Regenerative Blue Economy

25 Apr 2024

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


Additional Reading:
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UDAAN PRELIMS WALLAH
Comprehensive coverage with a concise format
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Quick Revise Now !
UDAAN PRELIMS WALLAH
Comprehensive coverage with a concise format
Integration of PYQ within the booklet
Designed as per recent trends of Prelims questions
हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध

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