简体中文
By APD writer Melo M. Acuña
MANILA, May 2 (APD) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today launched the Action Plan for Health Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies for the Asia and Pacific region during the 52nd Annual Meeting of the ADB’s Board of Governors in Nadi, Fiji.
In a statement released in Manila, it was learned the action plan will support the efforts of ADB’s developing member countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), including SDG 14 Life Below Water.
“The prosperity of our region depends on health oceans and sustainable development,” said ADB President Takehiko Nakao as he called for concerted efforts for a more resilient future “where humanity and oceans thrive together.”
The Action Plan for Health Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies will expand financing and technical assistance for ocean health and marine economy projects to US$5 billion from 2019 to 2024 including co-financing from partners. It will focus on creating inclusive livelihoods and business opportunities in sustainable tourism and fisheries, protecting and restoring coastal and marine ecosystems and key rivers, reducing land-based sources of marine pollution, including plastics, wastewater, ad agricultural runoff and improving sustainability in port and coastal infrastructure development.
According to the ADB statement, Asia and the Pacific is at the epicenter of a major crisis in marine plastic pollution, threatening the productivity of the region’s marine economies, which are crucial in poverty reduction. Among ten rivers transporting 88% to 95% of plastics into the sea worldwide, eight are in the region.
Ocean ecosystems have been pushed to the brink of collapse by the threats of climate change, pollution and illegal and unregulated fishing among others. Unless immediate action is taken ADB said about 90% of Asia and the Pacific’s coral reefs will be dead by 2050 and all commercially exploitable fish stocks will disappear by then and would threaten food security, the global economy and livelihoods, especially among millions of poor and vulnerable communities in the region.
Identified part of the action plan, ADB will launch the Oceans Financing Initiative to create opportunities for the private sector to invest in bankable projects that will help improve ocean health. The initiative will provide technical assistance grants and funding from ADB and other donors to reduce the technical and financial risks of projects. This will be accomplished through instruments including credit risk guarantees and capital market “blue bonds.”
The Oceans Financing Initiative will be piloted in Southeast Asia in collaboration with the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund and the Republic of Korea. The World Wide Fund for Nature, a longtime partner of ADB, will support the design and implementation of the financing initiative.
A seminar titled “Ocean Health: Actions From Source to Sea” is organized by ADB, where Indonesian Minister for National Development and ADB Alternate Governor for Indonesia Mr. Bambang Brodjonegoro, Global Environment Facility CEO and Chairperson Ms. Naoko Ishii, World Resources Institute President and CEO Mr. Andrew Steer, Pacific Islands Forum Deputy Secretary General Ms. Cristelle Pratt and ADB President Takehiko Nakao are expected to speak.
ADB was established in 1966 and owned by 68 members, 49 of whom are from the region. It has its headquarters in Manila, The Philippines.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
