By Loubna Mohamed Salami Hamidi, Comoros
Moheli is one of the Islands in Comoros where I grew up as a young girl, with a blue salty ocean full of waves and abundancy of marine ecosystems. Living with my family in this small island where outdoor exercises like swimming was a common practice with my father and siblings, I was always observing different shells from the ocean shore and collecting them for decoration at the family home.
In my younger years in an Islamic country where Islamic schooling is a norm, my Alma mater was nearer to one of the beaches. After school I used the ocean water to clean my slate made of wood in preparation for a new schooling day. This always impressed on me to think about ocean about fishes and sand colours. I have lived around the ocean from my formative age till the present, which we have used as a source of food, income, medicine, transportation and so on.
Years later into to the future, I have gotten a good relationship with the ocean, and sometimes, when traveling in a country without the ocean, I feel like something is missing, especially the ocean’s sound with its relaxing views. Nowadays, the ocean and its ecosystems provide job opportunities for researchers, tourist industries, marine and oceanographers, marine conservationists under the auspices of the blue economy and climate adaptation.
Due to climate change impacts, the ocean and its ecosystems have been affected by coastal erosion, sea level rise and decline in marine ecosystems. Sometimes, it is difficult to recognize the places around the ocean. My inspiration to work with the local coastal communities to support them in climate change challenges and marine ecosystem preservation stem from my childhood experiences on the small island in Comoros, Moheli. My motivation and driving agenda have been on how we can together use nature-based solutions to get sustainable benefits. The ocean is giving us life support for living, but also as a place for enjoyment. This has become even clearer to me after several years working directly with local coastal communities on addressing climate change challenges and how we can use nature-based solutions on adapting to its changes.
My whole life has revolved around the ocean environment, and I have been involved in all actions related to the blue economy. Our land is surrounded with blue colour, which is the ocean, so I am working on raising awareness and I am highly involved with the coastal communities, especially women and youth, on decision-making and regenerative blue economy.
Let us together protect and conserve our marine ecosystems for better sustainable life and to guarantee a bright blue future for our next generations.
“Journeys to the Sea” is a new series of inspiring stories that highlight the personal connections of marine professionals with the ocean. As a follow up to World Oceans Day on June 8th, WIOMSA is excited to launch a three-month-long celebration dedicated to the ocean. The series will feature 34 unique stories from across the Western Indian Ocean region. These stories will share firsthand accounts of ocean-related experiences, reflections, and narratives from participants who have been part of the Sida-funded International Training Programme on marine spatial planning, “Planning for a Sustainable Blue Future in the Western Indian Ocean”. The stories have been part of the Ocean Storytelling component of the workshop, led by Dr Mia Strand, Nelson Mandela University. Read the collection of stories here.
Feature photo: ©Ile Moheli/Unsplash
