What is the blue economy and why is it important for Latin America?

If the blue economy as a whole is calculated as a national economy, it would be the seventh largest in the world. If it were a country, the ocean would be a member of the G7.

We are talking about the largest ecosystem in the world, covering 70% of the Earth’s surface, providing 50% of the oxygen we breathe and being the largest natural sink of carbon; however, it has been rejected for decades.

Its existence has been taken for granted and it has always looked inward, to the Earth. Its conservation and protection has a long way to go in areas such as the fight against overfishing, habitat destruction and climate change.

Its importance also lies in the fact that major industries around the world depend on and impact the health of the oceans through According to United Nations data, the ocean economy goes between $3 and $6 trillion every year.

This includes employment and all services related to the ocean and seas, including shipping, fishing, renewable energy, port construction, coastal tourism and coastal infrastructure.

“If you calculate the ocean economy as a national economy, it would be the seventh largest economy in the world,” Ole Vestergaard, head of the UN Development Program’s (UNDP) Sustainable Blue Economy, explained to BBC Mundo.

All experts consulted by BBC Mundo are clear about the importance and necessity of sustainable development.

“If it were the seventh largest economy in the world, the ocean would be a member of the G7 and sit at the table,” said Sonia Ruiz, a sustainability specialist at the Esade Institute for Social Innovation and founder of NOIMA.

Origin of the term “blue economy”

The concept originated from the hands of Belgian economist Gunter Pauli, who first wrote about this idea in 2009 in his book entitled “The Blue Economy”, which includes a report he made for the Club of Rome.

In it, he sought to promote an economic model centered on respect for the environment and explained 100 innovations that introduce sustainable forms of production or use that would create more than 100 million jobs.

The book was written as an alternative to the green economy, which he believes has created an unaffordable production system, with prices so high that only the elite have access to organic products.

“Everything that is green is expensive, you can’t. How do we get an economy where only the rich can pay to do something right? For me, this was out of the question,” Pauli told BBC Mundo of a concept that was later incorporated into the UN’s Rio+20 sustainable development conference in 2012.

The businessman and founder of the Zero Emissions Research Initiative (ZERI) emphasizes the importance of working with what you have.

“70% of the population lives by the sea and does not use it. They use it like a mess. All we think about today is deep-sea fishing and mining, without going any further,” he says.

Considered to be “the Steve Jobs of sustainability” or “the Ché Guevara of sustainability” in Latin America he emphasizes that he is not a theoretician, but that he proposes concrete projects.

“People don’t realize the opportunities they have. They describe the problem of plastic pollution, the problem of overfishing, the problem of deep-sea mining, but as I always say: analysis, paralysis,” explains Pauli.

This call to action includes his report in which he “presented concrete proposals showing that it was perfectly possible to regenerate mangroves, regenerate algal forests to obtain food, obtain energy, obtain drinking water, etc.”

This is the case, for example, with a project in Mar del Plata, Argentina, aimed at cultivating fly larvae as food for fish farming, generated by waste from slaughterhouses, says Pauli.

“There are other very important examples, such as the case of Rapa Nui, an island that is 100% dependent on imported energy from abroad and for them we have made a plan to generate wind energy but with kites. Not with mills. This makes it possible to generate wind energy 24 hours a day and not just when there is wind at the turbine,” he explains.

Why is it important for Latin America and for the world?

Just as a human being cannot live without a healthy heart and healthy lungs, the earth cannot survive without healthy oceans and seas.

The seas absorb 30% of the world’s CO2, while marine phytoplankton generate 50% of the oxygen needed for survival. In addition, they are essential for social well-being.

More than 40% of the world’s population, 3.1 billion people, live within 100 km of the ocean or sea in some 150 coastal and island states, according to the UN.

In the case of Latin America, with about 240,000 km of coastline, 27% of the population depends directly or indirectly on the ocean and its resources.

Activities such as sustainable fishing, renewable energy production or ecotourism have enabled countries to increase labor force participation and good sanitation, while reducing poverty, malnutrition and pollution and increasing their resilience.

“It’s about improving the quality of life of all people who are somehow connected or connected to the sea, whose survival depends on the ocean and its resources,” explains Alicia Montalvo, an expert in blue economy at the Development Bank, to BBC Mundo of Latin America (CAF).

“I always like to say that the social and the ecological cannot be separated.

“For example, if we facilitate the development of sustainable tourism by properly using beaches, mangroves and all coral reefs, it will improve the lives of all people living there,” adds Montalvo while highlights Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica for their view of the ocean.

“Latin America has a serious drinking water problem. These blue economy projects are about drinking water, short circuit food, renewable energy, algae gas that is so easy to produce. It is the opportunity to respond to basic needs in the very short term. That is the most important thing,” adds Pauli in turn.

confusion of terms

It is important distinguish between the blue economy, i.e. all activities related to the oceans and seas, and the sustainable blue economycurrently being talked about when we mention the term blue economy.

The mix of these two concepts can be confusing, because although the trend is towards sustainability in all areas, today there is still a large part of, for example, fishing, tourism or shipping companies that are not sustainable, although they can become .

“There is currently no universal definition of ‘blue economy’”, admits Ole Vestergaard.

“UNDP emphasizes the goal of sustainability and speaks of ‘sustainable blue economy’, because traditional blue sectors and maritime users are not always sustainable or environmentally friendly.

“The shorter term ‘blue economy’ can be confusing because it can apply to ocean companies that are not really sustainable. That is why UNDP is working to make this distinction clear in all our work towards sustainable blue economy,” he added.

The sustainable blue economy thus strives for a new economic system in which the resources provided by nature are reused.

The World Bank follows this line when referring to the blue economy as “the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, the improvement of livelihoods and employment, while preserving the health of the ecosystem”.

According to sustainability expert Sonia Ruiz, the different visions of the blue economy can be summarized in four models.

First, a more activist vision, championed by NGOs, aimed at preserving, restoring and protecting all activities related to the marine environment.

Second, the vision of the oceans as a business opportunity, as is the case, for example, in the tourism sector, with or without sustainable and environmental criteria.

Third, the one who sees the oceans as a way of life, including the communities that live connected to the oceans.

And fourth, the one who sees the oceans as a source of innovation, as is the case with the sustainable exploitation of the seabed.

How projects in the blue economy are financed

Blue economy projects are primarily funded through private and public investment, green funds and organizations such as UNDP, which has mobilized more than $1 billion for ocean protection and restoration activities in more than 100 countries over the past 25 years.

Similarly, in 2018 the UN launched the UN Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), a global partnership that brings the UN together with more than 350 banks, insurers and institutional investors to sustainably develop the financial agenda and promote implementation. of the Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14) focused on the oceans and seas, drawn up in 2015.

CAF is part of this alliance with the UN. The entity pledged to spend at least US$1,250 million between 2022 and 2026 on issues related to the blue economy, supporting projects, for example regenerative tourism, wind energy or related to the use of algae as a protein source. industry.

An example of this type of sustainable blue economy project is the case of a project that promotes and supports small-scale, artisanal fishing communities in Costa Rica to create marine areas for responsible fishing.

Fishermen can request the demarcation of an area as responsible fishing. In this way, artisanal fishermen are also freed from the power of intermediaries, which promotes fair remuneration and creates employment opportunities in the community.