Marine biologist Thando Mazomba, venture development manager at Ocean Hub Africa, champions a holistic approach to ocean sustainability. She emphasizes the vital connection between people, policy, and science, advocating for an inclusive blue economy that empowers women and marginalized communities while addressing marine challenges. It isn’t the answer many people would expect when asked why someone living hundreds of kilometres from South Africa’s coastline should care about the sea.
But for Thando Mazomba, that simple truth lies at the heart of her work. A trained marine biologist and oceanographer, Mazomba is now the venture development manager at Ocean Hub Africa, where she works with blue-tech entrepreneurs harnessing science and innovation to solve marine challenges and build a more sustainable ocean economy. For Mazomba, the future of the ocean depends as much on people, policy and opportunity as it does on science.
A key part of that is ensuring women, young people and other historically marginalised communities are actively included in, and benefit from, that economy. It is about the women who clean fish while men head out to sea, communities displaced from the coastline by apartheid-era policies and building an ocean economy in which people and nature thrive together. Above all, she is talking about what she calls becoming “a custodian of the ocean”.
Read Full Article on Mail & Guardian
[paywall]
“I consider myself a custodian of the ocean and, because of that, I believe it’s important to understand that conservation alone isn’t going to get us where the ocean needs us to be. We’re living in a world where profit is often the bottom line. “We’re fighting against a system that exploits nature and people without considering the cost to future generations.
“What are we leaving for our loved ones? How do we regenerate our oceans while allowing them – and us – to thrive together? “What excites me is looking at the ocean holistically.
What does it look like to build a career in science while understanding the policies that govern how people use the ocean?” For Mazomba, science matters most when it shapes the real world. It cannot exist in isolation; it must be connected to policy, innovation and the people whose lives depend on healthy oceans.
[/paywall]
All Zim News – Bringing you the latest news and updates.
