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Green Finance & EconomySeptember 10, 2026

Harnessing The Blue Economy For Growth And Prosperity: The Cabo Verde Experience

As a small island nation surrounded by the Atlantic ocean, Cabo Verde has long understood that our ocean is not just a geographical reality—it is our greatest opportunity. The sea that once symbolized isolation now represents connection, resilience, and prosperity. Harnessing the blue economy (i.e., economic activities taking place below, on, or adjacent to the ocean)1 for sustainable development is central to Cabo Verde’s vision for the future and integral to the broader African agenda for inclusive, climate-resilient growth. For Cabo Verde, embracing the potential of the blue economy is not just an innovative development concept but a core national strategy. Our ocean covers an area over 200 times larger than our land mass, and it holds vast potential for renewable energy, sustainable fisheries, maritime transport, tourism, and innovation.2 Seizing this potential demands intentional, responsible stewardship and the steadfast commitment to long-term investment in our marine resources.3 Sustainability—in all its forms—is at the heart of our blue economy focus. Cabo Verde is investing in marine spatial planning, protecting biodiversity, and strengthening climate adaptation across coastal communities. Our approach seeks to balance economic use with environmental protection, ensuring our precious ocean resources can continue to support livelihoods and resilience for generations to come. In this context, the innovative debt-for-climate-and-environment swap between Portugal and Cabo Verde stands as a landmark achievement.4 Thanks to this innovation, part of Cabo Verde’s bilateral debt to Portugal has been converted into a climate and environmental fund to support renewable energy, marine conservation, and climate adaptation projects. This mechanism demonstrates how creative financial instruments can simultaneously strengthen fiscal sustainability and accelerate investment in the blue economy. It also reflects the spirit of partnership and solidarity that underpins Cabo Verde’s relationship with Portugal—a partnership that is political, economic, cultural, and deeply human. As this new agreement indicates, success is not built in isolation. Cabo Verde’s progress has been possible thanks to partnerships with international institutions and stakeholders, including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Union, the United Nations, and bilateral partners. Together, we are working to mobilize financing, strengthen capacity, and share knowledge for sustainable ocean management. We also engage actively in regional and global forums, because small island states must not stand on the sidelines of global ocean governance: We must be at its center. The blue economy is also about economic diversification and job creation. For Cabo Verde, it represents a pathway to reduce dependence on tourism and imports while expanding opportunities in new sectors such as sustainable and regenerative aquaculture, maritime logistics, renewable energy, and digital services. The development of sustainable ports, green shipping, and digital connectivity are key priorities. We are hopeful that these investments will create decent jobs, especially for youth and women, and build resilience against external shocks.5 Looking ahead, Cabo Verde’s vision is to become a true “Ocean Corridor”—a hub that connects Africa, Europe, and the Americas through the Atlantic. Our geographic location gives us a natural comparative advantage for air and maritime connectivity, data and communication cables, and renewable energy networks. We aim to transform Cabo Verde into a logistics and digital hub, a bridge between continents, and a center for knowledge and innovation in the blue economy.The boldness of this vision requires continued commitment to good governance, private sector engagement, and regional cooperation. It also demands that we see the ocean not as a frontier to exploit but as a system to protect and sustain. Ocean sustainability is not an environmental luxury; it is an economic necessity and a moral obligation. As we look to 2026 and beyond, Cabo Verde remains committed to deepening its role in advancing the African blue economy agenda. We will continue to promote innovative financing, inclusive governance, and responsible ocean stewardship.

Ocean & BiodiversitySeptember 10, 2026

Elders, Conservationists Race to Record Fading Sacred Ties to Philippines’ Endemic Birds

The forest settles into a gentle rhythm as the trail climbs into the Iraya Mangyan ancestral domain in Puerto Galera town, on the Philippines’ Mindoro Island. Only birdsong breaks the silence as towering trees sway overhead. A clear stream tumbles across the trail over smooth rocks. Ahead walks 43-year-old Lenito Pampilo. Every few steps, he stops — not because the climb is difficult, but because the forest is speaking, he says. He points to an unseen bird in the canopy. Another answers from farther uphill. For him, each call carries meaning. “Our elders taught us these birds,” he tells Mongabay. Pampilo, an Iraya community leader and ecotrail guide, has spent much of his life in these mountains. His knowledge goes beyond recognizing species. “Some birds signal changing weather, warn of danger or carry messages between the living and spirit worlds,” he says. “Trees, streams and ridges also hold stories passed from one generation to the next.” For the Iraya, the forest is a largely unwritten living archive. As elders age and fewer young people learn beside them, the Center for Conservation Innovations Philippines (CCIPH) is helping Iraya knowledge holders document wildlife, medicinal plants and culturally important places under its Mindoro Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Programme (MFBCP), a REDD+ carbon finance initiative in eastern Mindoro Island. This includes the UNESCO-designated Puerto Galera Biosphere Reserve, which overlaps with the Iraya Mangyan’s roughly 40,000-hectare (98,800-acre) ancestral domain, home to about 2,500 households, according to the CCIPH. The Iraya have used and managed its forests, settlements and culturally important places across generations. The information will contribute to the Iraya’s Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP), and an ecotrail being co-developed with the community. “The environmental information gathered from the community becomes part of their ADSDPP,” says Rey Luna, CCIPH project management adviser and former Oriental Mindoro provincial officer of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). “From those data, the community can determine what projects are appropriate for their land.” Luna says he envisions guides explaining why trees matter, how places were named and why some grounds are sacred. “You’re not just walking through the forest — you learn the story of the place,” he says. Where every bird tells a story CCIPH surveys have recorded 517 species across the program area, including 134 animal and 154 plant species considered rare, threatened or endemic. These include 42 bird species, among them three culturally important endemics. Pampilo began learning about birds as a child, when he and his friends playfully mimicked the siruk, or Mindoro boobook (Ninox mindorensis). More birds answered until their calls surrounded the village. “The elders told us, ‘You’re teasing them,’” Pampilo recalls. “Then we all ran.” Families spent the night elsewhere in the mountains, fearing malevolent spirits might pass through the settlement. “We didn’t even bring our belongings,” Pampilo says. “We just left.” Younger generations respond differently, he says, but the lesson remains: Do not provoke the bird. “We simply let it sing,” he says. The sulit, or Mindoro scops owl (Otus mindorensis), carries another spiritual meaning. Some Iraya associate it with departed relatives, Pampilo says, and release any accidentally trapped bird. For Pampilo, these customs teach restraint toward other forest beings. The turis, or Mindoro racket-tail (Prioniturus mindorensis), provides practical guidance. Lenito’s cousin, Bernito Pampilo, an Iraya forest patroller recalls the parrots gathering noisily in one tree when he was about 9. His father interpreted their behavior as a storm warning. That night, a powerful typhoon struck, forcing the family to shelter beneath the buttress roots of a large tree as their house was damaged. “When I see them gather like that, I prepare,” Bernito tells Mongabay. Such observations guided travel, farming and storm preparations before forecasts reached mountain communities. Today, Christianity has also become part of Iraya religious life. Pampilo, who also volunteers in Catholic catechism for children, says Christianity has not entirely displaced Iraya spiritual traditions. He describes the two as coexisting. “We now combine our beliefs with Catholicism, but not all our traditions have disappeared,” he says. “We keep what is most important to us.” All three bird species are endemic to Mindoro and are declining due to deforestation and infrastructure development. The IUCN Red List classifies the Mindoro boobook and Mindoro racket-tail as vulnerable and the Mindoro scops owl as near threatened. Currently, CCIPH-supported Indigenous patrollers monitor forests and report logging, hunting and other threats, while government personnel inspect ports and municipal borders for trafficked wildlife. The local government also conducts annual terrestrial biodiversity assessments, supplemented by CCIPH monitoring and targeted surveys of threatened and Mindoro-endemic species. Ronet Santos, a bird photographer and senior program operations manager of the D’Aboville Foundation, a nonprofit environmental organization working in Mindoro, says the three birds also indicate forest health. The Mindoro racket-tail helps disperse seeds while the Mindoro boobook and Mindoro scops owl provide natural pest control by keeping prey populations in check. “Long-term Indigenous observations can complement scientific knowledge and conservation initiatives by providing a complete temporal picture of these species’ behavior,” Santos tells Mongabay. “It’s not easy for scientists to observe species over the long term, and when they do, they need local Indigenous guides. Indigenous peoples are in the area throughout the year, while scientists only ‘bungee jump’ into the area for short periods.” Santos adds that many of Mindoro’s remaining endemic species occur within Indigenous ancestral domains, making community collaboration vital for long-term monitoring. In the foundation’s tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) work, Indigenous observations have helped researchers assess age classes and reproduction.

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Harnessing The Blue Economy For Growth And Prosperity: The Cabo Verde Experience

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Harnessing The Blue Economy For Growth And Prosperity: The Cabo Verde Experience

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