Policy Brief

March 2021

Contextualising Blue Economy

in Asia-Pacific Region
Exploring Pathways for a Regional Cooperation Framework

Mani Juneja, Christina De Souza, Asha L Giriyan and Swati Ganeshan

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India
Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific
Region — Exploring Pathways for a Regional
Cooperation Framework

Mani Juneja, Christina De Souza and Asha L Giriyan, Swati Ganeshan (Project Lead)
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India

Acknowledgment

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India would like to thank our partners
Konrad‑Adenauer‑Stiftung e.V. Regional Project Energy Security and Climate Change Asia‑Pacific
(RECAP) for their incredible support throughout this project. The guidance and support of
Dr. Christian Hübner and Mr. Benedict Chang of KAS RECAP has been an immense help to
develop this policy brief. It's been a learning experience and great opportunity to explore an
issue that is critical to the Asia-Pacific region. We would also take this opportunity to thank
the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand and Prof. Sangam Shrestha for their support and
collaboration for the Virtual workshop that strives to bring together experts, changemakers
and policymakers from across the Asia-Pacific region.

We would also like to thank Mr. R R Rashmi, Mr. Souvik Bhattacharjya and Dr. Fraddry D'Souza
at TERI for their guidance and support. We would like to acknowledge the contributions of Mr.
M. K. Bineesan and Mr. John Andruse, our administrative support at TERI for the policy brief
and the virtual workshop.
 Executive
Summary

™ Blue economy promotes economic growth, social inclusion and improvement of livelihoods while at the
same time ensuring environmental sustainability. With no single or universal definition, the concept
of blue economy is gaining prominence due to the potential of the framework to form interlinkages.
The Fluidity of Blue economy framework allows the creation of pathways for integrated strategies and
actions for oceans with room to evolve in accordance with emerging challenges and opportunities.

™ For the purpose of the policy brief, the Asia-Pacific region includes South Asia, South-East Asia,
East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Small Island Developing countries. The region is home to
developed, developing and least developing economies (LDCs). Around 13 countries in Asia are Least
Developing with 9 of them being island or coastal economies.

™ Ocean-based sectors contribute significantly to the economic growth of Asia-Pacific countries,

additionally for some of the island nations — oceans are at the core of socio-economic functioning.
The share of blue economy in the GDP of Asia-Pacific countries varies from as low as 1% to as high as
30% and in a few island nations the GDP contribution is as high as 87%.

™ The Asia-pacific region is the backbone of Global Maritime trade with major Sea Lanes of
Communication (SLOC) within its region. According to UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport 2019,
64% of the container port traffic occurred in the Asian region alone. Among the top 50 global container
ports, 9 of the 10 are located in Asia, and 7 of the top 10 are from China.

™ Global ship production is dominated by the three Asian countries — Republic of Korea, China, and
Japan — representing 90% of the global shipbuilding activities. In the ship-breaking sector, Asian
countries like Bangladesh, India and Pakistan lead in the maritime supply chain where Bangladesh
made 47.2% of this segment followed by India at 25.6% and Pakistan at 21.5%.

™ Out of all the three sub-regions, East Asia-Pacific accounts for more than half of Asia-Pacific’s
international tourist arrivals and receipts. The region’s strength lies in trade and globalization and thus
the region provides excellent connectivity, thus attracting a lot of tourists. Similarly, the Southeast
Asian countries’ GDP has a high dependence on tourism because of the high influx of international
tourists.

™ The region contributes significantly to the global food basket through its fisheries sector. The Asia-
Pacific region is a major world producer of fish and fisheries products, and Asia (excluding China)
occupies around 34% of the global fishing and aquaculture market. The total fish production has
almost doubled in Asia in the last 20 years. Fish farming is also dominated by the Asian countries that
have produced 89% of the global total in volume terms in the last 20 years. China alone has produced
more farmed aquatic food than the rest of the world since 1991.

™ Around 85% of the total population employed in the fishing sector globally, is in Asia. Asia has the
largest fishing fleet as well in the world, standing at 3.1 million vessels or 68% of the total in 2018.
Almost 75% of the reported motorized fleet in 2018 was in Asia.

™ Asia has consistently been accounting for almost two-thirds of the global inland water production
since the mid-2000s and accounted for 57% of total inland water catches in 2018. The world’s top six
inland waters capture production is in Asian countries, out of which China produces almost 16% of

4
 the world’s inland water capture fisheries, followed by India (14%), Bangladesh (10%), Myanmar (7%),
Cambodia (4%) and Indonesia (4%).

™ Asia-Pacific region is known for its rich coastal and marine resources. Coastal tourism is expanding in
the region as more than 8% of the world’s mangrove areas are in this region. The Sundarban Delta is
the world’s largest continuous stretch of mangroves. The Great Barrier reef is also a key ecologically
fragile zone in the region.

™ The rich biodiversity and abundance of mineral and ocean-based resources has led to accelerated
movement towards exploring and developing seabed mineral and marine resources for high
technology sectors, pharmaceutical industry among others. Harnessing blue biotechnology is a
rising technology and innovation area in the blue economy. In the Asia-Pacific, China, India, South
Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia are expected to become significant markets for marine
biotechnology within a reasonable time-frame.

™ The increasing need for mineral resources is leading countries to look towards ocean beds. Deep-sea
mining is one of the emerging sectors of blue economy that requires significant R&D capacity and
finance. China, India, Korea, Japan are the major players from Asia participating in the International
Seabed Authority processes. Other Asian countries that are venturing into deep-sea mining include
Singapore and few SIDS states.

™ The ocean is a poorly-policed frontier with the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic exacerbating the offshore
law enforcement gap as coast guards and navies look inward to manage and relieve domestic crises
rather than police the open waters.

™ Pirates, poachers and smugglers will continue operating and may have a greater incentive to resort
to crime due to the global recession. This would include a probable increase in Illicit fishing as well. In
contrast, legal industrial fishing operations are likely to decline, especially over the near term, from
a combination of the risk of being at sea in a pandemic and supply chain complications caused by
market closures.

™ Lack of up-to-date ocean science data will be problematic (due to reduction in operational research
cruises) to assess stocks and management regimes especially in data-poor regions of the developing
world. These market disruptions as a result of the pandemic will greatly affect the trade of fish which
is the most widely traded food commodity.

™ Beyond the fishing industry, ocean tourism will suffer as travel slows due to the pandemic. Coral reef
tourism generates $36 billion per year, a value that has been a key driver in marine conservation.
Lost revenues may increase pressure for near-term exploitation. Small Island and lesser developed
countries are particularly vulnerable to the downturn in tourism.

™ With the highest concentration of global population with a majority of them socio-economically
vulnerable, the impact of climate change is already visible in the region. Sea level rise, extreme
weather events and natural disasters are on a rise. The rise of global health crises such as COVID 19,
accentuates these vulnerabilities and the changing climate also aids the spread of diseases.

™ While regional organisations like APEC are focusing on ocean health and blue economy sectors,
regional level cooperation across the region is necessary to interlink blue economy initiatives that are
being implemented at national or sub-regional level.

5
6
Table of
Contents

1. Introduction 10

2. Contextualising the role of oceans in Asia-Pacific region — The Blue Economy framework 14

Major Players in Blue Economy 17

Shipping and Port Connectivity 20

Tourism 22

Fishing 24

3. Blue Economy in the context of resource security, R&D and SDGs 26

Need for resource security and role of Blue Economy 27

Linkages of ocean economy, emerging industries and innovations 29

Blue Economy in deep ocean stewardship initiative 29

Role of scientific and technological advancements for boosting Blue Economy 30

Maintaining health of oceans and boosting R&D for Blue Economy in the Asia-Pacific region — 31
Case of APEC

Incorporating SDG 14 into domestic development framework 33

4. Way Ahead 36

5. Annexure 38

6. Reference 40

7. Images 42

7
 List of
Tables

Table 1: Definitions of ‘Blue Economy’ by different agencies 11

Table 2: Taxonomy of Blue Economy Sectors and Activities 13

Table 3: Size and share of Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific countries and the estimated employment 19

Table 4: Deliveries of new buildings by major vessel types and countries of construction, 2018

(Thousand gross tons) 21

Table 5: Correlation of extreme weather events and infectious diseases 31

Table 6: Conservation of marine and coastal areas 35

List of
Figures

Figure 1: Blue Economy Policy framework for aligning Ocean Health and Economic Growth 12

Figure 2: Share of Blue Economy in GDP 17

Figure 3: International Maritime Trade by region, 2018 (% share in world tonnage) 21

Figure 4: Percentage of world fleet ownership in selected countries (2015 – 19) 21

Figure 5: Share of Travel and Tourism in GDP of the sub-regions 23

Figure 6: Share of Travel and Tourism in employment 23

Figure 7: Travel and Tourism Competitive Index 2019 23

Figure 8: Top six Inland water capture production: Major producing countries 25

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About
The Authors

Mani Juneja
Research Associate at the Centre for Resource Efficiency & Governance at The Energy and Resources
Institute (TERI), India

Christina De Souza
Associate Fellow at the Coastal Ecology & Marine Resources Centre at The Energy and Resources Institute
(TERI), India

Asha L Giriyan
Fellow at the Coastal Ecology & Marine Resources Centre at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI),
India

Swati Ganeshan (Project Lead)

Fellow and Area Convener at the Centre for Resource Efficiency & Governance at The Energy and Resourc-
es Institute (TERI), India

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 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

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Introduction

10
Introduction

O
ceans are an internal and essential com- good — the economic and trade activities arising
ponent of the ecosystem as they cover out of the oceans are intrinsically linked with con-
around three-fourths of the Earth’s sur- servation and sustainability. The concept of ‘Blue
face. Billions of people worldwide and Economy’ (BE) was promoted at the Rio+20 Con-
especially the developing and poor nations rely on ference as the marine dimension of the broader
oceans and seas for both livelihood and food. The ‘green economy’ and encapsulates the economy
ocean economy directly contributes to around US$ and sustainability linkages. It was defined as an
1.5 trillion in the gross value added to the world economy “that results in improved human well-be-
economy in 2010, which is more than 3% of the ing and social equity, while significantly reducing
world gross domestic product (GDP) and provided environmental risks and ecological scarcities”.3
direct employment to around 31 million people. This concept has been defined in multiple ways by
By 2030 its contribution is projected to double in different organizations and institutions (Table 1).
size to US$ 3trillion (from 2010 levels), providing
full-time employment for around 40 million peo- The scope of Blue Economy is viewed as a holistic
ple.1 Moreover, oceans and seas are also a major development paradigm that aids economic growth
source of food. Globally fish provides about 3.3 and development while focusing on resource-effi-
billion people with almost 20% of their average cient and sustainable utilization of marine resourc-
per capita intake of animal protein, reaching 50% es. It is considered as a macroeconomic concept
or more in several small islands developing States which is an integration of sustainable develop-
(SIDS).2 Thus, oceans have a strong interlinkage ment and green growth. However the focus here is
with livelihoods, sustainable development, eco- on the marine ecosystem, oceans and the coastal
nomic growth and food security. zone economic system. Though the Blue Econo-
my is considered similar to ‘marine economy’ and
Oceans cannot be merely seen as an economic ‘ocean economy’, what makes it different from

Table 1: Definitions of ‘Blue Economy’ by different agencies

Concept Definition Agency

All economic activities related to the oceans, seas European Union

and coasts. This includes the closest direct and indi-
rect supporting activities necessary for the functio-
ning of these economic sectors, which can be loca-
ted anywhere, including in landlocked countries.

A sustainable ocean economy emerges when econo- Economist Intelligence Unit

mic activity is in balance with the long term capaci-
ty of ocean ecosystems to support this activity and
remain resilient and healthy.
Blue Economy
The sustainable use of ocean resources for econo- World Bank
mic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and oce-
an ecosystem health.

An emerging concept which encourages better ste- Commonwealth of Nations

wardship of our ocean or 'blue' resources

It is an ocean economy that aims at the improve- United Nations

ment of human well-being and social equity, while
significantly reducing environmental risks and eco-
logical scarcities.
Source: Compiled by TERI

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 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

other concepts is the inherent aspect of sustain- Therefore, blue economy as a concept is an inter-
able development. It seeks to promote econom- section between economic growth and the envi-
ic growth, social inclusion and preservation or ronment which ensures the balance between the
improvement of livelihoods while at the same time two and can be achieved by considering sustain-
ensuring environmental sustainability. able use of natural capital into various economic
activities related to oceans. Figure 1 depicts this
interlinkage between ocean resources, sustainabil-
ity and economic growth.

Figure 1: Blue Economy Policy framework for aligning Ocean Health and Economic Growth
Figure 3.6. Proposed Blue Economy Policy Framework for Aligning Ocean Health and Economic Growth

Policy Instrument Design Instrument Delivery Ocean Economy Sectors

(Objectives, strategies) (Rules + Organizations)

Green: sustainable management of Fisheries management regulations Fisheries

renewable resource stocks, e.g. and enforcement
Aquaculture
Ecosystem-based fisheries management Protection for marine/coastal species
Marine biotechnology

Clean: reducing (a) environmental impacts Minerals & Energy Seabed mining
of nonrenewable resource use and (b) Permitting and licensing
Oil and gas
pollution from land-based sources (such as Monitoring and enforcement
untreated sewage, plastics, etc.), e.g. Renewables
Risk mitigation
Coastal and marine spatial planning Business environment
for ocean activities
Extractive industries transparency Shipping and port regulations Shipping
Ease of doing
Tourism and Recreation business Port infrastructure & services
Government commitment Corruption
to sustainability in coastal perception Waste disposal for land-based industries
tourism development (e.g. sewage, plastics)
Effectiveness of
Reg. of env. impact of dispute resolution
coastal development mechanisms
Tourism
Waste disposal Quality of coastal
infrastructure Coastal development
Agency capacity
Regulatory standards for
water pollution Blue carbon sequestration
Monitoring and enforcement Coastal protection via habitat protection
and restoration

Resilient: enhancing the ability of coastal Prevalence of coastal protected

economies to bounce back from natural areas
disasters and volatile weather and plan for
adaptation to the effects of climate change, Natural disaster risk mitigation
e.g., Green infrastructure along the
coast
National strategy to adapt to climate
change

Source: World Bank (2016)4

Source: Adapted from World Bank (2012), Economist (2015).

12 The policy framework in Figure 3.6 highlights the role of coastal and marine spatial planning (CMSP) in
the transition toward a blue economy, whereby considerations of natural capital are integrated into the
regulation of various economic activities, while oceans are envisaged as ‘development spaces.’ CMSP
Introduction

The broad aspects of blue economy are supposed Though these areas have been defined on the
to focus on the following aspects: basis of some consensus over the scope of blue
economy, at present there remains a lack of uni-
(i) Maritime trade versally accepted definition and the taxonomy of
(ii) Energy Infrastructure blue economy. Additionally, the impacts of climate
(iii) Fisheries change are also altering all of the blue economy
(iv) Tourism aspects creating vulnerabilities that require con-
(v) Deep-sea mining and certed sustainability efforts. Table 2 presents an
(vi) Biodiversity. indicative list of sectors and activities under the
blue economy.

Table 2: Taxonomy of Blue Economy Sectors and Activities

Sector Activity

Fishing Capture fishery, Aquaculture, seafood processing

Marine Biotechnology Pharmaceuticals, chemicals, seaweed harvesting, seaweed products, marine-

derived bio-products

Minerals Oil and gas, deep-sea mining (exploration of rare earth metals, hydrocarbon)

Marine Renewable Energy Offshore wind energy production, wave energy production, tidal energy pro-
duction

Marine Manufacturing Boat manufacturing, sail making, net manufacturing, boat and ship repair,
marine instrumentation, aquaculture technology, water construction, marine
industrial engineering

Shipping, Port & Maritime Logistics Ship-building and repairing, ship owners and operators, shipping agents and
brokers, ship management, liner and port agents, port companies, ship sup-
pliers, container shipping services, stevedores, roll-on roll-off operators, cus-
toms clearance, freight forwarders, safety and training

Marine Tourism & Leisure Sea angling from boats, sea angling from the shore, sailing at sea, boating at
sea, water skiing, jet skiing, surfing, sail-boarding, sea kayaking, scuba diving,
swimming in the sea, bird watching in coastal areas, whale/dolphin watching,
visiting coastal natural reserves, trips to the beach, seaside and islands

Marine Construction Marine construction and engineering

Marine Commerce Marine financial services, marine legal services, marine insurance, ship
finance & related services, charterers, media & publishing

Marine ICT Marine engineering consultancy, meteorological consultancy, environmental

consultancy, hydro-survey consultancy, project management consultancy,
ICT solutions, geo-informatics services, yacht design, submarine telecom,

Education and research Education and training, R&D

Source: Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) (2015) 5

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 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

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Contextualising the role of oceans in Asia-Pacific

region — The Blue Economy framework

14
Contextualising the role of oceans in Asia- Pacific region — The Blue Economy framework

T
he Asian Development Bank has 49 coun- Many of the other Asia-Pacific countries figure in
tries from the Asia-Pacific region as its the developing Asia category of the Asian Devel-
members, with more than half of them opment Bank including India, Indonesia, Malaysia,
being countries with a direct implication Thailand among others. This categorisation pro-
of oceans on their economic structure. A select- vides an overview of the socio-economic status of
ed major coastal countries of the Asia-Pacific the countries and also highlights the vulnerabil-
region will be examined for the brief. Asia-Pacific ities that they are facing. The Pandemic has fur-
region is home to a number of highly developed ther exacerbated these vulnerabilities as most of
and advanced countries with some of them falling the coastal economies in Asia depend heavily on
under the purview of OECD. On the other hand, income generation, revenues and livelihoods from
according to The United Nations Office of the High sectors such as fishing and tourism.
Representative for the Least Developed Countries,
Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island
Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), out of the current
global list of 47 Least developing Countries (LDC),
13 of them are from Asia (See table). Out of the
below list of LDC countries, 4 are Landlocked and
while the rest are island/coastal economies.

1 Afghanistan

2 Bangladesh

3 Bhutan

4 Cambodia

5 Kiribati

6 Lao People’s Democratic Republic

7 Myanmar

8 Nepal

9 Solomon Islands

10 Timor-Leste

11 Tuvalu

12 Vanuatu

13 Yemen

Source: UN-OHRLIS

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 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

As the backbone of many of the Asia-Pacific econo- In 2012, the State Council approved zoning plans
mies, ocean-based sectors contribute significantly for eight major coastal regions with the goal of
to the economic growth of these countries, addi- enhancing contributions of the maritime economy
tionally for some of the island nations — oceans to economic and employment growth. In 2016, the
are at the core of socio-economic functioning. 13th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Devel-
Within this purview, the blue economy has been a opment of China became essential to widen the
major framework that is being adopted by Asia-Pa- space for blue economy (China Marine Strategy
cific countries albeit with different definitions or 2016–2020).
categorisations. This highlights the growing aware-
ness and rising need of Asia-Pacific region coun- Japan
tries to address ocean-based issues and challeng-
es in a holistic manner. With Asia-Pacific countries During the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan shared the
committing to address the SDG and climate com- ‘Osaka Blue Ocean Vision’ with its aim to reduce
mitments, the role of oceans in achieving econom- the pollution of marine plastic litter in the sea to
ic growth and sustainable development becomes zero by 2050. Further the “MARINE Initiative” was
a critical imperative. Below are a few country-level launched by the Japanese Government to devel-
insights on how ocean economy or blue economy op and support the building of capacity and infra-
as a framework is being addressed in the region. structure in the area of waste management.7

Indonesia Cambodia

In the Asia-Pacific region, many countries have Under its National Strategic Plan on Green Growth
taken various initiatives towards promoting blue 2013–2030, Cambodia included a strategic focus
economy. For instance, Indonesia proposed the area on Blue Economy Development and Sustain-
principles of developing marine and fishing indus- ability. The plan focused on managing oceanic
tries based on their blue economy concept to: resources, conserving and using marine natural
formulate comprehensive economy and environ- resources sustainably, studying and assessing
ment protection policies; boost regional economic impacts on marine resources, managing marine
development; realize sustainable development by pollution and ensuring food security as well.
promoting clean production systems, and encour-
age creative and innovative investment. Indonesia Australia
also plans to set up blue economy demonstration
zones in Lombok and Anamabs islands and Tom- Australia has also taken various steps in blue
ini bay, for exploring the blue economy model economy and marine sciences. A 10-year marine
featured with marine industry, fishery, breeding, science plan, National Marine Science Plan 2015‑25
seaside tourism industries, small island collective, was developed to balance the economic benefits
regional and bay development.6 Following the 2nd of the oceans with the need to safeguard their
Blue Economy Ministerial Conference in Jakarta long-term health. The AIMS Index of Marine Indus-
in 2017, it committed to prepare a Jakarta Decla- try developed by Australia is also a critical analysis
ration on blue economy to illustrate the commit- of the marine assets and scientific and technologi-
ment of IORA member states to further strengthen cal development in the sector.8
and deepen cooperation on BE priority areas.
Bangladesh
China
Bangladesh hosted the 3rd IORA Blue Economy
As onset of developing blue economy, China Ministerial Conference in 2019 which aimed at
approved the establishment of the Shandong Pen- promoting smart, sustainable and inclusive growth
insula Blue Economic Zone as one of three pilots and employment opportunities in the blue econo-
for the development of China’s marine economy. my activities along the Indian Ocean belt.

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Contextualising the role of oceans in Asia- Pacific region — The Blue Economy framework

Sri Lanka lished a draft Blue economy Policy for comments

in February 2020, pointing at India's goal to have a
The Government of Sri Lanka has also promot- blue economy policy at the earliest.10 India is also
ed blue economy under their initiative ‘Sri Lanka robustly engaging with Asia-Pacific countries in
NEXT’ in 2016. However, a blue economy strategy this area both at strategic and economic level.
is yet to be developed.9
Major Players in Blue economy
India
Out of all the continents, Asia-Pacific covers both
India has also been focusing on the promotion a large portion of land and sea coastline of the
of blue economy for the past few years. Current- world. The Asia-Pacific region includes East Asia,
ly, the Government of India is in the process of South Asia, South East Asia and Oceania. The area
developing the National Maritime Policy and the includes two oceans, the Indian Ocean (the third
National Blue Economy Policy. In fact, several min- largest ocean) and the Pacific Ocean (the largest
istries relating to various sectors of blue economy ocean) as well as several seas like Bay of Bengal
and institutions have made significant headway and other water bodies. It possesses some of the
with respect to technology development, surveys most ecologically and economically important sea
and resource mapping, identification of coastal areas of the world which provide a rich array of
economic corridors, and so on. Under the Prime services that directly and indirectly contribute to
Minister of India, an Economic Advisory Council human survival and quality of life, supporting local
was also formed that recently released seven Blue coastal communities and their economies. The
Economy Working Reports. These reports pro- scope of blue economy is thus large in Asia as sev-
vide a comprehensive outline on various aspects eral states in this region have a significant share of
ranging from accounting, fisheries, coastal tour- marine economy in their Gross Domestic Product
ism, marine spatial planning, shipping to strategic (GDP). Figure 2 shows the share of blue economy
aspects of India’s oceans. Based on the working in respective GDP’s of the countries.
group reports, The Ministry of Earth Sciences pub-

Figure 2: Share of blue economy in GDP

India 4.1%
Australia 4.3%
Bangladesh 3.2%
Cambodia 16.0%
China 9.6%
Vietnam 18.8%
Indonesia 6.4%
Malaysia 23.0%
New Zealand 1.4%
Papua New Giunea* 3.0%
Maldives* 28.3%
Thailand* 22.6%
Timor Leste 87.0%
Sololon Islands* 8.9%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

*includes fisheries and tourism sector only

Source: Compiled by TERI

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 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

The share of blue economy in the respective coun- (25%), followed by marine fisheries and aquacul-
tries GDP varies from as low as 1% to as high as ture (22%), marine transport (22%), ship and boat
30% and in few island nations, this is as high as building/repair (9%) and minerals (3%).
87%. However, many of these estimates do not
account for the various sectors dependent on In India, the largest contribution to the blue econ-
oceans indirectly and only major sectors like omy has been from the marine services sector
fisheries, aquaculture and tourism have been (30%), followed by minerals (27.3%), industrial sec-
accounted for. Table 3 summarizes the size of blue tor (21.3%) and fisheries (21.1%).14
economy (BE) and their share as a percentage of
their economies. These figures are indicative as In Australia’s blue economy, the maximum share is
many countries do not have proper identification of the marine tourism (more than 50%), followed
of the different sectors of the blue economy and by offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction
their accounting and many sectors of BE are not (31%), marine fishing and aquaculture (9%), man-
even included. Table 3 shows the size and share ufacturing (7%) and marine transport (3%).15 How-
of blue economy as well as the number of people ever, in Australia’s neighbouring country New Zea-
employed. Globally there is significant debate on land, offshore minerals made the maximum con-
means and mechanism to develop an accounting tribution to the country’s blue economy till 2015,
framework for the blue economy. However, due but since then it has been replaced by the port and
to lack of data and empirical evidence to identify shipping industry. In 2017, shipping made 37.3%
the deep rooted and invisible impacts of oceans of the blue economy in New Zealand, followed by
on major land based economic sectors, the current fisheries and aquaculture (28.9%), offshore min-
evidence is not holistic and granular in nature. erals (26.7%), marine services (4.8%) and marine
tourism (2.2%). In Pacific island countries like the
While assessing the value added from the various Solomon Islands, the services sector contributes
sectors of blue economy in the Asia-Pacific coun- the most to the national economy which includes
tries, it has been observed that the major contribu- marine tourism and transport, followed by the
tion is from shipping and ports, marine fishing and agricultural sector of which fishing and aquacul-
aquaculture, offshore energy and marine tourism ture are major contributors, and the industry that
but this varies in many countries. For instance, in contributes the least includes offshore mining
Vietnam, out of the total estimated USD28.94 mil- activities.16 But in Timor Leste, offshore oil and gas
lion value of blue economy, offshore oil and gas contributes around 76% to the total BE and 66% of
contributed USD12.09 million, which is 41%. This is the total GDP, followed by ocean-related govern-
followed by marine tourism (USD 5.4 million), man- ment activities, shipping and ports (4%), tourism
ufacturing activities (seafood processing and ship- (1%) and fisheries and aquaculture (0.4%).17
building and repair) (USD 5.2 million) and fisheries
and aquaculture (USD 3.7 million).11 In Malaysia, In terms of share of employment, most people are
the share of offshore energy has been the maxi- employed in labour-intensive sectors like fishing
mum which includes crude petroleum and natural and aquaculture, shipping and marine tourism
gas production and the petroleum refineries which and transport. Even at the global level, fishing
is followed by fishing and aquaculture and marine employs the maximum number of people out of all
transport and tourism.12 However, in Cambodia, the sectors of the blue economy and it is expected
the shipping and port industry alone constitutes to employ more than 40 million people directly by
more than 50% of the ocean economy, followed by 2030, i.e. 1% of the global workforce, followed by
fisheries and aquaculture (46%) and coastal and sectors like marine tourism, fish processing, port
marine tourism (3%).13 activities, marine equipment, shipbuilding and
repair, offshore oil and gas and shipping.1
In Bangladesh, unlike the South East Asian Coun-
tries, the majority of the value added in blue econ-
omy is from the tourism and recreation sector

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Contextualising the role of oceans in Asia- Pacific region — The Blue Economy framework

Table 3: Size and share of Blue economy in Asia-Pacific countries and the estimated employment

Country Year Size of Blue Economy Share of Blue Economy Year Estimated Employment
(in USD) in GDP
India 2017 - 4.1% 2019 16 million*
Australia 2016 71.4 billion 4.3% 2016 0.4 million
Bangladesh 2015 6.19 trillion 3.2% 2015 7.35 million
Cambodia 2015 2.4 billion 16% 2018 3.2 million
China 2015 - 9.6% 2015 35.9 million
Vietnam 2015 28.94 million 18.8% 2015 3 million
Hong Kong SAR , China 2016 3.65 billion# 1.2%# 2016 85,720
Indonesia 2015 860 billion 14.85% 2012 5.3 million
Malaysia 2016 - 23% 2016 4 million
Myanmar 2018 - 3.5%* 2017 2.3 million*
New Zealand 2017 3.8 billion 1.4% 2013 0.1 million
Papua New Guinea 2014 197 million^ 3%^ - -
Sri Lanka 2017 - 1.3%* 2017 0.58 million
Thailand 2018 - 22.6%^ 2016 2.95 million^
Timor Leste 2015 1.97 billion 87% 2015 16,077
Solomon Islands 2014 - 8.9%^ 2016 36,952^

*this includes only fisheries and aquaculture

#this includes only maritime and port industry
^this includes only fisheries, aquaculture and marine tourism
Source: Compiled by TERI

19
 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

Shipping and Port Connectivity to the liner shipping connectivity index developed
by UNCTAD, 5 of the top 10 most connected econ-
The Asia-Pacific countries are a significant part of omies are in Asia. Since 2006, the most connected
the maritime trade globally. It was estimated that country, China’s index has improved by 51%.
in 2018, 41% of the total goods loaded in 2018 orig-
inated in Asia and 61% of total goods unloaded The Ocean around the Asia-Pacific region is also
were received in this same region. In terms of the home to some of the busiest maritime trade routes
international maritime trade, Asia has the largest including the Malacca Strait, The Strait of Hormuz
share in the world tonnage (Figure 3). that opens to the Indian Ocean are key Sea Lanes
of Communication (SLOC) with a majority of mari-
Asian countries have witnessed an increase in time trade occurring in the Asia-Pacific region.
intraregional trade mostly based on the manufac-
turing sector and reflecting fragmented produc-
tion processes. Parts are generally manufactured
in multiple locations across Asia and assembled
in another location. This industry is largely depen-
dent on shipping for movement of goods. Global
ship production is also dominated by the three
Asian countries, Korea, China and Japan represent-
ing 90% of the global shipbuilding activities (Table
4). Shipbuilding, as a sector, is being encouraged in
many Asian countries and governments have tak-
en various initiatives to support the shipbuilding
industry. In the shipbreaking sector, Asian coun-
tries like Bangladesh, India and Pakistan lead in the
maritime supply chain where Bangladesh made
47.2% of this segment followed by India at 25.6%
and Pakistan at 21.5%. Under the Hong Kong Inter-
national Convention for the Safe and Environmen-
tally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, which is still
to come into force, the demolition industry intends
to become more environmentally sound. India has
already signed on to the convention and envisions
to become a more sustainable industry preferred
globally for its standards amongst its competitors.

In terms of ship ownership, Asian countries like

Japan, China, Singapore alone owned more than
30% of the world fleet in 2018 (Figure 4). Moreover,
the share of China, Singapore and Hong Kong has
seen sustained growth in the last five years. Table
1 in Annexure details the ownership of fleet by
dead‑weight tonnage in 2019 in Asian countries.

The Asia-Pacific region is also well connected

through ports. Among the top 50 global contain-
er ports, 9 of the 10 are located in Asia, and 7 of
the top 10 are from China. Table 2 in the Annexure
shows the top 10 world container ports. According

20
 Contextualising the role of oceans in Asia- Pacific region — The Blue Economy framework

Figure 3: International Maritime Trade by region, 2018 (% share in world tonnage)

7
Africa
5

22
America
14

41
Asia
61

16
Europe
19

14
Oceania
1

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Loaded Unloaded

Source: UNCTAD (2019) 18

Table 4: Deliveries of new buildings by major vessel types and countries of construction, 2018 (Thousand gross tons)

Category China Japan Philippines Republic of Rest of World total Percentage

Korea World
Oil tankers 4505 2819 288 6046 865 14524 25

Bulk carriers 9274 5134 654 352 91 15505 26.7

General cargo ships 416 159 74 234 884 1.5

Container ships 6630 3020 992 2632 341 13614 23.5

Gas carriers 762 1754 52 4709 26 7302 12.6

Chemical tankers 466 647 274 64 1452 2.5

Offshore vessels 774 18 472 453 1718 3

Ferries and passenger ships 162 72 2 51 1573 1860 3.2

Other 270 816 24 76 1186 2

Total 23260 14440 1988 14633 3724 58045 100

Percentage 40.1 24.8 3.4 25.2 6.4 100

38 2. MARITIME TRANSPORT SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPLY

Source: UNCTAD (2019) 17

Figure
Figure 4:
2.7Percentage
Percentageof
of world fleet
world fleet ownership
ownership, selectedincountries,
selected countries (2015–19)
2015–2019
19
Greece
17

15

13

Japan
11
China

7 Singapore
Hong Kong, China
5 Germany
Republic of Korea
3
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Source: UNCTAD, Review of Maritime Transport, various issues,
Source: based on
UNCTAD 17 Clarksons Research.
data from
(2019) 21
China, of bulk carriers; Germany, of container ships; compliance with environmental and safety regulations
 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

Tourism Overall, travel and tourism activities make an

important part of the GDP of Asia-Pacific coun-
The travel and tourism sector plays a key role in the tries. In the future, it has been estimated that Chi-
economies of the Asia-Pacific countries. Southeast na’s travel and tourism sector growth will overtake
Asia stands in the foreground with high depen- the USA’s as the world’s largest travel and tourism
dence on the tourism sector. Thailand, Indonesia, economy. Meanwhile, India's Travel & Tourism
Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines receive contribution to GDP will be more than double,
huge contributions from this sector to their GDPs. enabling the country to climb from the eighth posi-
Not only does the industry provide monetary val- tion in 2018 to third place by 2029.
ue to many countries, but it has made a significant
contribution to employment generation. In order
to encourage and maintain their growing levels of
tourism, many Asia-Pacific countries have initiat-
ed programs to keep the influx of both domestic
and international tourists high. In the COVID 19
pandemic, tourism as a sector has been the most
severely affected, leading many of these countries
into a downward spiral in economic terms. Table 3
in the Annexure shows the contribution of travel
and tourism to the country’s GDP and its growth
rate.

Out of all the three sub-regions, East Asia-Pacific

accounts for more than half of Asia-Pacific’s inter-
national tourist arrivals and receipts. The region’s
strength lies in trade and globalization and thus
the region provides excellent connectivity, thus
attracting a lot of tourists. Similarly, the South
East Asian countries’ GDP has a high dependence
on tourism because of the high influx of interna-
tional tourists. However, the South Asian coun-
tries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India
lag behind the other Asian countries in attracting
tourists because of the inadequate infrastructure,
underdeveloped tourist service infrastructure rep-
resenting its greatest relative disadvantage.

The Travel and Tourism Competitive Index, mea-

suring the factors that make it attractive to devel-
op business in the travel and tourism industry in
individual countries, scores the countries from 1
to 6. The overall index is made of three main sub-
indexes: (1) regulatory framework; (2) business
environment and infrastructure; and (3) human,
cultural, and natural resources. The Asia-Pacific
countries scored 4.2 in 2019 compared to America
which scored 3.9 and Africa that had an average
score of 3.7.

22
 Contextualising the role of oceans in Asia- Pacific region — The Blue Economy framework

Figure 5: Share of Travel and Tourism in GDP of the sub-regions Figure 6: Share of Travel and Tourism in employment

13%

40% 41%
18%

68%

19%

Eastern Asia Pacific South East Asia South Asia Eastern Asia Pacific South East Asia South Asia

Source: World Economic Forum (2019)19

Figure 7: Travel and Tourism Competitive Index 2019

Asia Pacific average

Vietnam
Thailand
Sri Lanka
Singapore
Republic of Korea
Phillippines
New Zealand
Mongolia
Malaysia
Lao PDR
Japan
Indonesia
India
Hong Kong SAR, China
China
Cambodia
Bangladesh
Australia
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Source: World Economic Forum (2019) 18

23
 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

Fishing Asia is the food basket for the world in terms of

fishing. However, the countries apply varied fishing
The Asia-Pacific region is a major world producer skills from fully mechanised trawlers and systems
of fish and fisheries products, and Asia (excluding to artisanal fishing. South Asia largely encompass-
China) occupies around 34% of the global fishing es artisanal or non-mechanised fishing, while East
and aquaculture market. The total fish production Asian countries are proficient in mechanised sys-
has almost doubled in Asia in the last 20 years. tems. This increasing fishing is also reducing fresh
The share of aquaculture in Asian fish production catch at sea leading fishermen farther into deep
(excluding China) reached 42% in 2018, up from waters. Mechanised systems gain an advantage in
19.3% in 20002. Fish farming is also dominated by this situation and are able to undertake deep-sea
the Asian countries that have produced 89% of the fishing away from coastal waters. This movement
global total in volume terms in the last 20 years. of fishing fleets across Asia has also emerged as
China alone has produced more farmed aquatic a cause of concern with many countries objecting
food than the rest of the world since 1991. Around to fishing fleets from distant countries undertaking
85% of the total population employed in the fish- fishing in their economic zones. Increasing unsus-
ing sector globally, is in Asia. Asia has the largest tainable fishing due to overfishing and unsustain-
fishing fleet as well in the world, standing at 3.1 able fishing practices, the region will be facing a
million vessels or 68% of the total in 2018. Almost shortage of fresh catch over a period of time. Addi-
75% of the reported motorized fleet in 2018 was tionally, Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported fish-
in Asia i.e. 2.1 million vessels as well as the larg- ing (IUU) is a major challenge for the region that
est number of non-motorized vessels which was relies on the oceans as a major food source.
around 947,000 in 2018.

Asia has consistently been accounting for almost

two-thirds of the global inland water production
since the mid-2000s and accounted for 57% of
total inland water catches in 2018. The world’s top
six inland waters capture production is in Asian
countries, out of which China produces almost
16% of the world’s inland water capture fisheries,
followed by India (14%), Bangladesh (10%), Myan-
mar (7%), Cambodia (4%) and Indonesia (4%).

Among the top 10 countries with the largest total

farmed and wild production in 2018, four of them
exceed the 50% mark of aquaculture production
as a percentage of total fish production and all
of them are in Asia (i.e. China 76.5%, India 57%,
Vietnam 55.3% and Bangladesh 56.2%. The share
of aquaculture in Asian fish production (exclud-
ing China) rose to 42 % in 2018, up from 19.3% in
2000. Even among the top 10 countries with the
largest total farmed and wild production in 2018,
four are in Asia and they exceed the 50% mark of
aquaculture production as a percentage of total
fish production (i.e. China 76.5%, India 57%, Viet-
nam 55.3% and Bangladesh 56.2%). Table 4 in the
Annexure shows the aquaculture production of
main species groups in 2018 in Asia.

24
Contextualising the role of oceans in Asia- Pacific region — The Blue Economy framework

Figure 8: Top six Inland water capture production: Major producing countries

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
2015 2016 2017 2018

China India Bangladesh Myanmar Cambodia Indonesia

2
Source: FAO (2020)

25
 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

CLOUD-SHOWERS-HEAVY
fish
ship
water
faucet
TINT
cogs
dharmachakra

Blue economy in the context of resource

security, R&D and SDGs

26
Blue Economy in the context of resource security, R&D and SDGs

Need for Resource Security and Role of Blue alise resource cooperation. During the last decade,
Economy all four intergovernmental bodies in the Asia-Pa-
cific — the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
The Asia-Pacific region is known for its rich coast- (ASEAN), ASEAN Plus Three, Asia-Pacific Economic
al and marine resources. It is home to the world’s Cooperation (APEC) and the East Asia Summit —
largest region of coral reefs, and mangroves and have launched resource cooperation initiatives to
is of importance to fisheries and coastal tourism promote the marine economy.20
for livelihoods and urban areas. It accommodates
two-thirds of the world’s human population and While traditional ocean industries tend to com-
its economic activities have the highest growth prise the fisheries sector, tourism and maritime
rate in the world. For several states in the region, transport, within the blue economy new and
marine economy as a percentage of national GDP emerging activities, such as offshore renewable
is significant with fisheries historically being one energy, aquaculture, marine biotechnology and
of the most important sectors in the region. Two bioprospecting, and seabed extractive activities
of the region’s developing countries, Thailand and are also included. It also incorporates services
Vietnam, are among the top three leading sea- provided by water ecosystems for which markets
food exporters in Southeast Asia. This region also do not exist, such as carbon sequestration, coast-
contains six of the top 25 busiest container ports al protection, waste disposal and the existence of
in the world and two of the top 10 shipbuilding biodiversity. On a global scale, the economic val-
economies in the world. At a more comprehen- ue of the oceans is quite large. The World Wide
sive level, the South China Sea is recognised as a Fund for Nature (WWF) has estimated the range
significant source of petroleum deposits, with sev- of goods and services that flow from coastal and
eral Southeast Asian nations (including Indonesia, marine environments and valued it conservatively
Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar and at US$ 2.5 trillion annually, with the overall value of
East Timor) located on the Sunda Shelf — a mas- the oceans as an asset being tenfold this amount.
sive continental shelf known to have rich subsea As a result of encompassing all marine-based
hydrocarbon deposits. The governments in these and marine-related activities, the blue economy
countries are exploring opportunities to harness is not only relevant to island countries and coast-
marine energy — Indonesia has developed plants al economies, but also to landlocked developing
for wave energy in Yogyakarta, gas resources in countries. In considering the oceans as the princi-
Natuna Islands, tidal current energy in East Lom- pal space of economic activity in the 21st century,
bak, and ocean thermal energy conversion in Bali; three primary issues are identified.
and the Philippines planned to open its first ocean
energy plant in 2018. First, over 80% of global trade is conducted via
the seas; maritime transport is the backbone of
Both on land and at seas, Asia-Pacific is one of international trade and, by extension, the glob-
the most dynamic economic regions in the world, al economy. This sector is also a key enabler for
enjoying generally high economic growth and other economic sectors, such as marine economic
almost two-thirds of global trade taking place manufacturing, marine auxiliary services, and oth-
within the region. Resource security has recently er marine-based industries such as shipbuilding.
emerged as a major policy concern in the Asia-Pa- Second, the oceans are a vital source of global
cific as soaring world prices for minerals and ener- food security — with fisheries providing approx-
gy are threatening the economic security of many imately 4.3 billion people with more than 15% of
countries in the region, whose governments are their annual consumption of animal protein and is
now seeking solutions to secure supplies of nat- the fastest-growing animal-food producing sector
ural resources. Given deep patterns of interde- since 2011. Third, the oceans have within them
pendence between resource — poor consumers vast untapped resources of energy and minerals.
in Asia and resource-rich producers on the Pacific This includes both non-renewable (with over 30%
Rim, one of the strategies is to attempt to region- of global oil and gas being extracted from offshore

27
 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

sites) and renewable energy sources (including attracted by its climates, biodiversity, clear water
wind-driven waves, gravitation-induced tidal ener- and long sandy beaches. However, the tourism
gy, marine salinity gradients and ocean thermal economy in the region is not as good as developed
energy conversion), the latter being particularly countries except Maldives, India and Australia.
indispensable against a backdrop of increasing
global energy demands. Equally, 5% of the world’s Marine resources are being overexploited with the
minerals are expected to be extracted annually Southeast Asian region demonstrating increasing
from the oceans by 2020.21 Blue economy essen- signs of overfishing. Many developing countries
tially is a strategy to explore the ocean’s potential lack the capacity and resources to ensure ade-
as a source of resources, livelihood and services. quate law enforcement to prevent overfishing.
Deterioration of conditions is also seen in coastal
For a region so highly dependent on its coastal waters, especially in areas close to large popula-
and marine resources, governments are increas- tion centres, and for fishery products that are in
ingly aware of the importance of their sustainable demand from rapidly growing Asian economies.
exploitation in order to secure long-term national Its coastal areas have also been recognised as
interests. Countries in the region particularly Small among the most vulnerable to climate change
Island Developing States have large exclusive eco- and environmental degradation. Ocean warming
nomic zones. The abundance of ocean resources, which facilitates more frequent and more extreme
as a result, should be leveraged more effectively hydro-meteorological events such as rising sea lev-
based on the blue economy concept to support els, decrease in seawater pH (ocean acidification)
sustainable development. Using these resources decrease in oxygen levels exacerbate the vulner-
can also help them overcome a narrow, land‑based abilities of communities that depend on coastal
resource base. The Fisheries sector can be catego- fisheries for food and employment. The warmer
rized as: offshore (foreign and local), coastal (sub- air and sea surface temperatures and greater rain-
sistence and commercial), aquaculture and fresh- fall are also expected to cause significant losses
water. The value of the fish caught offshore by to coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass and intertidal
locally-based vessels is only about one third that habitats that provide shelter and food for coastal
of foreign-based vessels. Moreover the total value fish and shellfish.
from other categories of fisheries (coastal, aqua-
culture and freshwater) is much lesser in compar- The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for
ison despite their importance to the local popula- Southeast Asia (ASEAN TEEB) reported that South-
tion in terms of food and income generation. Most east Asia is expected to lose one-third of its man-
offshore catch is exported out of the region. Five groves from 2000 to 2015, under a “business as
coastal countries (Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, usual” scenario, at an estimated cost of US$2 billion
Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) account for less than 2% of (annual value in 2050). The cost of lost reef-related
the world’s total coastline. The coastal zones also fisheries in the region was estimated at US$5.6 bil-
contain about 40% of the economic activities in the lion (annual value in 2050), with the highest loss in
region and most of its critical economic infrastruc- Indonesia and the Philippines. Meanwhile, overall
ture. Coastal tourism is expanding in the region as environmental costs from unsustainable fishing,
more than 8% of the world’s mangrove areas are coastal development, pollution and climate change
in this region. The Sundarban Delta is the world’s impacts in the Philippines amounted to US$129.5
largest continuous stretch of mangroves. These as million, and around US$2.62 billion in Thailand.
well as the coral reefs of the Maldives, India, and
Sri Lanka, and the dry land mangroves of Pakistan
support thousands of floral and faunal species. At
a time when the world is grappling with climate
change impacts, the role of Nature-Based Solu-
tions such as Mangroves is significant to ensure
the health of oceans. Tourists to the region are

28
Blue Economy in the context of resource security, R&D and SDGs

Linkages of ocean economy, emerging that are venturing into deep-sea mining include
industries and innovations Singapore and few SIDS states.

The ocean economy has forward and backward Blue biotechnology

linkages with various sectors of the economy. These
linkages can indicate the connectedness of ocean It is the utilization of marine bioresources as the
industries with land-based industries, and quantify source of biotechnological applications, to develop
the benefits of investment in the ocean industries products or services. The major opportunities to
for the whole economy. The fishery industry pro- the utilisation of marine bioresources in business
vides more than just a source of protein and food. sectors are modern chemical compounds or
It has generated many resource‑based ocean enzymes, pharmaceuticals, foods, beautifiers,
economic activities, such as mariculture, seafood farming items, etc. However, the emerging
processing, and marine biotechnology. The Philip- applications include bioprocessing, ecological
pines is tapping the rich marine biodiversity and it remediation and monitoring, genetics, marine
is focused on bioactives from marine organisms, bioactive substances, marine biomaterials,
including pain killers using marine snails, and mariculture, fermentation engineering and
anti-infectives from sponges.22 enzyme engineering. Marine fish, sponges,
tunicates, molluscs and bacteria are the main
Blue Economy in deep ocean stewardship sources of potent bioactive compounds that show
initiative various anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, analgesia,
immunomodulation, allergy, and anti‑viral
A potential and topical sector for the promotion properties. These research innovations are key
25

of the Blue Economy in deep oceans in this region to empowering the growth of blue economy in a
is that of deep seabed mining for marine miner- country. In the Asia-Pacific, China, India, South
als and trace metals. The demand for minerals is Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia are
increasing owing to reserves in land-based mines expected to become significant markets for marine
dwindling, as well as the potentially extensive envi- biotechnology within a reasonable time-frame.
ronmental and social consequences of mining
on land. Minerals have the potential for diverse Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Ocean
industrial applications, including green technol- Security, Sustainability and Blue economy
ogies, hence there is increasing attention to their
extraction from the deep sea. Consequently, sig- The ocean is a poorly-policed frontier with the
nificant investments have already been made by ongoing pandemic exacerbating the offshore law
some countries in terms of exploration for deep enforcement gap as coast guards and navies look
seabed mineral resources, developing sophisticat- inward to manage and relieve domestic crises
ed technology and conducting feasibility studies. rather than police the open waters. Pirates, poach-
Deep-sea mining is rapidly approaching the com- ers and smugglers continue operating and may
mercial mining phase in multiple oceans, both in have greater incentive to resort to crime due to the
areas within and beyond national jurisdiction. global recession. This would include a probable
There is an urgent need to identify and develop increase in Illicit fishing as well. In contrast, legal
comprehensive, ecosystem-based management industrial fishing operations are likely to decline,
practices for deep-ocean environments subject to especially over the near term, from a combination
mineral extraction.23 24 of the risk of being at sea in a pandemic and supply
chain complications caused by market closures.
Currently, only a handful Asia countries are invest- Moreover, lack of up-to-date ocean science data
ing in R&D and implementation of deep sea-min- will be problematic (due to reduction in operation-
ing. China, India, Korea, Japan are the major play- al research cruises) to assess stocks and manage-
ers from Asia participating in the International ment regimes especially in data-poor regions of
Seabed Authority processes. Other Asian countries the developing world. These market disruptions

29
 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

as a result of the pandemic will greatly affect the Role of scientific and technological
trade of fish which is the most widely traded food advancements for boosting Blue economy
commodity. Small-scale, near-shore industrial fish-
eries and artisanal fisheries which are more com- Role of science and understanding the impact
mon in the Asia-Pacific region rely on tightly linked of climate change on oceans especially in the
shore-side networks (through local markets, com- context of pandemics and diseases
mercial buyers, families, communities) including
catch as food security. In these situations, social The Asia-Pacific is globally among those regions
distancing is impractical with outbreaks highly most susceptible to disaster. The impacts of
disruptive. Besides, many artisanal communities human activities and climate change have cumu-
are poorly served by health infrastructure, human latively increased the unpredictability of disasters
rights violations in the seafood supply chain and and lack of ease of response actions to a signifi-
are at high risk from a global pandemic. cant level.27

Large Fishing vessels that transship catch and are Climate change can impact human health, espe-
at sea for months to years at a time are relative- cially in the context of infectious diseases: the
ly few in number but are common in the Pacific instability of the climate and global warming are
and Indian Oceans. Transshipment which is the playing an expanding role in the emergence, come-
practice of transferring catch from one vessel to back, and redistribution of infectious diseases on a
another at sea — limits their risk of exposure to world-wide scale:26
Covid-19. Beyond the fishing industry, ocean tour-
ism will suffer as travel slows. Coral reef tourism TINT Temperature may impact the life cycles of
generates $36 billion per year, a value that has pathogens and thus affect disease
been a key driver in marine conservation. Lost TINT The dissemination of water-borne patho-
revenues may increase pressure for near-term gens may become altered due to shifts in precipi-
exploitation. Small Island and lesser developed tation arising from climate change.
countries are particularly vulnerable due to their TINT Pathogens of air-borne diseases may also
low level of socioeconomic development, low be more responsive under humid conditions
and unequally distributed income and scarcity TINT Sunshine is a more important climate
of domestic financial resources.26 Countries reli- variable that may also affect infectious pathogens
ant on tourism have also suffered greatly due to by creating favourable conditions for multiplica-
COVID-19 through a sharp decline in the number tion.
of international inbound visitors to countries in the TINT Wind is a critical factor in the spread of
region due to quarantine measures, travel bans wind-borne diseases. It has been indicated that
and border closures both in tourist source coun- a positive correlation may exist between dust
tries and destinations particle association/attachment and virus surviv-
al/transporting. Wind may also facilitate disease
transmission between remote hosts

Extreme weather events are also known to be

positively associated with the spread of infectious
diseases. It, therefore, becomes necessary to know
the extent and frequency of change in climate vari-
ables that should be expected with an extreme
weather event so as to make valid decisions based
on prediction of impacts (Table 5). Climate change
may have contrasting effects on pathogen, vector,
thus disease outcomes would be at different spa-
tial and temporal scales. This indicates that the

30
Blue Economy in the context of resource security, R&D and SDGs

development of early-warning systems for infec- Maintaining health of oceans and boosting
tious diseases via long term collaborations are R&D for blue economy in the Asia-Pacific
required to initiate timely anticipatory mitigative region — Case of APEC
action.26
21 countries in the Asia-Pacific region that are affil-
Some have brought focus to some critical implica- iated with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
tions to health systems of climate change that can (APEC) have comprehended the importance of
be utilised as the basis in planning for research and the oceans for the services provided in terms of
action: (1) the surveillance of disease and develop- food security, sustainable economic benefits, and
ing and maintaining mechanisms for early warn- maintaining the integrity of coastal communities
ing of climate change will be necessary to allow and the environment. Initiatives undertaken by
for forecasting and adequate preparation to face APEC to advance sustainable marine development
changing patterns of disease and health require- include the convening of three ocean-related min-
ments. However, the capacity to express complex isterial meetings (AOMMs), establishing the Ocean
and specialised scientific data into goals and plans and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG), and estab-
for implementation is often unsteady.28 Thus, it lishing the APEC Marine Sustainable Development
becomes necessary to have adapted governance Center.29
for the protection of health.

X. Wu et al. / Environment International 86 (2016) 14–23 19

Table 1 Table 5: Correlation of extreme weather events and infectious diseases

Key studies that assess the relationship between extreme weather events and infectious diseases.a

Extreme weather events Disease type Authors, year Main findings

El Nino Vector-borne disease Epstein (1999) Increasing outbreaks of emerging diseases were linked to El Nino event.
Haines and Patz (2004) Outbreaks and epidemic of malaria were positively connected with El Nino events in
many regions.
Lindsay et al. (2000) Strikingly less malaria were found in the El Nino year than in the preceding year in the
Usambara Mountains, Tanzania.
Hjelle and Glass (2000) Record of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome has been found to be related to El
Nino events in the Colorado Plateau.
Water-borne disease Dwight et al. (2004) The risk of symptoms associated with diarrhea is twice the previous when exposed to
southern California coastal waters during an El Nino winter.
La Nina Vector-borne disease Chretien et al. (2007) Chikungunya fever epidemic was connected with the drought incurred by La Nina.
Nicholls (1993) La Nina year produced an epidemic of West Nile fever and Japanese encephalitis.
Water-borne disease Bunyavanich et al. (2003) Risk increased across diarrhea symptom during a La Nina winter.
Quasi-Biennial Vector-borne disease Dwight et al. (2004) QBO has been found to be linked to the incidence of Ross River virus in south-eastern
Oscillation (QBO) Queensland.
Heatwaves Vector-borne disease Paz (2006) Heatwave was associated with outbreak of West Nile fever in Israel in 2000.
Air-borne disease Kan (2011) Heatwave contributes to the increased morbidity and mortality from infectious respiratory
diseases.
Drought Water-borne disease Epstein (2001a) Diarrheal diseases are frequent during drought especially in refugee camps.
Vector-borne disease Khasnis and Nettleman (2005) Drought has been found to be associated with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS).
Wang et al. (2010) Increased West Nile virus risks follow the drought.
Shaman et al. (2002) The risk for transmission of St. Louis Encephalitis virus would increase, during the
droughts.
Chretien et al. (2007) The Chikungunya fever epidemic may be associated with droughts.
Flood Water-borne disease MacKenzie et al. (1994) Flood favors water-borne disease transmission such as Cryptosporidium infection.
Reacher et al. (2004) A significant increase in risk of gastroenteritis was associated with depth of flooding in
the town of Lewes in Southern England.
Vector-borne disease Epstein (1999) Floods in Mozambique led to spread of malaria, typhoid and cholera
Mackenzie et al. (2000) Strong rain or flood can lead to outbreak of Ross River fever
Ahern et al. (2005) After a flood, such diarrheal disease cases as cholera may grow
Woodruff et al. (1990) Increases in diarrhea and malaria incidences were observed after floods in 1988 in
Khartoum, Sudan.
Nielsen et al. (2002) There have been reported increases in lymphatic filariasis in different areas.
Cordova et al. (2000) There have also been reported increases in arbovirus disease after flood
Chen (1999) Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome diseases may increase during flooding
CDC (2000) HPS diseases may also increase during flooding
Leal-Castellanos et al. (2003) Leptospirosis diseases may also increase during flooding in different areas.
Hurricane Vector-borne disease Epstein (2000) Following the hurricane, malaria and dengue fever occurred in Honduras and in Venezuela.
Cyclone Vector-borne disease Sanders et al. (1999) A cyclone tends to increase the incidence of leptospirosis.
Water/food-borne disease Shultz et al. (2005) A cyclone tends to increase the incidence of cholera.
a
The table includes empirical findings published after the 1990s.

and to make sound decisions. However, human beings' knowledge al (2016) 26 and abundant financial resources to eliminate or alleviate
Source: Wu ettechnologies
varies greatly across different types of extreme weather events. When water shortage situation.
coupled with the uncertainty in predicting the spatial and (sometimes) A society's vulnerability to climate change induced health risk of in-
temporal scopes of the impact of an extreme weather event, our ability fectious diseases is related to its social development. Many infectious
to predict the health impacts of infectious diseases is actually limited. diseases often break out in developing countries after tropical cyclones,

31
but they are rare in developed nations (Guill and Shandera, 2001). Ex-
amples include the outbreak of Balantidias on the Pacific Island of
5. Societal response and human factor Turkey and typhoid fever in Mauritius (Toole, 1997), acute respiratory
infection and leptospirosis in Puerto Rico (Sanders et al., 1999), acute
 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

APEC has developed comprehensive policies es a set of actions that further the implementation
and measures to aid the APEC economies in the of the Seoul Ocean Declaration, the Bali Plan of
implementation of SDGs, such as the Food Secu- Action and the Paracas Declaration.
rity and Climate Change Multi-Year Action Plan
(2018–2020). APEC has also established the Steer- Marine pollution: At the regional level, pro-
ing Council of Mainstreaming Ocean-related Issues grammes and actions have been initiated to com-
for strengthening the addressing of cross-cutting bat marine pollution in the APEC Pacific areas,
issues of ocean cooperation between relevant such as: the Action Plan for the Protection, Man-
APEC fora. The APEC Virtual Working Group on agement and Development of the Marine and
Marine Debris (VWGMD) was established to fur- Coastal Environment of the Northwest Pacific
ther the development of innovative solutions to Region (NOWPAP); the Action Plan for the Protec-
marine debris. The VWGMD also compiled a report tion and Development of the Marine Environment
entitled Facilitating Trade and Investment in Sus- and Coastal Areas of the East Asian Seas Region
tainable Materials Management Solutions in the (EASAP); the Partnerships in Environmental Man-
APEC Region: Promoting an Enabling Regulatory, agement for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA); and
which has been supported by the Committee on the Reversing Environmental Degradation Trends
Trade and Investment in 2017 and welcomed by in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand in
APEC Ministers.29 the Southwest Pacific Region; the Pacific Regional
Environment Program (SPREP); and the Southeast
Over the course of the three AOMMs that provided Pacific Action Plan (SPAP) in the Southeast Pacific
a platform for discussion of marine-related issues region.30
and establishing key working areas for marine sus-
tainable development in the APEC region, the com- Health of ocean and coastal habitats: Spe-
mitments adopted were:29 cial efforts have also been made to maintain the
health of ocean and coastal habitats among APEC
 The Seoul Oceans Declaration as to economies like the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI),
domestic and regional action for the sustainable and progress has been made towards their bet-
development of oceans, seas and coasts, including ter management and conservation. Under the
their resources in the APEC region. multi-lateral partnership of the Coral Triangle Ini-
tiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security
 The Bali Plan of Action, “Towards Healthy (CTI-CFF), six APEC members are working togeth-
Oceans and Coasts for Sustainable Growth and er for the sustenance of exceptional marine and
Prosperity of the Asia-Pacific Community”, stressed coastal resources through addressing vital issues
the determination, in a collective manner, for tan- like food security, climate change, and marine bio-
gible actions at the domestic and regional levels diversity.29
to ensure that the marine environment and its
resources are sustainably managed, the sustain- The CTI has made competent regional plans
ability of the economic benefits received from the including the CTI Regional Plan of Action, the CTI
oceans, and enabling the development of coastal Regional Framework for the Coral Triangle Marine
communities in a sustainable manner. Protected Area System and the Region-wide Early
Action Plan for Climate Change Adaptation to ratify
 The Paracas Declaration addressed the regional goals and actions. At the economic level,
theme of Healthy Oceans and Fisheries Manage- each CTI economy has nominated a site for MPA
ment towards Food Security, with a focus on the learning and integration for the promotion of local
protection of the marine environment and its sus- efforts, and a protocol to develop an evaluation
tainable development, impacts of climate change system for domestic MPA management.29
on the oceans, promotion of trade and investment
that is free and open, and the role of the oceans in
food security. The Paracas Action Agenda endors-

32
Blue Economy in the context of resource security, R&D and SDGs

Fisheries: The OFWG has aided APEC economies Marine sustainable development: The Motu
by lending support to the development and region- Motiro Hiva Marine Park around Salas y Gómez
al implementation of practices for global fisheries Island, Chile, is the sixth largest protected area
and aquaculture across the seafood value chain. in the world, and its creation was an important
Efforts have also been made to combat IUU fish- achievement in the protection of marine biodi-
ing, such as the Regional Plan of Action to Promote versity on the national and global scale, as this
Responsible Fishing Practices including combating is among the last environments on the planet to
illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fish- remain untouched by man.29
ing in the South East Asia Region, jointly chaired
by Australia and Indonesia. Compliance has been Incorporating SDG 14 into domestic
made by Chinese Taipei with relevant regulations development framework
as stipulated by Regional Fisheries Management
Organizations for the implementation of effective Some APEC economies have mainstreamed the
measures to combat IUU fishing. The Thailand cab- SDGs into their domestic plans and strategies for
inet has also approved a Master Plan for Manage- development, including the approach to imple-
ment of Thai Marine Capture Fisheries. 29 ment the 2030 Agenda, to ensure that the perti-
nent domestic strategies, plans for action, and ini-
Understanding impacts of climate change on tiatives align with the goals of the SDGs.28
the oceans: An information base is provided by
ocean observation to deal with the impacts of For the protection and restoration of marine and
climate change. Japan announced its Japanese coastal ecosystems, APEC economies have made
Marine Development Strategy in the 21st Century, commitments and put policy measures in place
with the aim of strengthening marine monitoring (Table 6). For example, Australia has committed
of waters around Japan.29 6 million AUD to the Coral Triangle Initiative on
Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security to con-
Mitigation & adaptation to climate change: serve the hyper-biodiversity of the ocean in this
Some APEC economies have developed individu- region. The Coastal Restoration Fund, accounting
al plans for adaptation to climate change. Korea’s for 75 million CAD, was established by Canada
Comprehensive Plan on Climate Change Adapta- for addressing historically degraded areas and
tion, lays stress on oceanographic observation, provides support to projects that contribute to
long-term based prediction model on ocean cli- the plans for coastal restoration. Chile’s National
mate change, and assessing the impacts of climate Biodiversity Strategy 2017–2030 establishes the
change. Peru’s National Climate Change Strategy principal strategic guidelines and national goals
aims to predict the impacts of climate change on for the conservation and sustainable use of bio-
the marine ecosystem and promote the adoption diversity up to 2030. China’s Blue Bay Restoration
of adaptation measures at an early stage. Thailand Action aims to restore, from 2016 – 2018, threat-
has developed a master plan, the Thailand Cli- ened ecosystems in coastal and marine areas with
mate Change Master Plan, involving all sectors. An ecological importance. Other action plans include
international plan, the Northwestern Pacific Ocean Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2016–2021)
Circulation and Climate Experiment (NPOCE) was (Hong Kong and China); Strategic Action Program
initiated by Chinese scientists and provides a firm of the Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem
base for improving the ability of climate predic- with 12.9 million USD from 2017 to 2021 (Mexico);
tion. Many APEC economies have also actively par- National Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Man-
ticipated in the initiative of the Blue Carbon Plan, agement (The Philippines); Marine and Coastal
which seeks the protection and recovery of blue Resources Management Resources Act and estab-
ocean carbon sinks.29 lishment of a National Committee on Marine and
Coastal Resources Management, and committed
to restore 17,000 hectares of marine and coastal
habitats (Thailand); New Zealand’s National Plan of

33
 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

Action for Sharks will be reviewed and revised in

2020 as will the updated National Plan of Action for
Seabirds in early 2020 and continue to implement
the Threat Management Plan for the New Zealand
Sea Lion 2017–2022 and the associated Squid 6T
Operational Plan to help mitigate the threat to sea
lions in commercial fisheries operations.28

With regard to the minimisation of ocean acidifi-

cation, APEC economies are also contributing to
international efforts for studying and monitor-
ing the oceans, including the Integrated Marine
Observing System and the Global Ocean Acidifica-
tion Observing Network.28

APEC Blue Economy Forums: Five APEC Blue

Economy Forums have been organized since 2011
that focuses on the themes of: 28

TINT Promoting the Green Growth of Marine

Economy;
TINT Achieving Blue Economy in the Context of
Sustainable Development;
TINT Public and Private Sector Dialogue; and
TINT Pathways and Practices for Cooperation

The aim of these forums has been to advance the

understanding of the Blue Economy, facilitate its
mainstreaming and develop unanimity in estab-
lishing regional cooperation.28

APEC has undertaken a significant amount of work

in the area of ocean health and blue economy.
The member countries of this cooperation do not
include much of South Asia and span across Atlan-
tic to include the USA and Canada. APEC provides
a good framework that could be emulated by the
Asia-Pacific countries including South Asia through
regional organisations of ASEAN, Bay of Bengal
Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Coopera-
tion (BIMSTEC) and Indian Ocean Rim Association
(IORA) among others. Regional fisheries Man-
agement Organisations (RFMOs) could also be
engaged to enhance and promote marine health
and blue economy.

34
Blue Economy in the context of resource security, R&D and SDGs

Table 6: Conservation of marine and coastal areas

Sr. No. APEC Economy Committed MPA establishment in territorial waters /

Exclusive Economic Zone

1 Australia 40% of its waters included in marine parks

2 Canada 7.75% of its marine and coastal areas protected

3 Chile 43% of its exclusive economic zone as MPA

committed to increase the proportion of marine reserves to 5% (with 35% of its coastline
4 China
as natural coastline)

5 Indonesia 20 million hectares of MPAs to be established by 2020

6 Thailand 15.68% of its total marine areas are already under ecosystem management measures

7 Singapore Establishment of Sisters’ Island Marine Park which spans 40 hectares

Source: APEC (2019) 28

35
 Contextualising Blue Economy in Asia-Pacific Region

CLOUD-SHOWERS-HEAVY
fish
ship
water
faucet
TINT
cogs
dharmachakra

Way Ahead

36
Way Ahead

™ Asia-Pacific countries should focus on framing ™ Preserving marine biodiversity and addressing
a regional Blue Economy framework that climate change are two key areas that the
would synergise and harmonise the various region could cooperate and work together.
national level Blue Economy initiatives. It is Joint initiatives to nurture nature-based
imperative to create a regional mechanism solutions such as mangroves and coral reefs
comprising of the key regional organisations could be the first step in this direction.
such as ASEAN, BIMSTEC and IORA together ™ Science and technological innovation could be
for critical discussion. a major area for collaboration and the region
™ A composite study on the Blue Economy could set an example for enhancing knowledge
aspects will reduce data gaps, coordinate sharing and creating scientific synergies.
efforts and provide concrete evidence to ™ The case of APEC provides a good practice that
enable Blue Economy in the region. could be followed by Asia-Pacific countries
™ Skill development and capacity building are including South Asia. While the APEC is
essential components required especially focused on Economic cooperation, a Coalition
for sectors such as fisheries, tourism among for Blue Economy for Asia-Pacific could be
others. envisaged with regional organisations, think
™ The livelihoods in the emerging sectors tanks, research organisations, businesses and
would encompass highly-skilled labour force civil society engaging and collaborating under
highlighting the need to focus on enabling the initiative.
capacities both for traditional and emerging ™ Asia-Pacific Blue Economy consortium for
sectors. Science and technology collaboration and for
™ A regional Blue Economy forum could be regional cooperation that includes all coastal
an essential step to engage, encourage and and ocean-based economies in the Asia-
collectively work with regional partners. The Pacific region would be a starting point. A
forum could provide the platform to the Track II and III level dialogues in these areas
regional countries to share good practices, to integrate ideas and knowledge would be
knowledge and technological advice. an essential value addition for all countries.
™ The Asia-Pacific region could collectively
address the concerns of small island countries
by coming together to fund their initiatives for
ocean health and growth.

37
 5. Annexure
Table 1: Ownership of fleet by dead-weight tonnage, 2019

Country or territory of Number of vessels Dead-weight tonnage Foreign flag as a percen- Total as a percentage of
ownership tage of total total in world

Japan 3822 225,121,215 84.22 11.47

China 6125 206,301,032 55.92 10.51

Singapore 2727 121,485,648 41.32 6.19

Hong Kong SAR, China 1628 98,128,318 26.31 5.00

Republic of Korea 1647 76,701,517 83.81 3.91

Taiwan Province of 1005 51,091,107 88.94 2.60

China
India 1019 24,859,163 33.21 1.27

Source: UNCTAD (2019) 17

Table 2: Top 10 World Container Ports in the world

Rank Port Volume 2018 (Million TEU)

1 Shanghai, China 42.01

2 Singapore 36.60

3 Shenzhen, China 27.74

4 Ningbo-Zhoushan, China 26.35

5 Guangzhou Harbor, China 21.87

6 Busan, South Korea 21.66

7 Hong Kong SAR, China 19.60

8 Qingdao, China 18.26

9 Tianjoin, China 16.00

10 Jebel Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 14.95

Source: World Shipping Council (2019) 31

38
 Table 3: Travel and Tourism as a % of GDP and growth rate in 2018

Country T&T as a % of Country GDP T%T GDP Growth (%)

China 11.0 7.3

Japan 7.4 3.6

India 9.2 6.7

Australia 10.8 3.2

Thailand 21.6 6.0

Philippines 24.7 8.9

Hong Kong SAR, China 17.4 7.5

Source: World Travel and Tourism Council (2019) 32

Table 4: Aquaculture Production of Main Species Groups In 2018 (in thousand tonnes, live weight)

Category Asia (-Cyprus) World

Inland Capture

Finfish 43,046 46,951

Crustacea 3,579 3,653

Molluscs 207 207

Other aquatic animals 528 528

Subtotal 47,719 51,339

Marine and coastal aquaculture

Finfish 3,995 7,328

Crustacea 4,834 5,734

Molluscs 15,876 17,304

Other aquatic animals 387 390

Subtotal 25,093 30,756

All aquaculture

Finfish 47,400 54,279

Crustacea 8,414 9,387

Molluscs 16,083 17,511

Other aquatic animals 915 919

Total 72,812 82,095

Source: FAO (2020) 2

39
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42
Imprint

Date of Publication: March 2021

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