UNEP’s Regional Seas Programme drives the sustainable development of the Blue Economy by balancing economic growth with the protection of marine ecosystems. By supporting countries in harnessing ocean resources for livelihoods, job creation, and ecosystem health, the Programme fosters long- term economic resilience and environmental sustainability, ensuring a prosperous future for both people and the planet.
Introduction
The ocean is a vital source of economic growth, food, energy, and transportation. The "Blue Economy" refers to the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic development, while preserving the health of marine ecosystems. Globally, the ocean economy is valued at an estimated $2.5 trillion, supporting over three billion people with jobs, food security, and economic opportunities. UNEP’s Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans (RSCAPs) focus on promoting a balanced approach to the Blue Economy, ensuring that economic growth does not come at the expense of ocean health.
Why It Matters
Sustainable ocean economies are essential for addressing global challenges such as poverty, food insecurity, and climate change. By promoting a Blue Economy, the RSCAPs help countries unlock the economic potential of oceans, while ensuring that marine ecosystems are protected and restored. Without a sustainable approach, overexploitation and pollution could threaten the very ecosystems that support fisheries, tourism, and coastal industries.
What We Do
UNEP’s Regional Seas Programme plays a critical role in shaping the Blue Economy by supporting member states with policies, strategies and frameworks for sustainable ocean management; Encouraging regional partnerships and programmes in protecting the marine environment and funding and capacity building initiatives to support Contracting Parties improve their management of marine resources, including training on sustainable fisheries, marine spatial planning, and ecosystem-based management. They also promote marine spatial planning (MSP) to balance economic activities (e.g., fishing, shipping, and tourism) with conservation. Sustainable fisheries initiatives help improve fish stock management and combat illegal fishing.
Selected examples to exemplify the Regional Seas work with regards to blue economy
Blue Economy in the RSCAPs
- Nairobi Convention: The Contracting Parties to the Nairobi Convention have adopted decision to promote Ocean Governance and Blue Economy in the WIO region. Decision CP.10/5.1 requests the secretariat to finalise the development, in a participatory process, with the support of partners, the ocean governance strategy for the Western Indian Ocean region as a contribution to the African ocean governance strategy; and Decision CP.10/5.2. invites the African Union Commission and regional economic communities to enhance collaboration with the Nairobi Convention on ocean governance in the Western Indian Ocean region; while Decision CP.10/8.2. urges the Contracting Parties to mainstream marine spatial planning and the ecosystems-based approach into national development planning processes, including the sustainable blue economy. The Convention Signatories are at different stages in the Blue Economy journey. South Africa, Seychelles and Mauritius are implementing their strategies while Kenya is in the process of finalizing its Blue Economy Strategy.
- Barcelona Convention: Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable. The aims of the Strategy are as follows: to provide a strategic policy framework to secure a sustainable future for the Mediterranean region; to adapt international commitments to regional conditions, to guide national strategies and to stimulate regional cooperation in the achievement of sustainable development objectives; to link the need to protect the environment to socio-economic development. The Mediterranean Blue Economy Stakeholder Platform (MedBESP) is a regional networking platform for sharing knowledge and supporting the development of the blue economy. The MedBESP aims at establishing a large Blue Economy Community in the Mediterranean basin, where users play a key role to improve, disseminate and widen the impact of blue economy activities. Among others, the MedBESP is a platform to facilitate contacts between existing education networks, exchange information including pedagogic tools and serve as an interface for mobility programs.
- Cartagena Convention: Regional Strategy for Sustainable Ocean-Based Economy in the Wider Caribbean Region. Its main output is to support a regional Caribbean Sustainable Ocean-Based Economy Strategy will be a proposed ‘decision-support and enabling framework’ to contextualise, develop and implement national and regional sustainable ocean-based economy policy pathways and strategies. The economy of the Wider Caribbean Region is highly dependent upon tourism, which accounts for approximately 18 percent of the GDPs of countries in the region. The Sustainable Blue Economy (SBE) - A crucial solution for a sustainable future in the Caribbean. The Blue Economy: From Concept to Reality in the Caribbean Region - While the blue economy clearly offers great potential for the Caribbean region, the full potential of the ocean is not being realized in many Caribbean countries. The document examines the opportunities, challenges, barriers, gaps and opportunities in building a Caribbean blue economy.
- SPREP – The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) provides the overall political and policy level coordination role for ocean affairs across the region, with the PIF Leaders Meetings making joint determinations and decisions on regional oceans issues. 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent: The PIF is developing the concept of a united Blue Pacific Continent further through the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent – which is currently (2022) under development. The 2050 Strategy will develop a long-term vision for the region and outline the steps to achieve this vision, including on ocean issues. The Pacific Islands Regional Ocean Policy: the quest for good ocean governance - presents a vision for ‘A healthy ocean that sustains the livelihoods and aspirations of Pacific Islands communities. The Policy demonstrates the commitment within the Pacific Islands region to take care of their Ocean, which has been the most dominating feature of their surrounding since their forefathers settled the islands after their epic journeys across the world’s largest ocean. The Ocean continues to provide for these island countries and will be the source of their future livelihood. The Pacific blue economy: An instrument of political maneuver – The paper suggests that the blue economy has been engaged as an instrument of political maneuver by Pacific regional bodies, with these agents leveraging the concept across both regional and international platforms to advance their political and diplomatic interests. However, emerging observations also indicate a potential disconnect between the political effectiveness of this concept and its material reality, namely its ability to advance sustainable ocean development outcomes on the ground to the benefit of Pacific communities and ecosystems.
- OSPAR - Strategy of the OSPAR Commission for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic 2030 - Strategic objective 7. Ensure that uses of the marine environment are sustainable, through the integrated management of current and emerging human activities, including addressing their cumulative impacts; Operational Objective 3: By 2025 OSPAR will start accounting for ecosystem services and natural capital by making maximum use of existing frameworks in order to recognise, assess and consistently account for human activities and their consequences in the implementation of ecosystem-based management.
- Permanent Commission of South Pacific Regional Review: Ocean Health for Ocean Wealth – Seascape Mapping of Sustainable Blue Economy in Pacific SIDS – provides an overview of the current status, trends, potential and prospects for SBE across the Pacific Islands Region. It is intended as an information resource to support UNDP, the governments of Pacific SIDS, development partners, the private sector and other stakeholders in developing sustainable blue economies.
- The 2050 Strategy for a Blue Pacific Continent; and Implementation Plan 2023 – 2030: The Strategy identifies where and how the countries and territories of the region will work together as the Blue Pacific Continent and in partnership with all regional stakeholders. The Implementation Plan focuses on setting the foundations for transformational change that we need to achieve our vision and levels of ambition. It builds upon our significant opportunities and strengths – including our human resources, our cultures and traditional knowledge, our resource endowments, and our strategic value in the global geopolitical system, and we will promote a coherent and inclusive approach to gender equality and social inclusion
- HELCOM – Policy Brief - Aspects of blue economy in the Baltic Sea region, Towards A Sustainable Blue Growth Agenda for the Baltic Sea Region. In the Baltic Sea Region the most promising blue economy sectors identified were short sea shipping, coastal and cruise tourism, offshore wind, shipbuilding, aquaculture and blue biotechnologies. EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region: ACTION PLAN; The European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR)
- COBSEA: Sustainable Blue Economy : Sustainable Blue Economy is the overarching theme for the COBSEA’s work on marine and coastal ecosystems. COBSEA aims to ensure an equitable and inclusive benefit sharing when conducting work on the marine and coastal ecosystems, especially for communities whose lives are directly impacted by the ocean. The three thematic areas in the COBSEA MCE Framework are management tools that support Blue Economy. Green Fins: COBSEA, together with the execution of Reef World Foundation and the Coral Triangle Centre, are implementing a Green Fins project in Bali, Indonesia financed through the Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility (BNCFF) with IUCN. It is focused on strengthening Green Fins’ value proposition and investment readiness of sustainable marine tourism efforts in coral reef marine protected areas (MPAs). This is achieved by investigating and building the evidence basis of its environmental, social, and economic returns for reef health and local communities. Green Fins is a global UNEP initiative that accredits good business practices of scuba dive tourism operators.
Science, Policy, and Partnerships
UNEP advances science-based decision-making in Blue Economy strategies, providing tools and frameworks for managing marine industries in a sustainable manner. By promoting cross-sectoral cooperation, the Programme enables countries to balance economic development with marine conservation, ensuring sustainable fisheries, tourism, and energy production.
Multilateral Environmental Agreements and Conventions
The Regional Seas Programme aligns its Blue Economy initiatives with global frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 14 on Life Below Water), the Paris Agreement, and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). These agreements guide regional efforts to ensure that ocean-based economic activities are carried out sustainably, balancing economic growth with the protection of marine biodiversity.
