These rapidly evolving technologies will certainly contribute to better investigation of ocean-scapes, improved monitoring of ocean ecosystems (including marine protected areas and fisheries), increased linkages of marine products to markets, and expanded access to finance for marine enterprises. These innovative technologies will also enable solutions for problems faced by Island nations, such as coastal erosion, the proliferation of ocean plastics, and the management of sargassum.
This rapid evolution of technology and capacity across the world can help promote the use of these BlueTech approaches to benefit the poor in terms of more climate-resilient ecosystems. This will require us to not only build on the tech enablers but also ensure that the non-tech enablers to improve information-based decision making are strengthened by improved awareness of rapidly evolving BlueTech global good practices.
There are a range of stakeholders that have key roles in facilitating activities that enable innovation and scaling-up of BlueTech.
Governments have a key role to use their policy, administrative, financing, convening, and partnership mechanisms to create an enabling innovation environment for BlueTech, linking the development of national capacity to rapidly-evolving global good practices and systems.
This is especially critical to leverage new forms of information, interaction. innovation, investment and integration to improve inter-operability and remain constantly evolving to avoid stranded assets of obsolete technology. They can play a key role in providing a facilitating environment for innovative BlueTech startups providing monitoring, analytics, or insights as a service, as well as helping develop appropriate multi-stakeholder forums (e.g. for integrated water resources or watershed management), networking relevant stakeholder from government, water and hydropower utilities, farmers, academia, CSOs, and other private sector to help develop a shared vision for water resources and water services planning and management knit together by the power of modern hydroinformatics helping stakeholders work across traditional sectoral and spatial boundaries.
They also have a key role in managing the risks – of cybersecurity, privacy, ensuring adequate competition, ensuring basic connectivity, facilitating affordability of services, and providing retraining and social safety nets for some obsolete jobs, while creating new employment opportunities. They have a key role in embedding hydroinformatics as part of an e-governance vision to knit the work of government agencies together (e.g. those involved with upstream water and natural resources management, coastal zone management, early warning, and climate change planning, and oceanic sectors).
Other stakeholders also have key roles in BlueTech. Academia has a key role to undertake targeted research, produce capable graduates to help staff BlueTech needs, and facilitate collaboration and open data/analytics. Civil Society Organizations have a key role to improve mass awareness of critical issues facing the Blue resources such as climate and pollution (including plastics) and the need for shared prosperity and improved involvement of women and other traditionally disadvantaged groups in participating actively in the Blue Economy. Private Sector (and interim government parastatals) has a key role to finance, build, and operate most of the investments that are the essential parts of the Blue Economy especially the Oceanic Sectors.
There are several opportunities that are emerging based on a rapidly increasing use of innovative technologies for monitoring and managing the freshwater, coastal, and ocean ecosystems of the Blue Economy in addition to the rollout of new mobile data such as 5G, availability of smartphones, tablets, touchscreens, VR/AR, and other institutional infrastructure. A major constraint has always been the capacity to adapt and use these technologies for modernizing the decision-making process, but the level of automation of the novel approaches has dramatically changed the type of expertise required in this regard. The ability of governments at all levels to build new partnerships with academia, private sector, and CSOs (Civil Society Organizations) is also changing the way relevant BlueTech data is collected, analyzed, accessed, and used to support decisions. As more countries embrace open data and standards and put more of their especially in-situ data in the public domain, they can create an enabling environment for a new age of BlueTech to thrive and positively “disrupt” how the Blue Economy is managed for all users.
There are a range of enabling policies to encourage such inter-institutional collaboration, open data and interoperable standards, and a healthy ecosystem of startups and public-private partnerships. Many countries that are starting this journey would need early help on improving awareness of the Blue Economy potential and opportunities and risks associated with BlueTech. Capacity building on technologies, access to investment capital for the private sector, fostering BlueTech incubator and accelerator programs, enhanced metrics to track BlueTech innovation, impact, and sustainability.
Innovative technology can be used at stages of policy making and implementation within the various areas within the blue economy/bluetech ecosystems; policy development and data requirements, use of quantitative modelling for policy assessment, different tools and technologies for implementing monitoring programmes, use of e-training and e-learning to develop programs of policy measures, use of surveys and collaborative tools for the implementing policy measures, use of quantitative modelling to evaluate and measure policy adoption
Institutions
As the Blue Economy is growing and evolving one tool that has emerged is innovation clusters, these are hubs of operation and entrepreneurship within the same geographical and ideological proximity, creating innovative tools and solutions to sustainable manage Ocean resources and issues. There are clusters such as the North America cluster, TMA BlueTech (US) , Forum Oceano (Portugal),Marine Institute (Ireland),OceansAdvance (Canada), PLOCAN (Spain), Pole Mer Mediterranee (France) , and the UK Blue Growth Network (UK), all of which comprise of academia, entrepreneurs and organizations working to accelerate the growth of the blue economy through research, development, and collaboration, and pursuing opportunities for business. These clusters together with are part of an alliance (BTCA) With a mission to’ Promote sustainable investment & growth of the knowledge-based ocean and water industries, to the mutual benefit of all parties, through active regional, national, and international collaboration’ (BTCA)
Funding for Blue Tech Innovation Programs
One such example in promoting funding for Blue Tech innovations is the BlueTech Tech & Innovation grant program by The Innovation Institute at MassTech. The program aims to encourage entrepreneurs and technology firms to work with nonprofits, research institutions, municipalities, or other public authorities on the deployment of new and novel technology and business solutions to address important opportunities in the marine economy.
Another example of supporting innovation is philanthropic organizations, such as Oceankind supporting Bluetech. They will invest in conservation, reduce climate change's impact by supporting new technology development, and provide general support. For innovative technologies, the essential requirements would consist of scalability and the potential environmental effects.
Incubator/Accelerator Programs
Promote and accelerate bluetech innovation through collaboration and financial support for solving critical issues within the blue economy. Bluetech Incubators enable startups and organizations, access to resources and sponsors, to pilot and scale up business models that use innovative technologies for products and services to facilitate the sustainable management of oceans, marine ecosystems, and coastal resources. Examples are the TMA Blue Tech Incubator and Australia’s Blue Economy Challenge , IDB’s Blue Tech Challenge. Some of the winning proposals from the Blue Tech Challenge were the expansion of a facility using innovative patented technology to break oil and water emulsions and process contaminated water, Technology and blockchain enhancement of Barbados Tuna Supply Chain for export, a proprietary technology for extraction of sargassum seaweed and transforms it into world class bio-fertilizer
There are a range of stakeholders that have key roles in facilitating activities that enable innovation and scaling-up of BlueTech.
Governments have a key role to use their policy, administrative, financing, convening, and partnership mechanisms to create an enabling innovation environment for BlueTech, linking the development of national capacity to rapidly-evolving global good practices and systems.
This is especially critical to leverage new forms of information, interaction. innovation, investment and integration to improve inter-operability and remain constantly evolving to avoid stranded assets of obsolete technology. They can play a key role in providing a facilitating environment for innovative BlueTech startups providing monitoring, analytics, or insights as a service, as well as helping develop appropriate multi-stakeholder forums (e.g. for integrated water resources or watershed management), networking relevant stakeholder from government, water and hydropower utilities, farmers, academia, CSOs, and other private sector to help develop a shared vision for water resources and water services planning and management knit together by the power of modern hydroinformatics helping stakeholders work across traditional sectoral and spatial boundaries.
They also have a key role in managing the risks – of cybersecurity, privacy, ensuring adequate competition, ensuring basic connectivity, facilitating affordability of services, and providing retraining and social safety nets for some obsolete jobs, while creating new employment opportunities. They have a key role in embedding hydroinformatics as part of an e-governance vision to knit the work of government agencies together (e.g. those involved with upstream water and natural resources management, coastal zone management, early warning, and climate change planning, and oceanic sectors).
Other stakeholders also have key roles in BlueTech. Academia has a key role to undertake targeted research, produce capable graduates to help staff BlueTech needs, and facilitate collaboration and open data/analytics. Civil Society Organizations have a key role to improve mass awareness of critical issues facing the Blue resources such as climate and pollution (including plastics) and the need for shared prosperity and improved involvement of women and other traditionally disadvantaged groups in participating actively in the Blue Economy. Private Sector (and interim government parastatals) has a key role to finance, build, and operate most of the investments that are the essential parts of the Blue Economy especially the Oceanic Sectors.
There are several opportunities that are emerging based on a rapidly increasing use of innovative technologies for monitoring and managing the freshwater, coastal, and ocean ecosystems of the Blue Economy in addition to the rollout of new mobile data such as 5G, availability of smartphones, tablets, touchscreens, VR/AR, and other institutional infrastructure. A major constraint has always been the capacity to adapt and use these technologies for modernizing the decision-making process, but the level of automation of the novel approaches has dramatically changed the type of expertise required in this regard. The ability of governments at all levels to build new partnerships with academia, private sector, and CSOs (Civil Society Organizations) is also changing the way relevant BlueTech data is collected, analyzed, accessed, and used to support decisions. As more countries embrace open data and standards and put more of their especially in-situ data in the public domain, they can create an enabling environment for a new age of BlueTech to thrive and positively “disrupt” how the Blue Economy is managed for all users.
There are a range of enabling policies to encourage such inter-institutional collaboration, open data and interoperable standards, and a healthy ecosystem of startups and public-private partnerships. Many countries that are starting this journey would need early help on improving awareness of the Blue Economy potential and opportunities and risks associated with BlueTech. Capacity building on technologies, access to investment capital for the private sector, fostering BlueTech incubator and accelerator programs, enhanced metrics to track BlueTech innovation, impact, and sustainability.
Innovative technology can be used at stages of policy making and implementation within the various areas within the blue economy/bluetech ecosystems; policy development and data requirements, use of quantitative modelling for policy assessment, different tools and technologies for implementing monitoring programmes, use of e-training and e-learning to develop programs of policy measures, use of surveys and collaborative tools for the implementing policy measures, use of quantitative modelling to evaluate and measure policy adoption
Institutions
As the Blue Economy is growing and evolving one tool that has emerged is innovation clusters, these are hubs of operation and entrepreneurship within the same geographical and ideological proximity, creating innovative tools and solutions to sustainable manage Ocean resources and issues. There are clusters such as the North America cluster, TMA BlueTech (US) , Forum Oceano (Portugal),Marine Institute (Ireland),OceansAdvance (Canada), PLOCAN (Spain), Pole Mer Mediterranee (France) , and the UK Blue Growth Network (UK), all of which comprise of academia, entrepreneurs and organizations working to accelerate the growth of the blue economy through research, development, and collaboration, and pursuing opportunities for business. These clusters together with are part of an alliance (BTCA) With a mission to’ Promote sustainable investment & growth of the knowledge-based ocean and water industries, to the mutual benefit of all parties, through active regional, national, and international collaboration’ (BTCA)
Funding for Blue Tech Innovation Programs
One such example in promoting funding for Blue Tech innovations is the BlueTech Tech & Innovation grant program by The Innovation Institute at MassTech. The program aims to encourage entrepreneurs and technology firms to work with nonprofits, research institutions, municipalities, or other public authorities on the deployment of new and novel technology and business solutions to address important opportunities in the marine economy.
Another example of supporting innovation is philanthropic organizations, such as Oceankind supporting Bluetech. They will invest in conservation, reduce climate change's impact by supporting new technology development, and provide general support. For innovative technologies, the essential requirements would consist of scalability and the potential environmental effects.
Incubator/Accelerator Programs
Promote and accelerate bluetech innovation through collaboration and financial support for solving critical issues within the blue economy. Bluetech Incubators enable startups and organizations, access to resources and sponsors, to pilot and scale up business models that use innovative technologies for products and services to facilitate the sustainable management of oceans, marine ecosystems, and coastal resources. Examples are the TMA Blue Tech Incubator and Australia’s Blue Economy Challenge , IDB’s Blue Tech Challenge. Some of the winning proposals from the Blue Tech Challenge were the expansion of a facility using innovative patented technology to break oil and water emulsions and process contaminated water, Technology and blockchain enhancement of Barbados Tuna Supply Chain for export, a proprietary technology for extraction of sargassum seaweed and transforms it into world class bio-fertilizer
Policy Needs
Capacity Building
1. Promotion of private sector access to investment capital for blue tech innovation
2. Setup and scale up of incubator and accelerator programs in blue tech clusters for start-ups in the industry
3. Development of enhanced metrics for tracking and accounting for both the larger blue economy and blue tech innovation, by stakeholders
4. Countries prepare blue economy studies to understand and track contributions to the national economic and sustainability metrics
Use of Technology for Policies
Innovative technology can be used at stages of policy making and implementation within the various areas within the blue economy/bluetech ecosystems; policy development and data requirements, use of quantitative modelling for policy assessment, different tools and technologies for implementing monitoring programmes, use of e-training and e-learning to develop programs of policy measures, use of surveys and collaborative tools for the implementing policy measures, use of quantitative modelling to evaluate and measure policy adoption
Institutions
As the Blue Economy is growing and evolving one tool that has emerged is innovation clusters, these are hubs of operation and entrepreneurship within the same geographical and ideological proximity, creating innovative tools and solutions to sustainable manage Ocean resources and issues. There are clusters such as the North America cluster, TMA BlueTech (US) , Forum Oceano (Portugal),Marine Institute (Ireland),OceansAdvance (Canada), PLOCAN (Spain), Pole Mer Mediterranee (France) , and the UK Blue Growth Network (UK), all of which comprise of academia, entrepreneurs and organizations working to accelerate the growth of the blue economy through research, development, and collaboration, and pursuing opportunities for business. These clusters together with are part of an alliance (BTCA) With a mission to’ Promote sustainable investment & growth of the knowledge-based ocean and water industries, to the mutual benefit of all parties, through active regional, national, and international collaboration’ (BTCA)
Funding for Blue Tech Innovation Programs
One such example in promoting funding for Blue Tech innovations is the BlueTech Tech & Innovation grant program by The Innovation Institute at MassTech. The program aims to encourage entrepreneurs and technology firms to work with nonprofits, research institutions, municipalities, or other public authorities on the deployment of new and novel technology and business solutions to address important opportunities in the marine economy.
Another example of supporting innovation is philanthropic organizations, such as Oceankind supporting Bluetech. They will invest in conservation, reduce climate change's impact by supporting new technology development, and provide general support. For innovative technologies, the essential requirements would consist of scalability and the potential environmental effects.
Incubator/Accelerator Programs
Promote and accelerate bluetech innovation through collaboration and financial support for solving critical issues within the blue economy. Bluetech Incubators enable startups and organizations, access to resources and sponsors, to pilot and scale up business models that use innovative technologies for products and services to facilitate the sustainable management of oceans, marine ecosystems, and coastal resources. Examples are the TMA Blue Tech Incubator and Australia’s Blue Economy Challenge , IDB’s Blue Tech Challenge. Some of the winning proposals from the Blue Tech Challenge were the expansion of a facility using innovative patented technology to break oil and water emulsions and process contaminated water, Technology and blockchain enhancement of Barbados Tuna Supply Chain for export, a proprietary technology for extraction of sargassum seaweed and transforms it into world class bio-fertilizer.
Regions and countries around the world are exploring many options to improve the way they strategically manage their Blue Economy and operationalize their aspirations. Some examples are below:
European Union
The European Union Blue Economy Report (2020) examines not only established sectors (i.e., those that traditionally contribute to the blue economy) but also emerging sectors (for which reliable data are still developing) and innovative sectors. Each sector will bring new opportunities for investment and hold huge potential for the future development of coastal communities.
The blue economy emerging and innovative sectors include some marine renewable energy (i.e., ocean energy, floating solar energy and offshore hydrogen generation), blue bioeconomy and biotechnology, marine minerals, desalination, maritime defense, and submarine cables. These sectors offer significant potential, especially as regards renewable energies for which the European Union is in the lead, hosting 70 per cent of global ocean energy (wave and tidal) installed capacity in its waters.
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive provides a comprehensive, holistic approach to the protection of European Seas, acting as the environmental pillar of the wider European Union maritime strategy.
Grenada
Grenada is one of the first countries within the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States to create a vision for managing and protecting national waters as well as setting a path to “blue growth”. Grenada’s Blue Growth Coastal Master Plan sets out a strategy to harness Grenada’s coasts to provide new jobs and alternative livelihoods, expanding their economy while also committing to preserving the natural environment. A report prepared by the World Bank in 2016 highlighted Grenada’s blue growth initiative. Nine areas have been identified as centers of excellence for blue growth activities, including marine research. In particular, Northern Grenada has been identified as a significant location for marine research owing to its pristine ocean waters, leatherback turtle nesting areas near Levera and its offshore volcano. The Integrated Coastal Zone Management Policy for the three islands (Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique) provides a vision for the management of the coastal zone that accounts for all sectoral activities which have an impact on the coastal natural resources. The policy goals are focused around three areas: good governance, sustainable development and capacity development
China, Samoa and Vietnam
Good practices to address poverty-environment nexus should be locally designed, community owned and adaptability implemented as illustrated by following three case studies of blue economy practices by coastal communities in China, Samoa, and Vietnam.
§ China: Restoration and Sustainable Use of Seagrass Beds for Sea Cucumber Aquaculture
§ Samoa: Coral Reef Restoration and Sustainable Fisheries
§ Vietnam: Community-Based Management of Marine Resources for Livelihood Improvement
Lessons learned from these case studies include the significant role of science and technology in innovating solutions. The crucial impact of community leaders in encouraging and amplifying both local needs and solutions is critical along with continuous advocacy, fulfilling the very important need for communities to witness tangible benefits of project implementation. Last but not least, the availability of resources and know-how resulting from multi-stakeholder partnerships including local governing councils, NGOs, and community members is equally important. Local communities have an unrecognized potential for adaptation and innovation and that more proactive public policies are required to achieve environmental and poverty reduction objectives simultaneously.
Norway
The Green Shipping Program aims to find scalable solutions for efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly shipping in Norway. The goal is to boost economic growth, increased competitiveness, and new jobs in the country. Both authorities and industry actors are actively participating in the program and are working together to achieve those goals. The studies and pilots in the Green Shipping Program are crucial for the phasing in of zero- and low-emission solutions in shipping towards 2030, with significant climate, environmental and public health benefits.
Some 20 large-scale pilot projects have been launched so far, including two to develop green ports and one to create shuttle tankers powered by liquefied natural gas or volatile organic compounds; a hydrogen-powered speed boat; a bunkering vessel; and, finally, two autonomous, zero-emission vessels.
All these pilot projects are an important step in making Norwegian domestic shipping greener. Seven of the pilots have been implemented or are under construction. Norway has also signed agreements for 30 to 40 battery-powered ferries, with additional investments of roughly $228 million in battery and charging technology, and more to come. By 2021, there will be 70 all-electric and hybrid ferries in total.
The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second biggest globally, supports the local economy by 6.2 billion from tourism, commercial fishing, and coastal development for the countries of Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Mexico. Coral reefs are a nature-based solution that can protect the coastal community as reefs reduce the impact of storm surges and daily coastal erosion since reefs can reduce up to 97 percent of wave energy. However, coral reefs can be severely damaged after a storm or weakened from pollution, disease, overfishing, and bleaching. The Mesoamerican American Reef Fund is piloting parametric insurance at seven reef sites within four countries. Parametric insurance is not based on financial losses but on a specific event, such as when wind speed exceeds 100 knots at a particular location. The funds can be used to pay for damage assessment, debris removal, and initial repair and provide money for long-term recovery to ensure the reefs act as a coastal barrier.
Initiatives like Indo-Norway Integrated Ocean Initiative which aims at conducting marine spatial planning for India’s two union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry, are critical in bolstering international collaborative efforts in sustainable and integrated ocean management. The initiative will help ensure that human activities at sea take place in an efficient, safe, and sustainable manner in areas such as energy, transportation, fisheries, aquaculture, tourism etc. across multiple sectors.
World Bank Initiatives
Housed at the World Bank, PROBLUE is a multi-donor trust fund which aims to contribute to SDG 14 on Live Below Water and encompass four key areas including management of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture; addressing threats posed to ocean health by marine pollution, including litter and plastics, from marine or land-based sources; the sustainable development of key oceanic sectors such as tourism, maritime transport and off-shore renewable energy; and building government capacity to manage marine resources, including nature-based infrastructure such as mangroves, in an integrated way to deliver more and long-lasting benefits to countries and communities. In addition, some of the cross-cutting issues such as poverty, livelihoods, gender, climate change and maximizing finance for development, are interwoven throughout the program.
According to the World Bank Report on the Potential for the Blue Economy. Countries must value the contribution that the natural oceanic capital to welfare to inform policy decisions, including consideration of tradeoffs in different sectors of the blue economy. Investment in and the use of the best available science, data and technology, to underpin governance reforms and shape management decisions that lead to long term change is critical.
The Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Project (India)
The World Bank-funded ICZM project supported the detailed mapping of the coastline and buffer areas using earth observation, and the deployment of several buoys for real time water quality monitoring in Chilika Lake, Lakshwadeep, and Gulf of Mannar, etc. The project’s activities also included the first hazard mapping of the entire 7,500- kilometer coastline of India. A national database has also been developed that catalogue about 10,000 species as well as existing mangroves sites, coral reefs, and turtle nesting sites. The project also helped to plant about 200 square kilometers of mangroves along the coast; the planting of mangroves and other coastal vegetation help reduce the tidal wave forces during cyclones. Additionally, infrastructure and research facilities have been established as part of the project and employees are trained in wildlife protection—especially hatcheries and conservation centers. Shelters (14 in Odisha and 24 in West Bengal) were built to protect people during the cyclone season, which were used to protect people in the past few weeks. In 2020, many of these shelters were used as COVID-19 care centers. In Gujarat, Odisha, and West Bengal, investments in biodiversity, conservation, and complementary livelihoods for fishers foster business enterprises. Source: adapted from Nature Offers Solutions to Climate Risks, Boosts Coastal Livelihoods in India.
Climate Adaptation and Resilience for South Asia (CARE) Project
The World Bank-funded CARE project will help develop a public platform to inform climate planning and investments, and fund innovative and disruptive technology to support resilience in South Asia. The public domain platform, the Regional Resilience Data and Analytics Service, will contain detailed information about weather hazards, climate variability, and sector-specific data to help policymakers assess climate risks. The project will also strengthen national-level sectoral Decision Support Systems (DSS) in Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan. CARE will also help governments mainstream climate resilience within key ministries such as finance, agriculture, water, and transport and develop climate resilience guidelines in those sectors. Sources: 1 & 2.
World Bank Initiatives
Housed at the World Bank, PROBLUE is a multi-donor trust fund which aims to contribute to SDG 14 on Live Below Water and encompass four key areas including management of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture; addressing threats posed to ocean health by marine pollution, including litter and plastics, from marine or land-based sources; the sustainable development of key oceanic sectors such as tourism, maritime transport and off-shore renewable energy; and building government capacity to manage marine resources, including nature-based infrastructure such as mangroves, in an integrated way to deliver more and long-lasting benefits to countries and communities. In addition, some of the cross-cutting issues such as poverty, livelihoods, gender, climate change and maximizing finance for development, are interwoven throughout the program.
World Bank Plastic Free Rivers and Seas
The World Bank in collaboration with Parley for the Oceans, and the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) are working to curb the marine plastic pollution problem and step-up eco-innovation to reinvent plastic use and production. The project consists of four main components totaling US$40 million from IDA that will be implemented over a period of five years in all eight countries in South Asia – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
World Bank-West Africa Coastal Areas Program
According to its description, the World Bank’s ongoing West Africa Coastal Areas (WACA) Management Program “was developed in partnership with the West African people who live on the coast and depend on it for their livelihoods, nutrition, food security, and prosperity. The program supports countries’ effort to improve the management of their shared coastal resources and reduce the natural and man-made risks affecting coastal communities. WACA boosts the transfer of knowledge, fosters political dialogue among countries, and mobilizes public and private finance to tackle coastal erosion, flooding, pollution and climate change adaptation. The WACA Program consists of country projects, regional integration and support activities, and a WACA Platform as mechanism to scale-up knowledge, dialogue and finance”.
The World Bank’s ongoing West Africa Coastal Areas (WACA) Management Program was developed in partnership with the West African people who live on the coast and depend on it for their livelihoods, nutrition, food security, and prosperity. The program supports countries’ effort to improve the management of their shared coastal resources and reduce the natural and man-made risks affecting coastal communities. WACA boosts the transfer of knowledge, fosters political dialogue among countries, and mobilizes public and private finance to tackle coastal erosion, flooding, pollution and climate change adaptation. The WACA Program consists of country projects, regional integration and support activities, and a WACA Platform as mechanism to scale-up knowledge, dialogue and finance.
The Blue Economy is a relatively new approach that requires us to rethink how we interact with our oceans. BlueTech is even newer, requiring us to rethink how we can apply a suite of rapidly evolving technologies to scale up sustainable development benefits from the Blue Economy while better managing associated risks.
Emerging disruptive technologies can also leverage vital innovations in management to offer significant innovation in addressing the accelerating drivers and impact of climate change in coasts and oceans. Coastal cities and urban regions form the perfect backdrops to test frontier technologies to mitigate climate change as well as adapt to it. Continuing innovation, therefore, must be cultivated, nurtured and incentivized by local and national governments alike, in partnership with industry and academia.
Furthermore, many emerging technologies are interrelated, each with the potential to be instrumental in tackling climate change: Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G, clean energy technology, as well as digitalization and Big Data. Real-time information and automation using these technologies can allow robust and nimble adaptation to changing conditions and create new accountabilities in government and in business. It is now becoming feasible to implement IoT and scalable information systems on larger scales as demonstrated in this review paper with focus on two specific areas: urban coastal environment and maritime shipping. The paper also addressed, though briefly, range of marine energy technologies and their market readiness to enable coastal and maritime markets across blue economy.
Despite the blue economy being a relatively new concept, this review paper looked at the applications of emerging technologies in these two areas. One thing can be presumed clearly; the progression towards more advanced ocean technologies is inevitable, despite different challenges that will unavoidably appear. For example, marine spatial planning has shown promise as a framework that can start delivering the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development . Likewise, autonomous shipping is the future of the maritime industry considering the expected benefits that include increased safety, reduced costs and increased earning potential due to operational efficiencies and reduction in vessel manning.
While developed countries—that is, countries at the socio-economic development and technology frontier—grapple with the challenges and seize upon the opportunities associated with frontier technologies, many developing countries are yet to fully reap the benefits of existing technologies. Creating enabling conditions and bridging the technology divide will remain a key development strategy for many developing countries.
Scaling frontier technologies is particularly vital for achieving widespread impact and lower deployment costs. Most deployments vary significantly in the level of interest, investment, scale and complexity according to geography. While many countries strive to advance innovation in their ocean economies, financing such endeavors is still not easy. Overcoming financing barriers is critical to fostering successful innovation that supports science and management in the future. Capturing the extraordinary potential of technology will require action by governments and others to foster the needed innovations for all those who have a role in ocean stewardship, by creating new market incentives for innovation, new public–private instruments for investment and new business models. Further research and collaboration, processes and standardization efforts are needed to identify successful-use cases of frontier technologies in the context of climate change and response in order to eventually scale them nationally, regionally and ultimately globally.
This e-book is an attempt to start documenting the kinds of innovations that we can look forward to as nations around the world explore the application of new technologies to develop their Blue Economy for socio-economic and environmental benefit. They illustrate the dizzying pace of technology development which is helping surmount traditional problems and have to be applied with care building on rapidly growing global good practices that indicate promising opportunities and cautions on risks in these attempts. These are useful to consider given the large investments being rolled-out in the developed and developing world to make the Blue Economy a more central part of sustainable development.
The annexes that follow provide some very useful resources on data/analytics, knowledge, and learning to complement the rest of this interactive e-book.