![]() You’ve done so many projects around environmental sustainability – what inspired you to go down that road? It really helps regulate the climate and acts as a carbon sink, as well as provides us with food, recreation, tourism, and other activities, but we are exceeding its capacity at the moment with our activities. The ocean hosts a wide variety of species that we are currently overfishing and dumping waste into. We would have already exceeded the 1.5 degrees warming that is the Paris Climate Change Agreement target (at the moment we’ve exceeded about 1 degree).īut as the ocean absorbs the heat caused by climate change and the Carbon emissions we emit, it becomes more acidic, and that acid erodes coral reefs and puts pressure on the biodiversity that lives in that ecosystem. Actually if we didn’t have the oceans the impact of climate change would be even more significant and the earth would be even warmer. The ocean acts as a ‘carbon sink’, so it absorbs Carbon Dioxide. The ocean is a really vital natural resource that underpins all human life. Why is it so important we protect our oceans? It’s really lovely as well – I hope my daughter gets inspiration from me as she grows up seeing me working in this space and getting a PhD and everything else that I’m involved in. I’m also a mum! I have a little baby, and it’s a lot of work, but I know people sometimes think ‘your career journey stops here’ and ‘it’s a lot to balance’, but I think getting the right support around you is really important. I’m working with the Maldives, Micronesia, Bermuda at the moment, with Fiji to come on board – to get them set up so that 30% of their EEZ, which is their exclusive economic zone, is a marine protected area, and also to do some marine spatial planning around the other 70% so that it is sustainably managed. At the Institute we’re led by the 30-by-30 mission to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. As part of this project, she also worked in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank to assess how to diversify the tourism sector and make it more environmentally sustainable.Īt the moment, I’m in Jamaica working with the Waitt Institute – I’m their Blue Economy Manager. ![]() Prior to joining the Waitt Institute, Asia served as a Blue Economy Consultant for the Branson Centre Caribbean, supporting Blue Economy entrepreneurs to access grants, finance, and training opportunities to grow their businesses. In this role, she supports the Institute’s work helping nations design and implement sustainable Blue Economy strategies to support long-term ocean health, job creation and community wellbeing.Īsia brings extensive experience in project management and the Blue Economy sector. Asia Williams is the Waitt Institute’s Blue Economy Manager.
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