Mr. Chairman,
The Regional Commissioner of Dar es Salaam Mr. Abbas Kandoro,
The Mayor of Kinondoni Municipality
The Municipal Director of Kinondoni
Organizers of the International Sustainable Coastal Development Follow-up Workshop – the Kinondoni Municipality and SSPA
Participants
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Karibuni Sana – a warm welcome to all of you who have come from near and afar to participate in this Follow-up Workshop here in Dar es Salaam – the Holder of Peace at the Indian Ocean.
It is an honour for Sweden and Sida to be part of this international follow-up workshop on sustainable development of coastal areas. This workshop is organized and managed by SSPA Sweden and the Municipality of Kinondoni, as a follow-up of three international training programmes conducted in Sweden 2003 to 2005.
More than half of the world’s population lives within 60 km of the shoreline! Many of the worlds poor are living in the coastal area. The pressure on and along the coastline is enormous wherever you are in the world. Natural resources such as fish, corals, mangroves, sand, land, water, oil, minerals, and much more are under severe pressure. Different activities along the coastline far too often come into conflicts with each other. The use and misuse of the resources will create environmental degradation and pollution. The resources in the coastal areas are vital for the communities and the people. To ease the pressure and to minimize the conflicts along the coastline, development activities have to be made in a sustainable manner. Sustainable development of Coastal areas is of critical importance in our global viallage.
There is an enormous demand on education and awareness building globally on the issue of sustainable coastal development, coastal planning and management, and environmental conservation. The Sida financed international training programme is one way of increasing and sharing the knowledge and awareness.
Sweden has a special interest in coastal and marine related issues since we have a very long coastline and are almost surrounded by the sea. The Baltic Sea is a very sensitive sea area suffering from considerable environmental problems. Sweden is taking an active role in the environmental management of the Baltic Sea. We have a joint responsibility with the other Baltic Sea States to make sure that the Baltic Sea recuperates and stays healthy.
The overall goal of Swedish development cooperation is to raise the standard of living of poor people, which is always an important factor in the sustainable development of coastal areas. Environmental protection, gender equality, economic growth, economic and social equality, democracy are vital parts of sustainable coastal development and also specific objectives adopted by the Swedish parliament to achieve the overall goal.
On behalf of the Swedish government and the Swedish international development cooperation agency, Sida, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Government of Tanzania and the Municipality of Kinondoni, which is the local partner and host for this workshop. Tanzania and Sweden has had a very long, deep and fruitful cooperation over the years. A lot of development cooperation has been undertaken in the field of coastal and marine management, sustainable coastal development, and marine pollution. Consequently it was natural and obvious to choose Tanzania and the Kinondoni Municipality for this Follow-up workshop. I would also like to express my appreciation and gratitude to SSPA for organizing this Workshop.
I wish you a very successful workshop. I am sure the Guest of honnour will encourage you to see as much as possible of this beautiful country during your stay. I am ready to endorse every such encouragement. Esteemed Participants, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, by this short introduction and following the request from the organizers of this workshop I would like to declare this follow-up workshop officially opened.
Thank you for your kind attention. Asante Sana!