Blue Economy with a Social Lens
Livelihood Enhancement in Kenya’s Lake Victoria Blue Economy
Overview
No continent is set to witness a population boom in the 21st century like Africa. With a predicted population growth rate of 50% for the next 18 years (United Nations Population Division [UNPD], 2015), rapid population growth is bound to create possible impediments to economic development in the coming years. Population growth will influence a higher resource consumption rate, increased waste production, intensive land use, and environmental degradation that could exacerbate the pressure on the earth’s resources (water, forests, land and the earth’s atmosphere). The rapid population growth also threatens the achievement of global sustainability goals. Blue economy is one of the sustainable ways to steer progress in the continent where 70% (Akpomera, 2020) of the countries have extensive kilometers of water cover and territorial coastlines.
Blue economy is the sustainable exploitation of oceanic resources to extract economic value while addressing both ecological and environmental sustainability. Kenya has about 400km of rich coastline with the potential to generate in excess of 430 billion that can be harnessed to improve livelihoods and the socioeconomic position of the country in the continent. Lake Victoria is precisely positioned to escalate blue economy take-off in the country. The lake is the second largest fresh water lake globally with great potential for economic activity diversification from the traditional capture fisheries to aquaculture and aquarium development, marine tourism (water sports, Eco lodges, sailing & cruise vessels), offshore renewable energy, blue carbon, maritime transport and waste management. Thus developing blue economy in the lake basin will ensure the full development and utilization of the lake’s natural resources to curb the burgeoning population.
Kenya has not even scratched the surface when it comes to developing blue economy the potential in the lake basin. The current blue growth narrative is more focused on maximal exploitation of the blue economy ecosystem with incentives for big capital investments. Policymakers have also shown great commitment to ensure everybody plays ball in safeguarding sustainability through novel action plans, incentives and/or disincentives. It is noteworthy that the government is also focused to safeguard the country’s maritime assets by onboarding the navy in blue economy initiatives which will ensure security and vessel protection through the blue economy growth. However, blue economy initiatives in the region may fail to yield large-scale socioeconomic impact if social equity and livelihood challenges are not strategically addressed.
Regardless of what happens in the next few years, I believe it is a critical time to put people at the center of blue economy development. The challenge of big capital investments is that they may introduce market distortions and imperfect competition that may work against the existing small holder fisheries communities. Youth and women are the majority of the traditional blue economy activities in Lake Victoria. Approximately 70% of the fisher-folk are women and 85% are youth. In a region where fishing is the economic mainstay, blue economy initiatives should resist the urge to relegate small-scale fisher folk to low-skill workers. Investors need to commit to overcoming entrenched barriers and practices that lead to increased economic gains but decreased social equity. We should encourage investment models that encourage transformational social impact and engage the community in the investment process.
Social impact investing in the Lake Victoria blue economy will spruce up the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs). The implementation of SDG 14 and its targets for sustainable fishery is only the starting point for blue economy. Blue economy is also critical in the elimination of food insecurity and the fight against hunger in line with SGD2. Kenya’s rich diversity and abundance of fish species has the potential to accelerate the elimination of hunger and reduction of malnutrition cases since fish is a major source of food for rural households. As population rises, scaling the production and processing of fisheries will free majority of households from hunger. Blue economy will also enhance the reduction of poverty (SGD 1) and creation of jobs (SGD 8) through skills development support and increased income for locals and creation employment opportunities.
We should harness blue economy investments to address the needs of local communities and growing population within the blue economy eco-systems. Skills development interventions in the region will help stakeholders achieve exclusive economic growth and empower the lake basin labor force to overcome various socioeconomic challenges besides ensuring holistic growth and livelihood development as opposed to importing skilled labor. Investment opportunities in blue economy should also ensure access to decent employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for small holder fisher-folk, women and youth. Capacity building bears greater promise to the country and region and will guarantee overall sustainability of blue economy initiatives.
As the government looks to accelerate the development of blue economy, they should consider initiatives that do not over-exploit natural resources and local communities for the benefit of individuals or companies and ensure that blue economy leads to prosperity for all.