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A6 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 14 July 2022
Africa looks to private sector to fund ocean climate action

By WANJOHI KABUKURU Less than one percent of
MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — so-called blue and green
Countries on Africa’s east bonds, which are used for
coast are increasingly turn- marine and land projects
ing to climate funding ini- respectively, are issued for
tiatives to boost livelihoods African countries.
of oceanside communities, “The next steps are to make
aid biodiversity and take these markets more acces-
climate action. sible to African countries,”
On the margins of the high- he added.
level political forum on sus- The U.N. says many of the
tainable development cur- financial climate promises
rently underway at the Unit- made by richer countries
ed Nations headquarters in are not being commit-
New York, African coastal ted to in full, meaning that
and island states and con- many African nations are
servation groups outlined unable to take necessary
plans to boost ocean con- adaptation and mitigation
servation and economic measures against the ef-
development through a fect of climate change.
system of “ blue bonds” a In its latest assessment, the
method of financing proj- African Development Bank
ects that would also benefit said that between $1.3 tril-
ocean health. Fish swim near dead coral in Kisite Mpunguti Marine park, Kenya, Saturday, June 11, 2022. lion and $1.6 trillion is need-
Following on from Africa’s Associated Press ed by 2030 to implement
Great Green Wall, which climate action in line with
spans across the conti- erful example of the criti- which supporters say would union. nationally determined con-
nent’s Sahel region, east Af- cal role that the capital restore and conserve some Jean-Paul Adam, who tributions — targets set by
rican nations are now seek- markets can play in sup- 2 million hectares of ocean, heads the climate division individual countries to limit
ing funds for the Great Blue porting sustainable objec- capture 100 million tons of at the U.N. Economic Com- global warming to 1.5 de-
Wall initiative, which aims tives,” said Jorge Familiar, carbon dioxide and secure mission for Africa, said the grees Celsius (2.7 degrees
to protect marine areas Vice President of the World livelihoods for over 70 mil- blue wall initiative would F) and no more than 2C
across the coastline. Both Bank. lion people. recognize “the true value (3.6 F). But blue bonds are
blue and green finance The Great Blue Wall initia- The project spans the con- the environment has in fu- currently just a fraction of
refers to funding aimed at tive, launched last year by tinent’s east coast from So- ture wealth creation and ocean conservation fund-
preventing environmental ten western Indian Ocean malia to South Africa and empowerment of local ing, the bank added.
damage and combating states during the U.N.’s includes the island states communities”. “Bonds alone are not a
climate change while cre- climate conference in of Comoros, Madagascar, “We need to dramati- panacea for the financing
ating sustainable ecosys- Glasgow, aims to create Mauritius, Seychelles, So- cally upscale private sec- gap but they can allow us
tems. a network of coastal and malia and the French ter- tor investment into green to raise large amounts,”
“The blue bond is a pow- marine protected areas ritories, Mayotte and Re- and blue sectors,” he said. Adam said.q
Dozens dead, injured in Haiti’s capital in gang clashes

were wounded. countered corpses that right-wing party. After the
The violence began just a are decomposing or be- president was killed, he
day after the first anniver- ing burned,” Mumuza called the crime “cowardly
sary of the assassination of Muhindo, Doctors Without and villainous.”
President Jovenel Moïse. Borders head of mission in G-Pep is a gang that arose
Since Moïse was killed, vio- Haiti, said in the statement. in Cite Soleil, although it
lence has soared in Haiti as “They could be people is allied with other armed
gangs battle over territory, killed during the clashes or groups from around Haiti’s
and the government has people trying to leave who capital.
struggled to crack down. were shot it is a real battle- The U.N. World Food Pro-
The aid group Doctors field. gram warned Tuesday
Without Borders said that It is not possible to estimate that hunger is set to rise in
thousands of people were how many people have Haiti, which is seeing 26%
trapped in Cite Soleil with- been killed.” inflation, high costs of food
Armed forces secure the area of state offices of Port-au-Prince, out drinking water, food Local officials said the fight- and fuel, and deteriorating
Haiti, Monday, July 11, 2022. and medical care. ing involved the rival gangs security with insecurity in
Associated Press The organization called on known as G9 and G-Pep. and around Port-au-Prince
other humanitarian groups The G9 is a gang coalition drastically worsening since
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) Tuesday. for help and it urged the also known as G9 Family early May.
— Dozens of people have Jean Hislain Frederick, dep- gangs “to spare civilians.” and Allies, led by a former The agency’s country di-
died in four days of gang uty mayor in Cite Soleil dis- In a press release, it said police officer, Jimmy Cheri- rector, Jean-Martin Bauer,
battles in a violent neigh- trict of Port-au-Prince, said three of its members were zier. told U.N. correspondents in
borhood of Haiti’s capital, that the fighting erupted treating wounded people Known as “Barbecue,” a video news conference
the latest eruption of blood- Friday in a clash between in an area of Cite Soleil Cherizier has been linked that 1.3 million Haitians in
shed in a wave of increas- members of two rival gangs called Brooklyn. in the past to massacres, the northwest and parts
ing violence sweeping the and that at least 50 people “Along the only road into and his coalition is believed of the south “are one step
country, local officials said had died and more than 50 Brooklyn, we have en- to have allied with Moïse’s away from famine.”q