Blue Economy – Which Hue for the Coral Triangle Region?

Posted on March, 18 2013

“Blue economy,” “green economy,” “green economy in a blue world,” are terminologies we’ve all heard for a number of years now, but can we define them, and if we can’t, does it matter?
“Blue economy,” “green economy,” “green economy in a blue world,” are terminologies we’ve all heard for a number of years now, but can we define them, and if we can’t, does it matter?

Perhaps what is important is what we are trying to achieve by transforming our current ‘business as usual approaches’ and unsustainable economic development models into economies and development models that maintain healthy ecosystems and people’s welfare and their livelihoods.

WWF, as an international conservation organisation, has considered what blue and green economies are and how we should engage in the movement towards transforming economies so that they are sustainable, inclusive of all people, consider the important role of the environment and the ecosystem services it provides, and maintain sustainable economic development.

In a discussion paper released in the lead up to the Coral Triangle Regional Business Forum, which tackles as its theme “A Marriage of Profit and Sustainability,” WWF’s Jackie Thomas and Lida Pet-Soede explore what they feel are some of the key issues that governments, the private sector, communities, NGOs, and other stakeholders need to consider in promoting new economic models in the Coral Triangle region. But in doing so they also raise a concern over the promotion of blue economy as a way of deriving greater revenue from the ocean. The danger of this thinking is the risk of even greater over-exploitation of the oceans’ limited resources.

WWF is aiming to deliver transformational change in the way industry, private sector, governments, and communities engage in the management, protection, and use of critical marine ecosystems and resources. It advocates a sustainable approach to natural resource use, which emphasizes the importance of the marine environment to the livelihoods and economies of the Coral Triangle. It does this by bringing the private sector to the table. This approach can be called Green Economy, Green Economy in a blue or marine world, or simply a Blue Economy.

WWF’s approach for the Coral Triangle Programme is to focus on a Blue Economy, which incorporates both a Green Economy in a blue or marine world—largely its traditional conservation approach—but also Blue Economy in the Gunter Pauli sense, which advocates innovative solutions to sustainable development.

The discussion paper “WWF and Blue Economies in the Coral Triangle: Developing and Demonstrating Blue Economies for Sustainable Development and Profitable Resource Use in the Region,” aims to generate discussion on what we aspire to when considering new economic models, and showcases the six country regional Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security as a model of cooperation, which can lead to blue economies in this region.

Download the discussion paper here.
Blue Economy Discussion Paper
© WWF