
will undoubtedly reveal opportunities, reaching from sustainable, multi-trophic
aquaculture, whereby processes learned from Nature are applied to ensure local foodsecurity, to the exploration of new medicines found to develop medicines to combat
bacterialdiseasesagainstwhichcurrentantibioticsnolongerwork.Throughresearch,
innovation and public-private collaborations we aim to sustain and improve not only
whatareknowntobethebestreefsleftintheCaribbean,butalsotheknownoryettobe-discovered services and products, they provide, in other words, the Blue Economy
theysupport.
To conclude it is clearly visible that climate change is not a phenomenon in itself, but
thatitiscloselylinkedtomanyaspectsofhumanlifeandwell-being.Inthefuture,itwill
betheseeffectsofclimatechangethatwillbecomemoreandmorevisibleandaffectan
increasinglylargernumberofpeople.AsSIDS’sandlowlyingcountries,wewillbethe
ones most vulnerable. We are too small to change the planet’s climate, but we will
managewhatwecantominimizetheexpectednegativeeffectsonournaturalresources.
Thiswillforceustotakedrasticmeasurestokeeplivingthewayweareusedto,butthe
closenessoftheoceanandallresourcesthereinalsoprovidesuswithanopportunityto
improve our lives when we discover new sustainable and innovative uses of these
resources and further advance existing ones. This is how Curacao will address the
opportunities provided by its Blue Economy, with its invaluable resources to turn the
climate challenge into an opportunity and replace the general “doom and gloom” for a
more optimistic approach to diversify our economies and to provide our populations
withsustainableandsecuregoodsandservicesprovidedbyouroceans.