Coastal communities and whole societies have developed their cultural identities and lifestyles around the ocean, a vital resource that plays a crucial role in regulating the climate, supporting biodiversity, and providing livelihoods for billions of people. In 2023, the ocean economy reached a value of US$2.2 trillion, accounting for approximately 7 per cent of global trade.
But overfishing, pollution, and climate change have strained ocean, coastal and inland water systems, and experts warn that merely extracting more resources and value from nature is not a viable approach. The health of our ocean, coasts and freshwater ecosystems is fundamental to the health of people and the planet. However, efforts to restore and sustain them remain critically underprioiritized and underfunded.
“Investing in good ocean governance can yield a five-fold return in terms of human health, climate solutions, and economic development,” says Ole Vestergaard from the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) Marine and Freshwater Branch. “For governments, this means that sustainable ocean management and protection should not be viewed as an isolated issue but as an integral part of their development planning and budgeting.”
A new UNEP framework, the Sustainable Blue Economy Transition Framework, is designed to assist governments in incorporating the principles of a sustainable blue economy into their policies, planning and investments. According to Vestergaard, "this framework offers a practical tool for designing coherent policy, whole-of-government coordination and directing nature-positive capital toward initiatives that benefit local people and unlock the full potential of a regenerative ocean economy."
The new UNEP framework aims at helping countries tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature, land and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste by enabling coherent ocean, coastal and water policies and integrated management. Here’s a closer look at how it does that.
What is a sustainable blue economy?
The ocean is essential to life on earth and underpins a sustainable blue economy by regulating climate, sustaining biodiversity, supporting food security and enabling livelihoods for billions of people. Healthy and productive ocean, coastal and inland water ecosystems are therefore not only environmental necessities but economic ones: they form the foundation for resilient economies, inclusive growth and long-term prosperity.
However, these vital ecosystems face severe threats from intensifying coastal development, resource extraction, climate change-driven warming and acidification, and pollution from land, causing the rapid decline of biodiversity.
It is becoming increasingly evident that governments must rethink the current business-as-usual model and instead envision and deliver a truly sustainable, equitable and regenerative blue economy, one that enables people to benefit from the ocean while preserving the ecosystems they rely on.
Why are current approaches failing?
Fragmentation is a major challenge to sustainable ocean governance.
Various government agencies typically manage different aspects of the ocean economy in a siloed approach, such as fisheries, shipping and tourism. At the same time, land-based activities significantly impact marine ecosystems, with about 80 per cent of marine pollution originating from land sources.
This disjointed approach often results in overlapping, even conflicting policies, sectoral plans and interventions, which complicates efforts to align economic development with ecosystem protection and sustainable use.
The ocean finance landscape is also often fragmented, with multiple global, regional, and local mechanisms operating independently, resulting in inefficiencies and a diluted impact.
What does a sustainable blue economy look like in practice?
Countries must transition from short-term extraction to long-term stewardship of the entire ocean and water system, implementing policies that benefit both people and nature. Nature-based solutions play a crucial role in this shift.
Protecting and restoring ecosystems, such as mangroves, coral reefs, and wetlands, helps mitigate the impact of climate change, reduce disaster risk, enhance food security, and support biodiversity. A increasing number of coastal countries and small island development states are active in this agenda and UNEP has piloted elements of the framework in some of these nations.
How can countries make the transition to sustainable blue economies?
First, countries can assess the status of ecosystems, economies and communities, along with current governance system. What ecosystems are at risk? Who benefits from ocean resources? What policies already exist?
Second, they can set a shared vision and direction. Governments, businesses, scientists, local communities and civil society can work together to define compatible goals and plan nature-positive investments.
Third, they nations can implement the transition by integrating a sustainability agenda into everyday planning and decision-making, using tools such as marine spatial planning, coastal management, sustainable ocean planning and monitoring systems.
The Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) provides a clear proof of concept for how such coordination can work in practice, demonstrating how public and private sector actors can join forces around shared objectives. Through blended finance, policy alignment, and pipeline development, GFCR is accelerating investment into reef-positive, sustainable ocean economies, mobilizing private capital alongside public finance to deliver measurable climate, biodiversity, and livelihoods outcomes. The urgency for action on coral reefs and the need for financing was further emphasized by UNEA Resolution 7/1 on “accelerating global actions to promote the climate resilience of coral reefs”.
How can the new framework support this transition?
The Sustainable Blue Economy Transition Framework promotes policy coherence among countries, across national development pathways, along with data sharing and peer learning to amplify the impact. The framework is designed to guide countries and regions in their sustainable blue economy journey, building enabling conditions, supporting training and coordinated actions across governments. Avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach, the framework will help countries create tailored sustainable blue economy pathways that align with their priorities and situation. It enables coordination, cohesive policies, and investment in nature-based solutions to ensure that projects enhancing ecosystem health and social equity receive funding.
It includes practical tools like theSustainable Blue Economy Rapid Readiness Assessment to evaluate existing policies, identify gaps, build momentum for reform, and promotoe monitoring and evaluation to track progress and adapt policies as conditions evolve.
What goals should countries aim for?
The framework identifies four broad goals for a sustainable blue economy: conserving, protecting and restoring ecosystems; promoting equity and inclusion; strengthening climate resilience; and reducing pollution and waste through circular-economy approaches.
These goals are closely linked. Healthy ecosystems support jobs and food security, climate resilience helps communities withstand disasters, and reducing pollution is beneficial for biodiversity and human health.
Transitioning to a sustainable blue economy require decisive political action, institutional reforms and strong collaboration. UNEP equips governments with tools like the Transition Framework and Rapid Readiness Assessment to enable this important shift.
What is the role of international cooperation?
The pressures facing marine and coastal ecosystems are often transboundary and require strong collective action to manage ecosystems and shared resources. Regional Seas frameworks align visions, harmonize policies and coordinate the collective management of shared ecosystems, helping translate global commitments into actionable plans.
Why is equity part of the conversation?
Women, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and marginalized groups are often excluded from decisions that impact their livelihoods and ecosystems.
A sustainable blue economy needs to be inclusive and ensure that everyone has a voice in the decision-making process, and that the benefits from those decisions are shared equitably. The Transition Framework helps put equity and benefit-sharing into practice, also ensuring that policies and management strategies address inequalities and consider marginalized voices.
