Under the patronage of the Ministry of Climate Change & Environment, Goumbook, a prominent social enterprise promoting Sustainability and Climate in the UAE and beyond co-hosted the first MENA Oceans Summit. The event was focused on accelerating the pace of comprehensive ocean action, to conserve and restore ocean ecosystems, tackle climate change and ensure the development of blue economies within sustainable frameworks.
Tatiana Antonelli Abella, Co-Chair of MENA Oceans Summit and Founder of Goumbook spoke to Economy Middle East, providing key insights related to Ocean Action and climate change.
What is MENA Ocean action in the context of climate change?
Ocean Action is essential in the context of climate change and the conservation of marine ecosystems, and the MENA Oceans Summit aims to provide the first regional platform dedicated to bringing together key stakeholders to raise awareness, promote collaboration, enhance governance, and empower communities.
Having a dedicated platform for the MENA region holds great significance as it allows regional actors to address their unique challenges and opportunities while developing tailored solutions. This platform we are offering will enable the region to contribute valuable regional perspectives to global ocean protection and climate agendas. It fosters alignment of regional efforts with international frameworks and initiatives, ensuring coherence and synergy. Moreover, it provides a channel for MENA nations to offer policy recommendations that reflect their specific needs and circumstances, ultimately driving positive change and advancing sustainable ocean management practices.
Convened on World Oceans Day and engaging under four key streams – Blue Economy, Blue Governance, Blue Research, and Blue Collective – the forum brought together a diverse range of stakeholders including global leaders, key policymakers from governments, think tanks, research institutions and the private sector. The discussions following each stream were developed into white papers for establishing benchmarks and documenting regional challenges, innovations, and opportunities.
Policy and marine governance play a key role in fostering accountability amongst countries to ensure successful multilateral partnerships. Therefore, the “Blue Governance” stream was designed to bring together leaders to discuss strengthening governance for preserving oceans within and beyond national jurisdictions, promoting and facilitating joint scientific research, and establishing strict frameworks for blue economies.
Read: The world’s oceans are in dire danger, warns the UN
The “Blue Economy” stream addressed the advancement of sustainable pathways for integrated development of sustainable ocean sectors while prioritizing ocean health. Industry leaders shared benchmarks and best practices, resulting in action-oriented commitments such as pledges in the fields of climate resilience, pollution reduction, or marine protected areas.
In “Blue Science”, we heard from leading academics in the field of ocean conservation about the best ways to advance research and scientific innovations to tackle the impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities on marine and coastal ecosystems. Besides sharing lessons learned and state-of-the-art innovations and practices, this stream provided the opportunity to ignite even more collaborative initiatives such as joint research efforts or knowledge-sharing platforms.
The conference also featured an inclusive educational and awareness platform for the larger community, to engage with the challenges facing our oceans and discuss creative solutions that can be implemented at individual and community levels. Under the theme “Blue Collective” we invited students, ocean advocates, and the concerned public to attend interactive sessions and workshops, networking and career guidance opportunities, and an engaging as well as eye-opening conversation followed by a documentary movie screening.
With tourism being a major focus for this region, are there enough awareness campaigns, and guidelines to ensure sustainable eco-tourism is implemented in the travel journey?
The MENA region has witnessed a growing awareness of concepts like sustainable, responsible, ethical, and eco-tourism. However, there is still a need for further awareness campaigns and guidelines to ensure the implementation of truly sustainable practices throughout the travel journey. These initiatives should target both the tourism industry and travelers themselves.
Comprehensive guidelines and regulations are crucial, covering various aspects of the travel journey including transportation, accommodation, activities, waste management, and cultural interactions. It is important to establish clear standards and best practices, and enforcement mechanisms are vital to ensure compliance. Trustworthy certification and labeling programs can also help enable travelers to identify sustainable tourism options, provided they are based on transparent criteria and internationally recognized standards.
In the MENA region, the Dubai Economy and Tourism sustainability standards have emerged as some of the leading examples. These standards serve as a benchmark for sustainable practices within the industry.
Multiple commendable initiatives are emerging from the sector, such as reducing reliance on single-use plastics, conservation of natural resources, and assessing the potential impact of activities on local ecosystems and communities. However, it is important to note that tourism in the region, involving air travel, extensive reliance on imports of goods, and other highly emission-intensive factors, can never the classified as fully sustainable. The goal should be to strive for responsible tourism by minimizing negative impacts as much as possible. Collaborative efforts among industry stakeholders are essential to address these challenges effectively. By raising awareness, implementing guidelines, and fostering industry collaborations, the MENA region can make progress in promoting sustainable and responsible tourism practices throughout the travel journey.
What are your opinions on desalination and oil and gas exploration in the region as they relate to preserving ocean biodiversity?
Both desalination, as well as oil and gas exploration, are key activities the region’s population and economies are reliant on, to a large extent, but without doubt, with a massive environmental cost.
On the one hand, desalination plays a crucial role in addressing water scarcity. As a reliable source of freshwater for domestic, agricultural, and industrial use, it reduces the pressure on very limited freshwater resources which Can help preserve ecosystems that would otherwise be heavily impacted by over-extraction, such as wetlands. On the other hand, the desalination process involves the intake and discharge of large volumes of seawater which in itself can harm marine organisms. Additionally, the discharged brine has a high salt concentration, worsening the impact on water and habitat quality. Apart from that, the process is also highly energy-intensive and responsible for significant GHG emissions, which in turn have indirect negative impacts on ocean biodiversity.
The oil and gas sector has, in more recent history, played a vital role in the region’s economic progress from severely underdeveloped to highly developed economies within the span of a few decades, now providing high standards of living, infrastructure, and energy security. Even today, the sector generates significant revenue, creates employment opportunities, and contributes to some technological advancements. There is definitely potential to properly manage exploration activities, including stringent environmental regulations and mitigation of negative impacts on marine ecosystems.
However, oil and gas exploration activities do involve some undeniable and significant risks, such as spills and leaks, with devastating effects on marine life and marine or coastal habitats. These damages can be very long-lasting, as for example in the case of habitat contamination, the disruption of food chains, or the direct harm to threatened species. Furthermore, seismic surveys used in exploration activities have been reported to disrupt marine mammal behavior, specifically their communication, migration patterns, and feeding habits. Lastly, fossil fuel exploration contributes immensely to GHG emissions and reduces the incentive to switch to renewable, low-emission energy sources.
Any fossil fuel exploration and desalination activities, if continued, must be carried out in a responsible and sustainable manner. This includes stringent environmental regulations, the switch to clean(er) technologies, a prioritization of research and M&E to properly understand and reduce negative environmental impacts, as well as ongoing and increased conservation efforts to establish safe zones for ocean wildlife.
When it comes to Goumbook, can you share a brief about your organization and the initiatives/ activities that will be organized in the lead-up to COP 28?
Goumbook is a social enterprise based in the UAE that focuses on promoting sustainable living and business practices. Founded in 2009, Goumbook aims to raise awareness and inspire action among individuals, businesses, and communities to adopt environmentally friendly and socially responsible practices and make more responsible choices.
The organization’s activities cover a wide range of sustainability-related issues, including waste reduction and circular economy models, biodiversity and resource conservation, food waste and food security, as well as equitable access to health and hygiene services. Goumbook operates through various programs and campaigns that engage individuals, schools, businesses, and government entities in the UAE and beyond. Additionally, Goumbook offers consulting services to businesses and organizations, helping them develop and implement sustainable practices and strategies.
Through its various initiatives and collaborations, Goumbook strives to create a positive impact on people and planet and promote sustainable development in the UAE and wider region. By raising awareness, fostering partnerships, and driving behavioral change, Goumbook plays a vital role in transitioning toward a more sustainable future.
In the lead-up to COP28, we encourage all our corporate partners to participate in our Climate Fresk workshops which are designed to go beyond building widespread climate literacy and put a specific focus on coming up with actionable, industry-specific solutions. Another focus area for us will be prioritizing youth engagement across all campaigns: Key activities continue to revolve around climate literacy, circular economy models, and low-impact living in general. We strive to make the future generations growing up in this country aware of their own carbon footprint, how is compares globally, and which of their activities or habits make up the biggest share. Our goal is to empower responsible global citizens so awareness of social topics like climate justice and global inequalities is central. Furthermore, to build on the momentum created with the MENA Oceans Summit, a lot of our energy will go into conceptualizing and organizing the subsequent industry working groups and publishing whitepapers.
How do you assess sustainable mega projects in the region?
The MENA region is home to various mega sustainability projects that aim to address environmental challenges, promote renewable energy, and foster sustainable development.
In the UAE we have Masdar City, a sustainable urban development project that aims to serve as a model for the “city of the future”: Aspirations include being zero-carbon and zero-waste, using renewable energy sources, sustainable transportation, and advanced waste management systems, as well as present real-life examples for “green buildings” using sustainable building design and technologies.
With Shams 1, the UAE is home to one of the largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plants in the world, contributing to the UAE’s renewable energy targets with a capacity of 100 MW.
Neom, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the latest and perhaps most ambitious mega-city project under construction. It aims to be a global hub for tech and innovation and sustainable living, utilizing renewable energy and smart infrastructure. As such, it claims to provide a base to sustainable industries across energy, water, mobility, and tourism sectors.
Another development in the Kingdom, the Red Sea Project, tries to combine luxury tourism with showcasing the natural beauty of the area and implementing sustainable practices such as coral reef restoration, conservation of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and low-carbon transport solutions.
Overall, these and similar initiatives in the region reflect a commitment and readiness to invest in sustainable solutions, renewable energy adoption, and environmental conservation to a degree. However, to ensure their enduring and widespread impact, it is imperative that these projects transcend the pilot stage and evolve into fully developed and scalable models that are integrated into development plans rather than isolated.
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