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Co-creating a sustainable blue economy for sweden
Wehn, Linders and Barquet explain how the MISTRA C2B2 programme is working to bring about transformative change in participatory ocean governance in Sweden. The ocean – the new frontier of human activity – is being redefined by new discoveries, technologies, national strategies, and ecological imperatives. Yet, it is undeniable that the status of most seas is in decay – and if the goal would be to restore or improve their status, then most human activities should be banned. Instead, we witness that, in recent years, the blue economy is promoted as an answer to energy and food insecurity, as well as to an increased demand for shipping of goods, and transport of people and services. So, humanity depends on marine livelihoods, but the blue economy is also rapidly increasing pressure on the long-term sustainability of marine ecosystems.

This paper presents the common approach on blue economy assessment adopted by selected countries in the East Asian Seas region, and results of initial assessment studies. There are many discourses on the definition and scope of blue economy as the ocean space is evolving, driven by innovations, shifting demands, and pressures from changing environment and climate. The ocean economy contributes to the GDP of the EAS countries in varying degrees: 3 % in RO Korea, 4.5 % in the Philippines, 9 % in China, and 13 % in Indonesia. In addition to the ocean economic activities, the ocean also generates ecosystem services that are not usually quantified, such as carbon sequestration, shoreline protection, waste recycling and storing, and ocean processes that influence climate and biodiversity, and affect sustainability of ocean activities. The losses resulting from unsustainable use of coastal and marine resources and environmental degradation also have to be examined since these are not usually captured in the gross domestic product (GDP). New activities have emerged over the years, such as marine biotechnologies, ocean energy, and construction of climate change resiliency infrastructure. These activities require new sub-sectors to be added into the ocean accounts. Assessment of economic performance should be based on both measures of annual growth, e.g., GDP, and measures of the natural capital, which can indicate whether the economic growth is sustainable over the long term. Estimating the value of ocean activities as well as the ecosystem services would help improve understanding of the role of the oceans in the blue economy. It also provides a mechanism to monitor the investment and net returns from ocean activities. Moreover, knowing the structure of the ocean economic sectors can be used to see how external events, such as storms, climate change and environmental changes may impact the blue economy development. However, data availability and accessibility, capacity, and getting policy and institutional support to develop and maintain ocean economy and environment accounts are challenges that need to be addressed.

Seaweeds are attracting increasing attention as an alternative healthy food and renewable drugs source and as agents of climate change mitigation that provide essential ecosystem services. In this context, seaweeds represent marine resources capable of supporting and pursuing the objectives of the Sustainable Blue Economy and the Bio-Based Circular Economy. In this review, we analyze the state of seaweed bio-based products and research on the Mediterranean Sea from the last 20 years. Results of this analysis show a large number of investigations focusing on antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities compared to on biofuels and bioplastics. Attempts at seaweed farming, although generally very limited, are present in Israel and some North African countries. Lastly, we focus on the Italian situation—including research, companies and legislation on seaweed production—and we discuss gaps, perspectives and challenges for the potential development of a sustainable seaweed industry according to the Sustainable Blue Economy.

The blue economy has emerged as an influential global concept. It is commonly understood to relate to the development of the ocean in a manner which also addresses concerns about ocean health in the face of increasing demands on ocean resources, marine pollution, and climate change. While the blue economy holds potential to act as an integrating policy framework for the sustainable development of the ocean, to date, there are limited examples of implementation in practice to test the usefulness of the concept. Based on a typology of "good governance" adapted from existing global typologies, we investigated the role of blue economy governance in enabling integration. We used a mixed methods approach to explore the experience of Seychelles, a blue economy early adopter, combining policy and institutional analysis, semistructured interviews with key actors and partners, and country fieldwork. Our analysis shows that from its inception, Seychelles' vision of blue economy was a transformative model of development based on the protection and sustainable use of ocean resources for the benefit of Seychellois, consistent with the SDGs. Thanks to early political leadership and international engagement, the adoption of the blue economy concept was successful in raising awareness of the ocean health and its connection to people and the economy, and in establishing the basis of a national blue economy "architecture," which helped secure innovative finance for implementation. Transitioning to implementation, several governance challenges emerged, which included maintaining high-level political momentum, stakeholder engagement, and institutional coordination and capacity. While some governance barriers to effective integration may be unique to Seychelles, some are common to SIDS, and others are found in a range of governance settings. Seychelles international visibility has brought high expectations, not always commensurate with local aspirations, capabilities, and jurisdictional responsibilities. Bridging the gap between global expectations and local realities will require support for locally driven institutional reforms, which take account of issues of scale, culture, and capacity.

Funding: This work was supported by the United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI), Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), One Ocean Hub (Grant Ref: NE/S008950/1). ; The blue economy has roots in the international arena of sustainable development and sets out to unlock opportunities for economy and society whilst protecting and enhancing marine environments. To date there has been no analysis of how this overarching intention for sustainability has influenced the rapid development of blue economy policies at national and regional scales. In this article, we analyse the synergies and conflicts between blue economy policies from a diversity of national and regional policies and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We show that to maintain critical alignment with targets for sustainability, place-based contextual development of blue economies that meet the needs of all actors is necessary. These needs relate to ensuring resilience against future environmental and political shocks, the maintenance of the ecological basis for thriving blue economies, and capacity development at all levels to support effective and equitable governance. Results indicate that co-production will be important to achieve sustainable blue economies. ; Publisher PDF ; Peer reviewed

New approaches to ocean governance for coastal communities are needed. With few exceptions, the status quo does not meet the diverse development aspirations of coastal communities or ensure healthy oceans for current and future generations. The blue economy is expected to grow to USD2.5–3 trillion by 2030, and there is particular interest in its potential to alleviate poverty in Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, and to support a blue recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper presents a selective, thematic review of the blue economy literature to examine: (i) the opportunities and risks for coastal communities, (ii) the barriers and enablers that shape community engagement, and (iii) the strategies employed by communities and supporting organizations, which can be strengthened to deliver a 'sustainable' blue economy and improve social justice for coastal communities. Our review finds that under business-as-usual and blue growth, industrial fisheries, large-scale aquaculture, land reclamation, mining, and oil and gas raise red flags for communities and marine ecosystems. Whereas, if managed sustainably, small-scale fisheries, coastal aquaculture, seaweed farming and eco-tourism are the most likely to deliver benefits to communities. Yet, these are also the sectors most vulnerable to negative and cumulative impacts from other sectors. Based on our evaluation of enablers, barriers and strategies, the paper argues that putting coastal communities at the center of a clear vision for an inclusive Sustainable Blue Economy and co-developing a shared and accessible language for communities, practitioners and policy-makers is essential for a more equitable ocean economy, alongside mainstreaming social justice principles and integrated governance that can bridge different scales of action and opportunity.