Objectives of the African Package for Climate-Resilient Ocean Economies Develop (multi-)sectoral vulnerability assessments Build ecological, economic and social resilience Support mitigation efforts Optimize carbon sequestration potential Develop early warning systems Emerging from calls at September’s African Ministerial Conference on Ocean Economies and Climate Change in Mauritius, the African Package for Climate-Resilient Ocean Economies (“the Package”) responds to a request that the World Bank (WB), The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and the African Development Bank (AfDB) present a proposal at COP 22 in Marrakesh, Morocco. The Package consists of technical and financial assistance to support coastal and island states in Africa to address the challenges of climate change as they develop their ocean-based economies and implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The Package is an unprecedented opportunity for three leading multilateral development organizations to join forces among themselves and with others, including the Green Climate Fund, and coordinate their planned assistance with access to expertise and funding.

The Package addresses the spectrum of ocean-related industries through five regional flagship programs that span the African continent from Morocco to Mauritius. Based on vulnerability assessments, the Package will provide the framework to make the countries’ development pathways climate-resilient, build resilient coastlines and communities, strengthen food security, create decent employment opportunities and facilitate needed policy reforms for those most affected by climate change. The partnership is an exceptional opportunity for the three organizations to work together, combining resources and technical knowledge to support countries in fighting climate change. An initiative of this size and scale will be critical to obtain easy access to international finance, including through the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility and other development partners, to stimulate climate-smart ocean economies.

AfDB/FAO Coop NEXT STEP MIC-TAF and PPF National Investment Plan and Multi-annual programme for the transition towards Blue Economy NEXT STEP FAO is working closely with the African Bank to provide technical assistance to the Bank and countries that will be accessing the African Development Bank grant and loan facilities. Within the African Development Bank’s Blue Economy Flagship Programme nine countries have been identified as priority countries for the support in transitioning to a Blue Economy in the next two to three years through the development of an investment portfolio of projects in line with Blue Economy concepts and actions. [ADG Fisheries would like to add Algeria and Tunisia to the list – links to the developing Blue Hope project] To develop and deliver these portfolios FAO is proposing a programme structure (Figure 2) that supports and builds capacity for countries to transition to Blue Growth and a Blue Economy. The proposed FAO Technical team is composed of FAO staff and consultants to assist the Bank and countries in developing and executing the investment portfolio. The anticipated portfolio of projects will cover a range of activities and in developing these projects various factors and analyses will need to be considered such as cost/benefit, natural capital accounting and impact financing. In addition, expertise will be need to capitalize on funds such as the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility which are key to supporting resilient oceans in Africa. The work plan is initially for the next two to three years and encompasses 9 countries in the first phase, these countries are geographically dispersed and with different economies from SIDS to large mainland states. This will allow the team to gain experience and expertise in prepare projects and programmes within the investment portfolios, develop tools and approaches for future portfolio development, as well as provide the opportunity for countries to share lessons learned in the development of the portfolio and their initial execution not just among themselves but among countries considering making the transition. The first phase of 9 countries will then inform the second phase which involves considerable scaling up of the number of countries making the transition.