Tanzania seeks global efforts to curb marine pollution

PARIS: THE Tanzanian Vice President, Dr. Philip Mpango, has urged nations across the world to take joint and decisive steps toward sustainable investment in the blue economy.

He emphasized the need to reduce marine pollution and protect ocean biodiversity for the benefit of current and future generations.

Dr. Mpango made the remarks during the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) held in Nice, France, where he represented President Samia Suluhu Hassan. In his address, he stressed the urgency of taking bold and well-coordinated actions to ensure tangible progress in ocean sustainability.

The Vice President noted that Tanzania has already implemented significant measures to protect and manage marine environments, including expanding marine protected areas. The goal, he said, is to ensure that these protected waters cover 20 percent of the country’s ocean territory by the year 2030.

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He further highlighted the importance of increasing financial support to tackle ocean-related challenges, especially for low-income countries and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which often face limited budgets and high debt burdens that hinder progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14) — Life Below Water.

Dr. Mpango affirmed Tanzania’s commitment to working collaboratively with other nations, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society groups to build a resilient, productive, and sustainable future for the oceans.

The Vice President was accompanied at the high-level international conference by Zanzibar’s Minister of Blue Economy,  Shaaban Othman; Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation,  Cosato Chumi; and other senior government officials