In the face of climate change, and in order to find new solutions and the appropriate funding, a forum on the blue economy is being held on May 28 and 29 in Monaco.
Representatives of the African island states have traveled to try, once again, to alert to the urgency of the situation.
The surface temperature of the ocean reached a record level in March 2026: nearly 21°C on average, an alarming increase of half a degree compared with the average of the previous two decades. And the consequences are already being felt: melting ice is driving a rise in sea level and eroding coastlines, and marine biodiversity is being disrupted.
“We must adapt if we do not want to die.” Dr. Arvin Boolell is the Minister of Agro-industry, Fisheries and Blue Economy of the Republic of Mauritius. “As a small island developing state, we are obliged to take climate change into account,” he adds. “Even though we are not responsible: our contribution to warming is minuscule!”
This sentiment is shared by his counterpart and neighbor, Wallace Cosgrow, the Minister of Fisheries and Blue Economy of the Seychelles. “We are surrounded by the ocean. The climate crisis threatens our very existence. That is why it is so important for us to weigh in on policies and decisions taken at the global level,” he assures.
It is urgent to invest in the ocean, but not in just any way, insists the Mauritian minister. “We need sustainable, profitable projects, but also projects approved and decided with local communities, this is very important,” says Arvin Boolell.
There is no choice; these projects will have to pass more through the private sector as everyone here notes and laments the collapse of the sums devoted to official development assistance.
