The Economic Impact of the Blue Economy

Abstract

For many countries the marine, costal and maritime sectors represent an important foundation for sustainable development. This is why in order to deliver and achieve it, many countries extend their economy beyond land based activities. A sustainable blue economy in every country depends not only on their maritime and marine zones, but also on their existing economic activities and their issues regarding the environmental, social, and cultural conditions. The main objective of the “blue economy” is to ensure environmental sustainability while promoting social inclusion, economic growth and preservation or improvement of livelihoods (UNCTAD 2014, UNDESA 2014). According to the World Bank in Europe, the Blue Economy represents nearly 5.4 million jobs and generates a gross added value of approximately €500 billion per year. In order to have a sustainable blue economy each country should find the best way to balance sustainability and economic growth to allow optimal use of maritime resources, ensuring at the same time maximum benefit to the environment. Throughout this paper, we tried to emphasize the economic impact of the Blue economy, by analyzing the key sectors: maritime transport, cruise tourism, aquaculture and offshore oil and gas. In each country, some of these sectors need little encouragement and additional governance, while others required better and more efficient planning in order to obtain sustainable outcomes.