Focus more on the blue economy, Kenya urged

The European Union ambassador to Kenya Henriette Geiger on Saturday said Kenya’s blue economy has enormous potential that largely remains untapped.

Geiger said Kenya is more focused on agriculture. climate change and its effect on land to the detriment of the ocean and its resources.

“In Kenya, we are thinking too much in the agriculture and green space and too little in the blue space,” Geiger said.

Speaking at the Swahilipot in Mombasa where there was a commemoration of World Oceans Day, Ambassador Geiger said the blue economy is not only about water and fishing but also about tourism.

She said the blue economy strategy that the EU developed is still not adopted by the Kenyan government.

“We hope that it will be adopted very soon,” Geiger said.

She noted that governors of counties that have large water bodies have also expressed interest in the blue economy strategy.

Kenya, she said, needs to look at all its blue resources.

“There cannot be a climate change response and a green transition without looking at the blue. There cannot be green without blue,” she said.

Geiger said this largely untapped potential in the blue economy faces risks from plastics and called for an introduction of environmental education into the CBC curriculum.

At the Swahilipot, hundreds of school children were treated to a captivating blend of puppetry, music, and dance in an enactment of the book ‘Leo’s Search for a New Home’ by Polish author Maciej Ochalik.

The children's show was organized by Karagozi Theatre's creative director Kasia Meszaros.

“The EU is proud to have sponsored the production of this musical. It’s a new thing based on a storybook of a young author here in Kenya,” Geiger said.

The show is about Leo, a young sea turtle on a mission to find a new home and belonging, after its natural habitat is threatened by human activity, including irresponsible disposal of plastic waste.

“It’s a puppeteer show that was created especially to draw attention to plastic waste in our ocean," the ambassador said.

“Many people have heard that there is a lot of plastic waste in our waters that completely contaminates our waters and kills ocean life. And what is killing the ocean is killing us.” 

Geiger said many people have heard about climate change but few people know that climate change affects the oceans as much as it does the earth.

The EU ambassador said the protection of the ocean starts with children because they learn fast and grasp concepts quickly while retaining the information religiously and longer.

“They need to be aware of how important the ocean is for all of us and that we have to protect our ocean,” she said.

She said some regions have experienced floating carpets of many kilometres which essentially are plastic waste islands.

“They are floating in the ocean and they are killing everything around,” Geiger said.

She noted that micro-plastics, which cannot be seen with the naked eye, are causing negative effects like infertility in men and thus must be taken seriously.

She said these micro-plastics still come from plastics that are carelessly disposed of.

“Nowadays if you eat a fish you eat more plastic than fish. There are so many plastic particles in the fish nowadays and it’s all over our food chain,” she said.

"While there is little that can be done about the micro-plastics, there is more that can be done to prevent further formation of micro-plastics in the ocean.”

Swahilipot Hub founder Mahmoud Noor said targeting children in the strategy to protect the ocean is genius.

He said most of the time, children influence parents thus having them become conscious of the importance of environmental protection will almost always end up achieving the intended targets.

“Investing in children means the next generation will be able to protect the ocean and the environment better knowing it is securing their future,” Noor said.

He said there are policies from both the national and the county governments that are being drafted that will help protect the ocean more.

Noor said recycling of plastic waste is one of the ways that the government and other stakeholders are using to protect the environment.

“One way of reducing plastics is showing the youth that there are benefits that can be accrued from plastics,” Noor said.