Stakeholder Perspectives on Opportunities and Challenges in Achieving Sustainable Growth of the Blue Economy in a Changing Climate

Abstract

Coastal marine environments provide livelihoods as billions of people around the world depend greatly on sustainability efforts in the Blue Economy. In this study, we investigated how stakeholders from important Blue Economy sectors along the German North Sea coast perceive the impacts of climate change on their daily work life and the growth of the Blue Economy. In a two-stage approach we first conducted two stakeholder workshops with representatives from the regional sea food sector, science, NGOs and local authorities, in order to identify important issues linked to climate change affecting environment, society, economy and policy. In the second stage, we conducted semi-structured interviews with key knowledge holders from the Blue Economy, to evaluate and validate the most important issues identified during the first stage, and the impacts on the respective sectors. The workshop participants identified perceptible effects of climate change on their marine environment. Early career scientists showed that they possess a clear focus on measures for climate change adaptation, transdisciplinary approaches and knowledge transfer. The interviews revealed that the climate change effects could be perceived as both negative and positive, depending on the sector. Other issues, especially political decisions and developments are perceived to have a greater immediate impact on the Blue Economy than the slow progress of climate change effects. Additionally, increased human activities, in the form of new or intensified uses like marine renewable energy generation, have a greater influence and lead to conflicts between the Blue Economy sectors. Our study showed that economic and societal stakeholders in Germanys North Sea region are aware of climate change and already perceive its effects on their businesses. Synergies and conflicts between the sectors and political decisions might influence sustainable growth of the Blue Economy in highly contested regions, such as the North Sea basin, much stronger than the effects of climate change. This calls for a more flexible and adaptive approach to policymaking, taking into account the changing environmental, social and economic realities.

Challenges of the Blue Economy: evidence and research trends

“…Decisions could influence the sustainable growth of the BE in highly contested regions because both companies and political authorities are influenced by economic interests and by stakeholders that have power in decision-making. This could result in sustainable growth having a stronger influence than the effects of climate change, making it a more flexible and adaptable approach to policymaking that considers changing economic, social, and environmental realities [56].…”

“…Furthermore, the increase in human activity, in the form of new or intensified uses, such as the generation of renewable marine energy, exert greater influence and cause conflicts between BE sectors [56].…”

Challenges of the Blue Economy: Evidence and Research Trends  

“…Similarly, it has been found that the synergies, con icts between sectors, and political decisions could in uence the sustainable growth of the BE in highly contested regions such as the North Sea basin. This could result in sustainable growth having a stronger in uence than the effects of climate change, making it a more exible and adaptable approach to policymaking that considers changing economic, social, and environmental realities (Hoerterer et al, 2020).…”

“…Linking BE with SDGs is challenging, and con ict areas exist primarily around divergent views on the legitimacy of different sectors as components of BE, particularly high carbon-intensive industries such as oil and gas and the emerging seabed mining industry . Furthermore, the increase in human activity, in the form of new or intensi ed uses, such as the generation of renewable marine energy, exert greater in uence and cause con icts between BE sectors (Hoerterer et al, 2020 Biotechnology presents excellent opportunities to produce natural products with possible applications in the food and pharmaceutical sectors (Rotter et al, 2020;Skrzeszewska & Beran, 2016). It is a recent and developing sector that is part of the bioeconomy, the latter developing and using renewable biological resources from the land and sea.…”

Bolstering Sustainable Growth through Blue Economy

“…Developing a sustainable Blue sea is the dream of every ocean economy but many questions regarding blue growth remains untargeted at the time of making policies as ocean economy is a combination of natural capital inputs (generated from sea) and human or manmade capital inputs so it is important that Governments of these nations must identify the economic worth of their oceans and design policies that connects all actors and ensure economic activities by identifying the loop holes and the entry points that will change the flow of inputs from marine eco-system to marine or blue economy (Patil, et al, 2018). Maintenance of sea environment is an important aspect of sustainable blue economy and its degradation will impact the entire humanity so, it is important to engage the stakeholders in achieving the environmental targets as their lives are largely depends on oceans so, policy making is not effective unless the three main components of blue economy are not synchronized and these components are Policy makers, economic stake holders and societal stakeholders because policy actions have quick visibility while the climate change is a social and economic reality which will impact slowly but dangerously so sustainability requires the participation of every component (Hoerterer, et al, 2020).…”