Mexico : opportunities for the SpaceWave consortium initiated during the World Ocean Summit

Submitted by Pauline Théophane on 26 March 2018

On March, 7th-9th 2018, Marine South East, represented by its CEO Jonathan Williams, attended to the World Ocean Summit in Mexico, to explore and advance the impact of the SpaceWave project on ocean sustainability. The event presented an opportunity to present and discuss SpaceWave with key organisations in Mexico (one of SpaceWave’s target markets), and to position SpaceWave within wider global activities initiated by the Summit.

During the event, one-to-one meetings were held with:

  • Leaders of two emerging blue economy clusters in Mexico, one of which includes a satellite applications research centre;
  • Representatives from the Mexican fisheries department;
  • Representatives from a number of organisations having activities in the field of monitoring of Marine Protected Areas and ocean eco-systems (who recognise the potential of Earth Observation to help achieve these) such as World Resources Institute;
  • Two international insurance companies who are active in the field of ‘Green Bonds’ and novel insurance products which could facilitate solutions involving Earth Observation;
  • A variety of NGOs and private sector companies involved in fisheries and aquaculture with interests in satellite applications to assist sustainable fisheries.

The role of cluster organisations, such as Marine South East and other SpaceWave partners, was also a key topic for the Summit, and Jonathan Williams was able to discuss this role with important organisations in Mexico and elsewhere. These included a delegation from the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi), who are hosting the World Ocean Summit in 2019, with a continuing focus on how cluster organisations can drive innovation solutions to ocean sustainability. UAE is also a target market for SpaceWave.

The World Ocean Summit 2018 was billed to be the most diverse and significant global gathering about the ocean, bringing together political leaders and policymakers, heads of global business, scientists, NGOs and multilateral organisations for a frank and future-focused discussion.

Key topics that were discussed at the summit included:

  • The global policy agenda to attract more sustainable investments in the ocean
  • Investments opportunities in the public and private sectors
  • The emergence of innovative financing products and services
  • Industry “best practices”, sustainability and profit maximisation
  • Scaling the response to pollution, sustainable fisheries and climate change
  • The role of Mexico and the West coast in the global ocean economy
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