Oceans and the Blue Economy

The ocean economy is gaining increasing attention due to the burgeoning recognition of the role coastal and marine resources play in the global economy. By 2030, the value added by the ocean economy is expected to increase from 1.5 trillion USD in 2010 to 3 trillion USD, and provide up to 40 million jobs (OECD, 2016). These values are based on the premise of sustainable management, instead of the fragmented business-as-usual approaches currently employed. We believe it is necessary to rethink the dominant paradigms that govern the existing blue economy landscape in order to provide new strategies and methodologies for sustainable development of the Blue Economy. In that regard, we welcome papers that consider integrated and holistic approaches to ocean and coastal management or that take into account both economics and the environment in the context of climate change and biodiversity.

Given the need to ensure the sustainable harnessing of Blue Economy resources into the future, improved coordination needs to be established. Without sufficient coordination there exists a number of externalities, giving rise to siloed approaches to management between sectors. Improved coordination can generate synergies between sectors and transboundary management systems. Alongside this, focus needs to be channelled into the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems to ensure their provision of services. Improving conservation and the condition of biodiversity in ecosystems is essential for not only to help mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, but also for ensuring food security, job creation, and achieving international targets such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the Sustainable Development Goals. To achieve these, proper tools for the implementation and valuation of the blue economy (such as marine spatial planning, the Blue Economy Valuation Toolkit (Lallemand & Failler, 2020) and blue economy satellite accounts) are needed. Furthermore, emphasis should be made on improving research design and knowledge of blue resources at stake and the interdependencies between marine, aquatic and terrestrial domains, particularly with regards to blue technology and biotechnology.

Professor Masa Noguchi

	Guest Editors Professor Pierre Failler Centre for Blue Governance, University of Portsmouth, UK
	Dr. Antaya March Centre for Blue Governance, University of Portsmouth, UK