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Towards a sustainable and equitable blue economy

Nature Sustainability volume 2, pages 991–993 (2019)Cite this article

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The global rush to develop the ‘blue economy’ risks harming both the marine environment and human wellbeing. Bold policies and actions are urgently needed. We identify five priorities to chart a course towards an environmentally sustainable and socially equitable blue economy.

Concerns about the state of the world’s oceans are widespread1,2. At the same time, interest in the economic potential of the oceans is escalating, with their contribution to the global economy projected to double from US$1.5 trillion in 2010 to US$3 trillion by 20303. Numerous governments and corporations herald ocean sectors as lucrative frontiers for investment, including fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, bio-prospecting, seabed mining, oil and gas, renewable energy, and shipping. The blue economy — a term that originally implied socially equitable and sustainable development but has come to encapsulate international interest in the growth of ocean-based economic development — has been a central theme of recent global ocean policy conferences4,5.

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Fig. 1: Economic development in the oceans.
Fig. 2: Inclusive governance of the blue economy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Nathan J. Bennett, Andrés M. Cisneros-Montemayor, Sarah Harper, Nicolás Talloni-Álvarez, Lydia C. L. Teh & U. Rashid Sumaila

  2. ECOSEAS, Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS (UMR7035), Nice, France

    Nathan J. Bennett, Antonio Calò, Antonio Di Franco & Paolo Guidetti

  3. Nippon Foundation Nereus Program, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Andrés M. Cisneros-Montemayor & Lydia C. L. Teh

  4. Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

    Jessica Blythe

  5. Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

    Jennifer J. Silver

  6. Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

    Gerald Singh

  7. Department of Global & International Studies, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

    Nathan Andrews

  8. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Antonio Calò

  9. School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Patrick Christie

  10. Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Patrick Christie

  11. Stazione Zoologica “Anton Dohrn”, Dipartimento Ecologia Marina Integrata, Sede Interdipartimentale della Sicilia, Palermo, Italy

    Antonio Di Franco

  12. Center for Oceans, Conservation International, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Elena M. Finkbeiner & John N. Kittinger

  13. Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Stefan Gelcich

  14. Center for the Study of Multiple-Drivers on Marine Socio-Ecological Systems, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Stefan Gelcich

  15. Center for the Socioeconomic Impact of Environmental Policies, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Stefan Gelcich

  16. CoNISMa, Rome, Italy

    Paolo Guidetti

  17. Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Ngaio Hotte

  18. Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    John N. Kittinger

  19. Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Philippe Le Billon

  20. School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Philippe Le Billon

  21. Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Jane Lister

  22. Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Rocío López de la Lama

  23. School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Emma McKinley

  24. Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Joeri Scholtens

  25. Nofima – The Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research, Tromsø, Norway

    Ann-Magnhild Solås

  26. Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa

    Merle Sowman

  27. Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

    Michelle Voyer

Authors
  1. Nathan J. Bennett
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  2. Andrés M. Cisneros-Montemayor
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  3. Jessica Blythe
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  4. Jennifer J. Silver
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  5. Gerald Singh
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  6. Nathan Andrews
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  7. Antonio Calò
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  8. Patrick Christie
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  9. Antonio Di Franco
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  10. Elena M. Finkbeiner
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  11. Stefan Gelcich
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  12. Paolo Guidetti
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  13. Sarah Harper
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  14. Ngaio Hotte
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  15. John N. Kittinger
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  16. Philippe Le Billon
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  17. Jane Lister
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  18. Rocío López de la Lama
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  19. Emma McKinley
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  20. Joeri Scholtens
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  21. Ann-Magnhild Solås
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  22. Merle Sowman
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  23. Nicolás Talloni-Álvarez
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  24. Lydia C. L. Teh
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  25. Michelle Voyer
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  26. U. Rashid Sumaila
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nathan J. Bennett.

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Bennett, N.J., Cisneros-Montemayor, A.M., Blythe, J. et al. Towards a sustainable and equitable blue economy. Nat Sustain 2, 991–993 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0404-1

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