First of Three Parts
The Ocean Innovation Challenge (OIC) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is supporting ocean innovations that contribute to the achievement of the UN’s Life Below Water goal, which aims to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.”
Sweden’s international development co-operation agency Sida, thus, is a natural fit with the OIC, which was launched in 2020, .
“Our innovators change lives, working on gender, youth and livelihood issues as well as the technological innovations which other programmes might have as their sole focus” says OIC manager Mary Matthews.
Supported by Swedish and Norwegian development agencies Sida and Norad, the OIC has just completed its fourth round of calls for innovative ideas to support blue economies and sustainable fisheries, protect marine biodiversity, and address marine pollution.
The scheme offers much more than material support–successful innovators benefit from technical and management mentoring, aid for communications and promotions, and access to capital.
“Innovation comes out of necessity” said Matthews, speaking at World Water Week in Stockholm. “Innovation is an ecosystem that needs support like any other. We need to help our developing country innovators pilot, scale and replicate all the transformational ideas that are out there, and there are so many for us to support and incubate and see them spread all over the world.”
Ranging from upcycled coconut husks, to extending the useful life of fishing nets, to protecting biodiversity in coral reefs, the three projects illustrate the breadth of imaginative innovations that OIC supports, out of the 36 initiatives selected in the challenges.
Fortuna Cools aims to solve two problems with one solution and have transformed the landscape of sustainability and livelihoods in the Philippines, the first country of operation.
Fortuna upcycles waste coconut husks (which otherwise would be burned) into insulated fresh fish cooler boxes (which otherwise would be produced from polystyrene foam with big CO2 and plastic waste footprints).
Now looking to expand into Viet Nam and Thailand, Fortuna has diverted over 400,000 coconut husks from burn pits, prevented 400 tons of plastic foam pollution, and 600 tons of CO2 emissions during their two year OIC involvement.
More than 1,000 fisher families enjoy improved livelihoods, and more than 1,200 coolers have been sold. UNDP News
