Sustainable Blue Economy

A healthy sea is vital to a healthy economy

Imagine a Blue Economy that operates within the planetary boundaries inside which humanity can continue to develop and thrive for future generations by adopting clean technologies and renewable energy, and creating circular material flows.

We believe this vision is achievable – and worth the effort. A sustainable Blue Economy can provide thousands of new jobs and billions in additional income and citizens around the Baltic Sea are willing to make the necessary investment to restore the health of the Baltic Sea.

The Baltic Sea region is positioned to become the world’s first truly sustainable Blue Economy. Many of the policies already in place hold great promise if implemented. We have the necessary know-how, technology and capital. Our population appears willing to invest in a healthy sea. But, to succeed, we need to move from rhetoric to action and use the tools at our disposal — something which the WWF Baltic Ecoregion Programme is actively promoting among all actors in the region.

What is a sustainable Blue Economy?

  • It provides social and economic benefits for current and future generations, by contributing to food security, poverty eradication, livelihoods, income, employment, health, safety, equity, and political stability.
  • It restores, protects and maintains the diversity, productivity, resilience, core functions, and intrinsic value of marine ecosystems – the natural capital upon which its prosperity depends.
  • It is based on clean technologies, renewable energy, and circular material flows to secure economic and social stability over time while keeping within the limits of one planet.

What is the WWF Baltic Programme doing?

Increase awareness and understanding of financing actors and investment flows in the Baltic

WWF Baltic supports the mainstreaming of environmental health metrics into finance. Through collaboration, research and advocacy, we are working to integrate environmental and ocean health metrics into mainstream investing and lending. We continue to build the case on the importance of understanding the material impacts of the environment on business via our Value at Risk in the Blue Economy and Navigating Ocean Risk reports. Demonstrating what we have to lose if we continue to invest in and incentivise business as usual (BAU). In addition, we have mapped the Financial Flows into the Baltic maritime sectors showcasing which hinder and support a sustainable blue economy.

Support the uptake of principles for a sustainable blue economy by all Baltic economy actors

WWF has developed a set of guiding principles for a sustainable Blue Economy to ensure that the economic development of the ocean contributes to true prosperity and resilience, today and long into the future. These Principles provide a definition of a Sustainable Blue Economy and a roadmap to collectively help us get there. They are universal and can be used by any actor involved in the economic development of the sea, including governments, private and financial sector actors, international agencies, and civil society groups. We invite all Blue Economy actors—around the Baltic Sea and beyond—to use these Principles for a Sustainable Blue Economy and to embed these definitions, descriptions, and actions into marine policy and activities.

Strengthen the policy framework for a Sustainable Blue Economy

Through the WWF Baltic’s Assessing the Balance Between Nature and People in the European Seas: Maritime Spatial Planning in the Baltic report we have created indicators to identify data needs for spatial pressure and impact assessment of human activities. WWF Baltic is assisting HELCOM to implement the latest methods for mapping and assessing human activities’ adverse effects on the ecosystem in the Baltic Sea region in which sustainable blue economy indicators have been included.

Define criteria to identify sustainable economic activities in the Baltic Sea

The WWF Baltic programme advocates for national plans for Maritime Spatial Planning must define and include sustainable blue economy objectives and finance principles in their socioeconomic considerations.

Related news

WWF report: Financial flows into the Baltic maritime sectors

Finance in focus: NGOs bring together industry and ministers to discuss the future of finance in the Baltic sea

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