The Multisectoral Commission for Maritime Affairs began Friday in Luanda the public presentation of the proposed “National Strategy for the Sea of Angola (ENMA) and its “Action Plan,” in order to collect contributions and suggestions that promote social welfare, increase employment and national wealth.
The document, created through Presidential Decree 147/19 of 12 August, has as its main objectives to promote and diversify the maritime economy, as well as optimize the means and adopt security and surveillance mechanisms in the country’s seas.
Professional qualification at sea, promotion of scientific knowledge and technological development of the oceans are also included in the goals of the National Strategy for the Sea of Angola, to be implemented in the 2022-2030 period.
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Additionally, the creation of ENMA aims to optimize the security model of the maritime space and strengthen Angola’s role in the regional and international context in relation to coastal zone policies.
With the start of the public consultation in Luanda, the Multisectoral Commission for Sea Affairs is available for dialogue to receive contributions from all interested parties, with emphasis on sea operators, associations and non-governmental entities.
Besides ENMA, the respective Commission, coordinated by the Minister of State and Head of the Civil House of the President of the Republic, Adão de Almeida, also plans to submit to public consultation the Planning of Marine Space, next July, according to the national director for Affairs of the Sea, António da Silva.
When presenting the Strategy, the official clarified that the two documents were elaborated based on the regional context with the national ocean framework.
Without specifying the period that the public consultation will last, the national director assured ANGOP that the actions programmed in the two documents (ENMA and the Planning of the Marine Space) will start to be materialized after the conclusion of the consultation and approval of these strategies.
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On the occasion, the Secretary of State for Fisheries, Esperança da Costa, considered the Sea Strategy as a fundamental factor in the efficient and intelligent management of the national maritime space, in order to prevent potential conflicts of interest between the different sea operators.
In the global scope, he said, the document will also allow the conservation of the coastal and marine areas to be accelerated, as well as having an impact on the reconstruction of fishing sources and the fight against illegal, “not declared” and “not regulated” fishing.
The public presentation of the National Strategy for the Sea of Angola was witnessed by members of the Multisectoral Commission for Sea Affairs, representatives of the United Nations and the European Union, businessmen, associations, biologists, environmentalists, teachers and students.
