Institutionalizing the Blue Economy: an examination of variations and consistencies among Commonwealth countries

Abstract

The Blue Economy is a catch all term that is used to describe a wide variety of development approaches and priorities in the ocean and coastal areas. A number of distinct, and sometimes conflicting discourses have emerged in relation to the Blue Economy, which are distinguished by the degree to which they prioritize different development objectives. This paper explores the range of Blue Economy interpretations, governance strategies and implementation approaches that exist across Commonwealth countries. Key Blue Economy policy statements and governance instruments are analysed in order to ascertain the way the Blue Economy is being institutionalized at a national level, with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Commonwealth Blue Charter. High-level Blue Economy objectives appear to prioritize economic and environmental objectives, with limited engagement with equity objectives including food security and gender equality. Blue Economy objectives are primarily being institutionalized through a diverse array of strategies, plans and policies with limited information on mechanisms for implementation. Finally, there are signs that the Blue Economy may be facilitating a greater degree of integration across sectoral management, with the emergence of range of boundary-crossing arrangements in a number of the countries examined. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Nurturing resilient marine ecosystems’.

Global blue economy governance – A methodological approach to investigating blue economy implementation

“…Other methodological tools have been developed to assess other aspects of the blue economy. For example, Voyer et al (2022) looked at the level of blue economy institutionalization in Commonwealth countries. Their work examined different facets of the blue economy in operation to from an understanding of governance, as well as priority sectors throughout the Commonwealth with a focus on alignment to SDGs and the Commonwealth Blue Charter.…”

“…Building on the previous analysis of blue economy development in Commonwealth countries by Voyer et al (2022), as well as the work by Adrianto (2022) and Cisneros-Montemayor et al (2021), we developed a methodology by which to assess and categorize the level of blue economy development at a national level. This methodology relies on two schemes: the development of a global blue economy database; and the creation of a categorization tool.…”

“…One of the accepted first steps in developing and implementing a blue economy is to create governance arrangements to support it. There is no clear "standard" of blue economy governance at present (Voyer et al, 2022). However, a clear articulation of the blue economy, including the sectors which fall within it, and the development of a blue economy policy that is embedded within existing governance arrangements are important components of a blue economy in operation (Voyer et al, 2021a).…”

“…The blue economy has gained traction in international and regional discourse and governance throughout the past decade (Mohanty et al, 2015;OECD, 2016;Patil et al, 2016;Mulazzani and Malorgio, 2017;Bennett et al, 2019). Despite the prominence of the term in international and national fora and programs (Bank, W2017;FAO, 2017;Nations, U, 2022a), the blue economy as a concept remains poorly defined and largely under implemented at a national level (Voyer et al, 2022). This renders the blue economy at risk of becoming a political tool rather than a tool to achieve practical objectives and advance ocean health, economic development, and social equity (Brent et al, 2020;Fabinyi et al, 2021;Louey, 2022).…”

Good governance for sustainable blue economy in small islands: Lessons learned from the Seychelles experience

“…To date, there are few examples of national adoption of the blue economy as a transformational approach for the sustainable development of the ocean. A recent analysis of how blue economy has been enacted and governed across Commonwealth countries shows an array of plans and policies at different stages of development and implementation and institutional arrangements (Voyer et al, 2022). This review found that in practice, the blue economy may succeed if a more integrated approach to sectoral management is developed; however, there was less evidence that it was successful in driving integration of social, economic, and environmental objectives, with particularly limited engagement with equity objectives across many countries.…”