At the Africa Climate Summit, a scientist’s plea cut through the noise: the ocean can’t wait, and neither can Africa.
Discussions around climate change often focus on land—raging wildfires, parched farmlands, and polluted cities. Yet for Dr. Shamim Nyanda Mucha, a social scientist with the Tanzania Ocean Climate Innovation Hub, the most critical front line lies offshore, across the vast blue expanse bordering 38 African nations.
“We assume climate change is only land-based,” she says, her voice calm but firm amidst the buzz of the inaugural Africa Climate Summit. “But the reality is, climate change is hitting our ocean ecosystems hard.” She is the driving force behind one of the Summit’s most vital, yet understated, successes: the Africa Ocean Climate Solutions Pavilion.
For days, this dedicated space has pulsed with discussions on blue food, youth leadership, and cutting-edge marine carbon dioxide removal. It represents a conscious effort to drag the ocean from the periphery to the heart of the African climate agenda.
“People just really need to see it for them to be able to do it,” she says, reflecting on the ministers, negotiators, and special envoys who have graced the pavilion. “To me, it means the need for visible, tangible solutions is finally being recognized.”
Yet, behind the diplomatic success lies a stark reality check. When asked about milestones since the last UN Ocean Conference, her academic honesty shines through.
This self-sidelining was evident at the last UN Ocean Conference, where she was “really pissed off” by the absence of an Indian Ocean Pavilion
“I would say, honestly… It’s more talking,” she states, playing the “devil’s advocate.” She points to the immense data gap, with over 80% of the ocean unexplored, and the chasm between dialogue and action.
The real obstacle, she reveals, is a crisis of resources. “Only 1%… less than 1% of climate finance goes to the ocean.” She highlights Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water) as the most underfunded of all the UN goals.
“It’s hard to even talk about it. It’s hard to even pull out resources… because you do not have the resources to do that.”
A Continent Sidelining Itself?
This funding drought is compounded by a perceptual one. The ocean, for many, is a distant, even fearsome entity. “Most people don’t treat the ocean as a friend. People see the ocean as an enemy,” she explains, pointing to a deep-seated lack of awareness.
Moreover, her most provocative analysis is reserved for Africa’s own role. Upon my question on whether the continent is being sidelined in global ocean conversations, Dr. Mucha reveals an apparent reality that is rarely spoken of and looked into.
“No, Africa is not being sidelined. Africa is sidelining itself,” she asserts. Dr. Shamim describes a continent with “competing priorities”, poverty, hunger, and energy that often push the ocean down the agenda.
This self-sidelining was evident at the last UN Ocean Conference, where she was “really pissed off” by the absence of an Indian Ocean Pavilion and minimal African participation, partly due to the prohibitive cost and distance of attending.
A Rising Tide of Hope
Yet, the story doesn’t end with challenges. It pivots to a powerful, homegrown solution: a wave of change, led by the next generation, is building.
At the pavilion, a dedicated session on youth and ocean leadership worked to dismantle the idea that the ocean is only for scientists and policymakers.
“We had that session to really bring that conversation closer to them, to tell them they, as young people, can be innovators, they can be blue entrepreneurs.”
The ultimate symbol of this new momentum is a historic first: next year, an Our Ocean Conference will be hosted on African soil, in Kenya. “Bringing it home for us to look at it in the way of how you talk about our own heritage, which is the ocean?”
Her final message is not a plea, but a call to action, echoing the Summit’s theme. “Africa is not waiting. Let it be that way.”
Dr. Mucha champions “domestic resource mobilization,” African governments matching international grants to build sustainable, self-determined futures.
“You cannot wait for someone who destroyed your home to come and rebuild it for you,” she says, her words resonating with quiet power. “Let’s continue building Africa. Let’s continue powering our own people, using our own resources.”
The pavilion may be winding down, but the tide it has helped turn is just beginning to swell. The message is clear: Africa’s blue economy is no longer a silent, sidelined issue.
It is a frontier of innovation, youth potential, and continental self-reliance, ready to make its own waves.
