Blue Economy In The Mediterranean - UfM

BLUE ECONOMY IN THEMEDITERRANEAN

This report was prepared by eco-union: Kristian Petrick, Jérémie Fosse, Heloïse Lammens, Fabio Fiorucci under thesupervision of Raffaele Mancini and Alessandra Sensi (Union for the Mediterranean).Acknowledgements: special acknowledgements to the experts and organizations that provided valuable inputs tothe content of this publication and took part in the review process. In particular, Rosemary Montgomery, Julien LeTellier (UN Environment/Mediterranean Action Plan Coordinating Unit), Mauro Randone (WWF MediterraneanProgramme), and Najib Saab (Arab Forum for Environment and Development).With the financial support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation AgencyDisclaimer:This publication collects qualitative/quantitative information on the current status and potential of the blue sectorsin the UfM region with a particular focus on the Mediterranean countries. The information and views set out in thispublication do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Union for the Mediterranean and donors involved.2 Blue economy in the Mediterranean

ContentsIntroduction .51.1. The Blue Economy. 51.2. Institutional Frameworks . 61.3. Sectors overview . 7Status and potential of the Blue Economy in Tourism . 112.1.Overview . 112.2.Current status . 122.2.1.Tourism’s increase in the Mediterranean area . 122.2.2.Central role in the region’s economy . 132.2.3.Valuable world heritage sites . 142.3.Challenges. 142.4.Opportunities and benefits . 162.4.1.Cost reduction through energy savings . 162.4.2.Market differentiation and revenue increase . 182.4.3.Other potential benefits. 202.5.Outlook . 202.5.1.Expected trends . 202.5.2.Critical issues . 22Fisheries and Aquaculture in the context of Blue Economy . 243.1.Overview . 243.2.Current status of fisheries . 253.2.1.The fishing fleet . 263.2.2.Landed value of fisheries. 293.2.3.Fisheries employment . 303.2.4.The role of small-scale fisheries . 313.3.Challenges of fisheries . 323.4.Current status of aquaculture . 343.5.Challenges of aquaculture . 363.6.Outlook . 38Union for the Mediterranean 3

Operationalize sustainable Blue Economy in Maritime Transport . 394.1.Overview . 394.2.Current Status. 404.2.1.Volume of traffic . 404.2.2.Economic value and employment . 414.3.Challenges. 424.4.Outlook . 43Blue Economy emerging sectors: Shipbuilding and Recycling . 475.1.Overview . 475.2.Current status . 475.3.Challenges and outlook . 49Blue Energy. 526.1.Overview . 526.2.Current status . 526.3.Challenges and Outlook . 556.3.1.Renewable energies . 556.3.2.Critical issues . 58Other Blue Economy sectors. 597.1.Bioprospecting . 597.1.1.Overview . 597.1.2.Current status. 597.1.3.Challenges and Outlook . 617.2.Deep-sea Mining . 627.2.1.Overview . 627.2.2.Current status. 627.2.3.Challenges . 637.2.4.Outlook . 64Conclusions . 65Annex: References . 674 Blue economy in the Mediterranean

Introduction1.1. The Blue EconomyThe Blue Economy is “the set of human activities depending on the sea and/or underpinned by land-seainteractions in the context of sustainable development, and notably including industrial and servicesectors such as aquaculture, fisheries, blue biotechnologies, coastal and maritime tourism, shipping,ship-building/repair, ports, ocean energy and marine renewable energy, including offshore wind,which are among the main traditional and emerging economic maritime sectors in the MediterraneanSea basin”1. UN Environment defines the Blue Economy as a "green economy in a blue world", since "aglobal transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient Green Economy will not be possible unless the seasand oceans are a key part of these urgently needed transformations"2. The goal of the Blue Economy istherefore to face the global, environmental, economic and social crises of the last decades, looking at theocean resources as development spaces that, used sustainably, may trigger economic prosperity.3Since ancient times, the Mediterranean Sea has played a key role in the economy of coastal communitiesand States. Today, more than ever, the Blue Economy sectors are an important engine for the region'seconomy, with enormous potential for innovation and for sustainable and inclusive prosperity. Theeconomic opportunities provided by the Mediterranean Sea are accompanied by an increasingly need fora management that is respectful of its ecosystems and is able to maintain and increase their value overtime. Sustainable conversion of economic sectors that have often adversely affected the health ofecosystems, such as fisheries and coastal tourism, as well as the development of new clean andtechnologically advanced activities – e.g. renewable energy –, represent important opportunities forinnovation and employment for the benefit of all Mediterranean countries. Close collaboration betweenall the Mediterranean countries and their stakeholders is a condition for realising a common objective:the sustainable use and conservation of our main common resource, the Mediterranean Sea.The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of the current state of the Blue Economy in theMediterranean, highlighting challenges, opportunities, trends, and their potential for sustainabledevelopment.The present compilation uses official data to describe the current situation and outlook in economic termsfor each sector, e.g. economic growth and employment, closely related to the conservation of naturalresources and marine ecosystems. While the Blue Economy is viewed with a broad regional perspective,special attention is given to the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries (SEMCs). Concrete1Union for the Mediterranean (2015), Ministerial Conference on Blue Economy, 1/2015-11-17-declaration-on-blue-economy en.pdf2 UN Environment: www.unep.org/3 Another recent definition of the concept was provided by World Bank, which in its "The Potential of the Blue Economy" report(2017) says: " it is understood here as comprising the range of economic sectors and related policies that determine whetherthe use of oceanic resources is sustainable", 6843Union for the Mediterranean 5

examples are provided of good practices in the Blue Economy in the Mediterranean region, enabling bestpractices and knowledge sharing and regional collaboration.1.2. Institutional FrameworksBlue Economy implementation strategies are part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), inparticular SDG 14 “Life Below Water” 4 which aims, among other things, to prevent and significantlyreduce marine pollution, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems, minimize andaddress the impacts of ocean acidification, regulate harvesting by ending overfishing and illegal,unreported and unregulated fishing, conserve coastal and marine areas, increase scientific knowledge andtransfer sustainable marine technologies.In the Mediterranean region, international institutions such as UN Environment and its MediterraneanAction Plan (UNEP/MAP), the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the European Union (EU) areworking to coordinate their strategies for a Sustainable Blue Economy, in line with the Mid-term strategyof the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM)5, the EU’s Blue Growth long termstrategy6 (which includes the EU's Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region), and the MediterraneanStrategy for Sustainable Development 2016-25 (MSSD)7 which was adopted by all the Contracting Partiesof the Barcelona Convention (BC).The Barcelona Convention (for the Protection of Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of theMediterranean) is a regional sea programme adopted in 1995 that now entails 22 Contracting Parties8. Itsmain purpose is to “protect the Mediterranean marine and coastal environment while boosting regionaland national plans to achieve sustainable development". Contracting Parties regularly take part inMinisterial meetings, during which they decide on Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) strategies, budgetand programme. It is therefore an important point of reference for the Mediterranean Blue Economy.The Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development 2016-25 provides a strategic policy frameworkfor all stakeholders and partners to adapt the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to the regional, subregional, and national levels, securing a sustainable future for the Mediterranean region consistent withthe SDG. The MSSD is based on the principle that socio-economic development needs to be harmonizedwith the environment and protection of natural resources. It addresses key areas of the marine andcoastal environments impacted by human activity, using an ecosystem-based approach and planning toolssuch as Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM).94Sustainable Development Goal 14: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg14General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM): ategy/en/6 European Commission – Blue Growth: https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/policy/blue growth en7 The Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD) 2016-2025: sustainable-development-mssd-2016-20258 Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, the European Community, France, Greece, Israel, Italy,Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey.9 UNEP, MAP (2016), The Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD) 2016-202556 Blue economy in the Mediterranean

The UfM Ministers gathered in Brussels in November 2015 to promote the Blue Economy, agreed on “theneed for the Mediterranean region to make the best use of the potential of the blue economy, to promotegrowth, jobs and investments and reduce poverty, whilst safeguarding healthy seas and developing a clearvision for the sustainable and integrated development of marine and maritime sectors at national and seabasin level”, while recognizing “the need to ensure that the policies and actions required to promote theblue economy are clearly identified as priorities and reflected as far as appropriate in nationalstrategies”10.1.3. Sectors overviewThe state of the Blue Economy (BE) in the Mediterranean is analysed for the following economic sectorswhich economic value is mainly based or supported by marine natural ecosystems and maritimeresources: Tourism (coastal)Fisheries and AquacultureMaritime Transport and Port activitiesShipbuilding and RecyclingEnergy (offshore)BioprospectingDeep-sea MiningCompared to the other sectors of the Blue Economy (BE), tourism in coastal areas has by far the highestGross Value Added11 (83% of the total EUR 169 bn BE GVA) and the highest employment (79% of the total4.2 million BE jobs) as shown in the figures below:Figure 1: Distribution of the main socioeconomic indicators of Blue Economy sectors (Plan Bleu, 2014)10EU, UfM, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (2015), Union for the Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on Blue ds/2015/11/2015-11-17-declaration-on-blue-economy en.pdf11 Gross Value Added (GVA): value of the amount of goods and services that have been produced, less the cost of all inputs andraw materials that are directly attributable to that production.Union for the Mediterranean 7