Measurement of the Ocean Economy From National Income Accounts to the Sustainable Blue Economy

Shades of blue: what do competing interpretations of the Blue Economy mean for oceans governance?

“…Within this interpretation the Blue Economy is generally considered to be a subset of the ocean economy (C. S. Colgan, 2016) and definitions tend to be broad enough to embrace all ocean-based economic activities. In particular, some of the documents within this lens use the terms 'Blue Economy' and 'ocean economy' interchangeably with little distinction drawn between the two terms (e.g.…”

“…One of the distinguishing features of these interpretations of the Blue Economy is the focus on valuation studies, which aim to quantify the economic value the ocean economy (C. S. Colgan, 2016;Ebarvia, 2016;Alistair McIlgorm, 2016). In particular,…”

“…This process can be understood as a step-by-step program which aims to build a picture of the value of the ocean economy, which can then be used to inform Blue Economy development (Beaudoin and Pendleton, 2012;C. S. Colgan, 2016;Ebarvia, 2016;Kildow and McIlgorm, 2010;Alistair McIlgorm, 2016).…”

“…All four lenses promoted the practice of quantifying the value of the natural capital provided by the oceans, and the 'oceans as good business' lens particularly focused on valuation of the ocean sectors and industries (the ocean economy). Despite criticisms of this approach as a form of neoliberalization of nature (Castree, 2010), proponents argue that quantification of use and non-use values provides a common language to assist in informing management actions, including spatial planning, and trade off decision making, as well as providing a means of more accurately accounting for the true cost of externalities (C. S. Colgan, 2016;Ebarvia, 2016;Mulazzani and Malorgio, 2017;Patil, et al, 2016). They argue it also provides an important tool to drive conservation through, for example, payment for ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, or Blue Carbon (Lau, 2013;Siikamäki, Sanchirico, Jardine, McLaughlin, & Morris, 2013;Warner, et al, 2016).…”

Maritime security and the Blue Economy: intersections and interdependencies in the Indian Ocean

“…One of the enduring and critical questions often incorporated into discussions of the Blue Economy relates to its sectoral scope. Given the Blue Economy is often thought of as a subset of the ocean economy, identification and valuation of the segments or sectors that make up the ocean economy is often the first step in the process of planning Blue Economy development or identifying potential Blue Economy opportunities (Colgan, 2016). A diverse array of 'taxonomies' of the ocean economy, such as the one outlined in Table 1, have been developed to assist this analysis (Kildow and McIlgorm, 2010;Alistair McIlgorm, 2005;The Economist, 2015).…”