Blue Economy for a Sustainable Tomorrow

Earth is often called a blue planet as 71 % of the earth’s surface consists of water. This vast resource is a critical source of life, supporting earth in various ways. The blue economy is based on this resource, which promotes economic growth and development, environmental sustainability leading to social equity. By

Coastal zones are among the most populated areas on the planet. As the population continues to rise, economic development must expand to support human life. However, this development may damage the coastal environment that is supporting human welfare for present and future generations.

The management of complex coastal and marine social-ecological systems viz., blue, requires tools that provide frameworks with the capability of responding to current and emergent issues.

How Big is the Blue Economy?

According to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the global ocean economy was valued at approximately USD 1.5 trillion in 2020, with the potential to reach USD 3 trillion by 2030.

Upasana Dutta & Yogesh Kumar Singh

Industries such as fisheries and aquaculture, shipping and ports, offshore oil and gas, and ocean renewable energy are the largest contributors to the global ocean economy. In 2020, these industries accounted for approximately 70% of the ocean economy's total value.

The shipping industry is a major contributor to the global economy, with over 90% of global trade happening by sea. According to the International Chamber of Shipping, the global shipping industry was estimated to be worth USD 574 billion.

Marine Species

These figures paint a magnanimous picture glorifying the need to conserve such an important and one of the most abundant resources on the earth. This most abundant resource carries a wide variety of biodiversity. About 226,000 marine species have been identified and recorded. However, these are but a small fraction of the total.

According to a study published online in Current Biology today and supervised by Ward Appellants of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the ocean may be home to 700,000 marine species. The study’s findings are based on the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS).

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, about 90% of the world's fishermen are smallscale fishermen, who are directly dependent on coastal and marine resources for their livelihoods. Of these, around 21 percent are women.

In addition, many others in coastal communities such as processors, traders, and workers in related industries are also dependent on the coastal economy for their livelihoods.

Although the exact number of people dependent on the coastal economy is difficult to ascertain, it plays a crucial role in providing employment and income to millions of people around the world.

Blue Economy & Climate Change

The blue economy is however vulnerable to climate change and prone to natural hazards and disasters. Several direct linkages can be seen tangled because of climate change directly on the ocean biodiversity and in turn on the blue economy.

According to UNCC, as the planet’s greatest carbon sink today, the ocean has absorbed about 90 percent of the heat generated by rising emissions. This excessive heat and energy warm the ocean, and the change in temperature leads to unparalleled cascading effects, including ice-melting, sea-level rise, marine heatwaves, and ocean acidification.

These changes ultimately cause a lasting impact on marine biodiversity, the lives, and livelihoods of coastal communities, and beyond, including around 680 million people living in low-lying coastal areas. Almost two billion, live in half of the world’s coastal megacities, nearly half of the world’s population (3.3 billion) depends on fish for protein, and almost 60 million people work in fisheries and the aquaculture sector worldwide.

To have a globally sustainable model for the blue economy, the policy makers need to have effective and efficient disaster risk reduction and management practices entwined with it. They need to focus on how to implement viable strategies and draw plans to tackle the changing climate and weather dimensions.

Sustainable blue economy practices can have co-benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation. For example, the restoration of coastal ecosystems can help sequester carbon and reduce the impacts of climate change, while also providing important habitat for marine biodiversity.

The ocean can be a source of energy in several ways, for example, tidal and wave energy can be used to power coastal communities and businesses, while thermal energy can be used to power desalination plants or cooling systems for buildings. Salinity gradient energy can also be used to generate electricity in areas where freshwater and saltwater meet.

In addition to providing a source of renewable energy, the development of the blue economy can also provide job opportunities and economic growth in coastal communities. However, it is important to ensure that these developments are done in a sustainable way that does not harm the ocean ecosystem or negatively impact the livelihoods of local communities.

Blue Economy & Sustainability

While the blue economy has the potential to support sustainable development, there are several disasters that can impact its sustainability. Implementing sustainable practices such as marine spatial planning, ecosystem-based management, and sustainable fisheries management can help reduce the vulnerability of ocean resources to climate change impacts and natural disasters.

Enhancing early warning systems can help mitigate the impacts that can arise due to impending disasters. These will help in taking preventive measures and forewarning the coastal communities. Such kinds of systems are already operational and have a high rate of success. These systems can further include monitoring of ocean conditions, weather forecasting, and detection of changes in ocean temperatures and currents.

Due to increasing sea levels and extreme weather conditions, coastal infrastructure is the first to be hit. Disaster management strategies can help to ensure that the infrastructure supporting the blue economy is resilient to natural disasters and climate change impacts. This can involve designing ports and harbors to withstand the sea-level rise and extreme weather events, as well as investing in the maintenance and repair of coastal infrastructure.

Disaster management strategies should involve the participation of coastal communities in the planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction measures. This can help to ensure that local knowledge and needs are considered in the design of disaster management strategies and that the strategies are effective in protecting the blue economy and its stakeholders.

Space-based technologies along with geospatial data obtained through earth observa- tion remote sensing satellite and ground observations can play a key role in achieving this goal by providing valuable insights into the ocean and coastal ecosystems by way of continuous monitoring and better management.

These technologies can help generate futuristic event-based scenarios to help put forth counteractive disaster management measures. It can help in monitoring and managing coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangrove forests, and a wide range of marine activities, including fishing, aquaculture, shipping, and oil and gas exploration.

High-resolution satellite imagery can provide valuable insights into the water quality, temperature, and salinity levels, which are critical for the growth and health of aquatic species, and help identify potential threats to marine, which can further help identify areas that are at risk of degradation. This information can be used to develop conservation plans and restoration strategies that protect these critical habitats while also supporting economic activities like tourism and recreation.

While the ocean provides a huge potential for energy generation, there are important barriers that must be overcome to realize this in a sustainable and timely manner. Two key challenges facing the sector are the lifecycle cost of the energy produced, referred to as the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), and its impact on marine ecosystems.

There are several ways in which space technology can help the sector tackle both challenges.

For example, the data products derived from Copernicus Satellite data, such as wind and wave climatology, can be used for broad-scale regional assessments or to perform a comparative analysis of sites during the early stages of development. Longterm climate quality datasets such as the ESA CCI (Climate Change Initiative) products can be used to understand regional climate risks including sea level rise and sea state.

As projects progress to more detailed assessments involving hydrodynamic modeling and in-situ data acquisition, satellite data can be used to validate models, thereby reducing uncertainty, and using emerging techniques such as GNSS Interferometric Reflectometry (GNSSIR), potentially significantly reducing the volume of expensive in-situ data required.

During the late seventies, the Coastal Zone Colour Scanner was launched as the first satellite intended for monitoring the Earth’s oceans and water bodies by observing ocean color and temperature, particularly in coastal zones.

Later, many other satellite sensors were developed by several space agencies. In general, satellite-based remote sensing images and techniques are advantageous as they usually collect uniform data with common acquisition and recording schemes, covering large areas.

Relation Between Climate Change, Blue Economy & Sustainability Climate change, the blue

economy, and sustainability are all closely interconnected topics that have significant implications around the world.

Globally, there is increasing recognition of the importance of addressing climate change, promoting the blue economy, and ensuring sustainability.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a framework for this, with SDG 13 focusing specifically on climate action, and SDG 14 on life below water. Many countries have signed the Paris Agreement, which sets targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Integrating disaster management and sustainable blue economy practices in the context of climate change presents both challenges and opportunities. While limited financial resources, lack of technical capacity, complex regulatory frameworks, and social and cultural factors can pose challenges, there are many opportunities for synergy, improved livelihoods, and economic growth, co-benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation, and international support and collaboration. While there are many challenges to address, there are also significant opportunities for economic growth and social development through sustainable practices.

Upasana Dutta

Joint Director C-DAC Pune, India Associate Director C-DAC Pune, India

Dr. Yogesh Kumar Singh