This presentation makes the case for the establishment of Regional Centres of Excellence on the Blue Economy in the Indian Ocean, to support African countries in making the most of their opportunities.

1. Consultative Meeting
for the establishment of
Regional Centres of Excellence on
the Blue Economy
in the Indian Ocean
Isabelle Ramdoo
Senior Advisor
African Minerals Development Centre
Mauritius,
23- 25 August 2017

2. OUTLINE
1. AMDC: Who we are and what we do?
2. Objectives of this Mission
3. Establishing of the Regional Centre of Excellence
– Rationale: Why the Blue Economy matters?
– Steps thus far to support BE
4. Structure and scope of the Proposed RCE
– Purpose and structure of the Proposed Centre
– Scope of the proposed RCE
– What the Proposed RCE will do?
5. Next steps

3. 1. African Minerals Development
Centre
Who we are and what we do?

4. AMDC: Who we are and what we do?
The African Union Heads of State and Government endorsed the Africa
Mining Vision (AMV) in 2009 to help countries address the weak
integration of the mineral sector into national economies.
The African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC) was set up in 2013
to provide strategic operational support for the Vision and its Action Plan.
Mission: promote the transformative role of mineral resources for
development and to ensure that Africa’s interests and concerns are
properly articulated throughout the continent and globally.
Objectives : (a) advocate for the enhanced use of geological and
geospatial information to manage long-term developmental outcomes in
African mining countries; (b) contribute to the fostering economic
linkages and a highly skilled and knowledge-driven mining sector to help
its members better harness and govern their resources.

5. 2. Objectives of the Consultative
Mission

6. Objectives of this meeting
• Our visit to Mauritius is part of a regional consultation process to
gauge the interest of Indian Ocean countries to set up a regional
centre of excellence on the Blue Economy. Next steps, consultations
in Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles
• To discuss the scope and structure of such a Centre so that it
responds to the needs of member countries in terms of capacity
support, geological knowledge and information and other specific
dimensions of the BE where gaps exist;
• Identify national priorities and quick wins with a view to outline a
practical and pragmatic road map for the operationalisation of the
Centre

7. 3. Establishing a Regional Centre of
Excellence in the Indian Ocean

8. a. Why the Blue Economy matters?
• From a continental perspective, the Blue Economy
covers all aquatic and marine spaces – major lakes, rivers,
underground water resources and the ocean. The
continent is endowed with:
– 13 million square kilometres of ocean resources (EEZ +
territorial waters)
– 6.5 million sq. km of continental shelf
– 240,000 sq. km of lacrustine zones
• The BE is of critical geopolitical, economic, social and
environmental importance to all countries, but perhaps
more importantly for coastal states

9. Indian Ocean: A zone of strategic importance
• 3rd largest body on earth – 20% of global water resources;
• Spans across 3 continents
Table 1: The real size of African Indian Ocean countries
Country
Land area (Km
2
)
(A)
EEZ (Km
2
)
(B)
Continental shelf (Km
2
)
(C)
Total area
(A+B+C)
1 Comoros 2.034 163.752 1.526 167.312
2 Djibouti 23.200 7.459 3.187 33.846
3 Egypt 995.450 263.451 61.591 1.320.492
4 Eritrea 117.600 77.728 61.817 257.145
5 Kenya 581.309 116.942 11.073 709.324
6 Madagascar 587.000 1.225.259 101.505 1.913.764
7 Mauritius 2.040 1.920.000 396.000 2.318.040
8 Mozambique 801.590 578.986 94.212 1.474.788
9 Seychelles 459 1.336.559 396.000 1.733.018
10 Somalia 176.119 825.052 55.895 1.057.066
11 South Africa 1.219.912 1.535.538 156.337 2.911.787
12 Sudan 1.886.068 68.148 19.827 1.974.043
13 Tanzania 948.740 241.888 25.611 1.216.239
TOTAL 7.341.521 8.360.762 1.384.581 17.086.864
* Extended continental shelf, jointly managed by Mauritius and Seychelles

10. b. Steps to support African Countries in accessing data and manage
various dimensions of the BE
• As a first step: 2016 Blue Economy Policy Handbook
produced by UNECA to provide a step-by-step guide on how to
mainstream the BE into continental, sub-regional and national
policies and practices;
• An Atlas of Blue Economy is currently being prepared to
support countries with geo-scientific information and data
• Workshop organised in Kampala (May 2017) on Marine Mineral
Resources of the African continental shelf and adjacent
continental seabed areas (AMDC- GRID Arendal –ISA -
UNECA- Rep. of Uganda). Meeting discussed:
– Ways to build capacity, engage in seabed activities in the Area
and promote sustainable use of maritime areas around Africa.
– The setting up of regional centres of excellence to provide
necessary support and act as a facilitator for seabed mapping,
spatial planning and ocean resource management.

11. 4. Structure and scope of the
Proposed RCE

12. a. Purpose and Structure of the Proposed RCE
To ensure that African countries use and manage their seabed and
related resources, industries and assets for optimal economic,
environmental and social outcomes.
Structure
•A “Hub and Spokes” Model combined with a network structure, where
the RCE acts as a node while member countries/ specialised institutions/
regional organisations act as spokes, with well-defined roles and clear
division of labour. The RCE will also facilitate synergies with existing
structures, to avoid duplications of efforts and resources.
•The Hub will be responsible for maintaining the strategic functions, such
as financing, partnerships, network management, implementation of priority
actions and monitoring progress
•The spokes will take leadership roles in areas where they have a
comparative advantage or a strategic interest. They will provide strategic
advice, provide specific services, manage and facilitate partnerships in
specific areas etc.

13. b. Scope: comprehensive understanding

14. The RCE is expected to cover every relevant dimension of the Blue
Economy, as outlined in taxonomy. However, this will be done in a
practical and pragmatic way.
To be effective, priorities will be identified and timeframes for
implementation will be agreed, to ensure that each activity put in
place has the necessary capacity to meet the expectations and
agreed objectives of member countries.
For e.g. given the already expressed interests on access to data
and geological knowledge, one of the key focus area will be to
build capacity of seabed mapping and spatial planning
What the RCE can do: Scope

15. c. Key services to be provided by the RCE
The proposed RCE is expected to:
•Provide a tool and framework for inter-governmental and inter-
agency cooperation for seabed mapping, spatial planning and ocean-
related resource management, amongst others, to support African
Indian Ocean countries’ efforts in building their strategy and in
developing their activities in water-related activities.
•Support member countries in developing and implementing an
integrated approach to BE, notably by adapting/ developing their
policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks in line with the Africa
Integrated Maritime Strategy, African Union Agenda 2063, the 2030
Agenda for SDGs and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

16. • Provide increased access to data and marine geo-scientific
information and high quality marine research, education
and training (thro’ access to the Atlas of Blue Economy)
• Access to central web services- enabled data portal to collate
existing marine data and guide the acquisition of future data.
• Provide advisory, technical, legal and capacity support to
industry and governments on complex scientific and policy
issues critical to rights and responsibilities in the oceans.
• Access to marine spatial information to enable support to the
Blue Economy, build technical capacity in GIS, database
management, marine planning and policy implementation.

17. The RCE will also support member countries in:
• Setting up/ strengthening dedicated institutions at the national/
regional levels; develop related policies/ instruments for sustainable
use & management of marine ecosystems;
• Providing a regional framework for co-operation, knowledge
sharing and information exchange to increase understanding of
national, regional and international legal rights & responsibilities;
• Developing knowledge, through partnerships with departments of
the Blue Economy across universities and think tanks and where those
do not exist, in supporting their creation;
• Enhanced capacity of member states contract/ legal negotiation in
particular in fields such as bio-prospecting; extraction of mining and
hydrocarbon resources; renewable energy and in developing strong
intellectual property rights frameworks to protect the use of their
resources;
d. Proposed outputs of the RCE

18. • Formulating common positions regarding international legally binding
instruments on the conservation and sustainable use of marine
biological diversity, in particular given commitments made in the
context of the 2030 SDGs and the Paris Agreement on Climate
Change;
• Mapping and engaging with relevant continental shelf and deep-sea
mining processes and initiatives; and
• Ensuring coordination across the continent and with relevant
institutions to create synergies, learn from best practices, and avoid
duplication.

19. Way forward
• Identifying national/ regional priorities for short-term,
medium-term and long-term objectives;
• Identify early harvest/ quick wins
• Identify gaps and types of support needed to meet
national/ regional objectives
• Identify areas where Mauritius could take a lead role
(spoke)

20. THANK YOU