Context:
A new IUCN report developed under the France-IUCN Partnership 2021-2024 and with the support of the French Development Agency (AFD) titled Toward a Regenerative Blue Economy.
More on News:
- The primer report is the result of a joint effort between IUCN Commissions, Secretariat and partners under the France-IUCN Partnership (2021-2024).
- The report was developed in the context of the Sustainable Blue Economy project, led by experts from the Ecosystem-based Aquaculture Specialist Group (E-bAG) of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM).
- The new IUCN report proposes a clear definition and founding principles for a “Regenerative” Blue Economy. It defines different sustainability levels within the overall umbrella and sets ambitions for nature and society alike.
Blue Economy:
- Definition: It is the sustainable use of ocean resources to benefit economies, livelihoods and ocean ecosystem health.
- The Blue Economy is a sector, expected to be worth some $1.5 trillion a year, as per the World Bank.
- Activities of Blue Economy: It include maritime shipping, fishing and aquaculture, coastal tourism, renewable energy, water desalination, undersea cabling, seabed extractive industries and deep sea mining, marine genetic resources, and biotechnology.
Types of Blue Economy:
IUCN has defined three types of Blue Economy from a conservation and sustainable development perspective in this primer.
- Brown Blue Economy or Ocean Economy: This is a type of Blue Economy rooted in the maritime sector and includes traditional activities of the maritime sector. It is anthropocentric and based on a conventional economic model.
- Blue Economy is here associated with traditional accounting consisting of micro- and macroeconomic profitability and social (including employment) indicators:
- The Sustainable Blue Economy: At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) Rio+20 Summit, 2012 the “Blue Economy” was recognised as encompassing all economic activities in the marine sector, provided that these were consistent with sustainable development.
- Focus: The focus is to protect, repair, and restore marine and coastal ecosystems and ecosystem services are integrated along with the traditional focus on driving marine Economy.
- Accounting: Success is measured in the form of environmental assessments, and key performance indicators (KPIs), has been added to traditional conventional accounting for the Blue Economy.
- The Regenerative Blue Economy: It is an inclusive framework which advocates for ‘blue justice’, and is based on the broad principles of the ecosystem approach
- Definition: It is an economic model that combines rigorous and effective regeneration and protection of the ocean and marine and coastal ecosystems, with sustainable sea-linked and low-carbon economic activities, and fair prosperity for people and the planet, today and tomorrow.
- Economic activities: Activities such as oil extraction or deep-seabed mining (DSM) are are excluded from the regenerative economy scope. Other sectors such as fishing, aquaculture, and tourism will also need to adapt their practices.
- Success indicator: New indicators like the ‘Ocean Impact Navigator’, have been proposed as a way to evaluate the positive impact of the Regenerative Blue Economy on ocean and coastal socio-ecological systems.
Government Initiatives to promote blue economy:
- National Policy for India’s Blue Economy-2021: It aims to enhance contribution of the blue economy to India’s GDP, improve lives of coastal communities, preserve marine biodiversity, and maintain the national security of marine areas and resources.
- Fisheries and Aquaculture: The government is promoting the holistic development of the sector through initiatives like the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund, and creation of a dedicated Ministry for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in 2019.
- Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY): It aims to bring about Blue Revolution through plugging critical gaps in infrastructure—right from production, technology use to post-harvest management
- Sagarmala scheme: It lays ground for port-led development in the country with its focus on port modernisation and extended connectivity by providing states financial assistance
- Tourism: National Maritime Heritage Complex is being established in Lothal. MV Ganga Vilas today is the world’s longest river cruise service. An International Cruise terminal is coming up in Mumbai
- Samudrayaan project: It is under the Deep Ocean Mission. MATSYA 6000, a manned deep submersible vehicle, will be utilised for deep sea exploration of rare sea minerals, polymetallic manganese nodule resources, and study deep-sea biodiversity.
- Maritime India Vision 2030: Under the vision for this decade, the government has planned over 150 initiatives across various maritime sub-sectors like ports, shipping and waterways
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Additional Reading: about IUCN
April 25, 2024
