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Dr Celine Germond-Duret

Lancaster University

Responding to:

International Development Committee’s call for evidence

09.12.14

Area to examine:

Blue development - The place of the blue economy in development strategies.

The blue economy can be defined as “the sustainable pursuit of economic activities resulting from the exploitation of coastal and marine resources” (Germond-Duret and Germond, 2023). Endorsed and promoted by Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the concept gained from popularity after the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20) and results from a growing interest in oceans and in applying green economy principles into oceans.

The importance of economic activities at sea (especially trade, transportation and fishery) to foster development has always been recognised. But the blue economy concept emphasises the further economic and development potential that oceans represent for a wide range of sectors, associating oceans with “Development Spaces” (UNCSD, 2012). Even conservation organisations have stressed the value of the blue economy, estimating to be worth US$24 trillion, and claiming that a sustainable blue economy is necessary “to ensure that the economic development of the ocean contributes to true prosperity and resilience, today and long into the future” (WWF, 2018). Scotland has developed its “Blue Economy Vision” (2022), and within the past ten years, various nations from the South have integrated the blue economy into their development plans or strategies (from Namibia to The Seychelles and from Kenya to South Africa).

That said, it is important to stress that the blue economy is more than ‘blue growth’, in the sense that it is supposed to contain an environmental and social sustainability dimension. This is also what differentiates blue economy from maritime economy. Achieving a truly sustainable blue economy is challenging and the blue economy concept has raised both hope and concerns; hope that environmental protection will be at the heart of economic activities at sea; and concerns that it will facilitate the further unsustainable exploitation of coastal and marine resources (from blue grabbing to dispossession of small-scale fishers, women and Indigenous groups) (Germond-Duret, Heidkamp and Morrissey, 2023).

This submission recommends to explore: 1) the importance of the blue economy for the development of recipient countries, and 2) how HM Government can best support blue development strategies to ensure that they are truly sustainable (e.g. from technical support to conditionality).

Recognition of the importance of the blue economy for development is growing. It is important to be part of the debate and actions in this field. As a maritime nation, there is an opportunity for the UK to take a leading role to stress the significance of social and environmental sustainability within blue development processes, especially in a context of “blue acceleration” (Jouffray et al., 2020).

References:

Germond‐Duret, C. and Germond, B. (2022). Media coverage of the blue economy in British newspapers: Sea blindness and sustainable development. The Geographical Journal. 189(2), 193-203.

Germond‐Duret, C., Heidkamp, C.P. and Morrissey, J. (2022). (In)justice and the blue economy. The Geographical Journal. 189 (2), 184-192.

Jouffray, J.-B., Robert, B., Norström, A.V., Österblom, H. & Nyström, M. (2020) The blue acceleration: The trajectory of human expansion into the ocean. One Earth, 2(1), 43–54.

UNCSD (2012) ‘ Blue Economy Concept Paper’. Paper presented at the Blue Economy Summit, United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Abu Dhabi (19‒20 January). https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/do

WWF (2018) Principles for a sustainable blue economy. Available from: https://wwfeu.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/ww

Additional information:

Have you ever engaged with Parliament before (e.g. made a submission to a select committee)?

Do you have personal or field experience related to international development issues?

Yes: PhD on international development; expertise in sustainable development and the blue economy (author of several academic publications on the topic).

If you are invited to pitch your idea to the Committee, would you be able to travel to London and back within the same day?

Yes

Dr Celine Germond-Duret

Lancaster University Lancaster LA1 4YL United Kingdom

Email c.germond-duret@lancaster.ac.uk