BEIJING: Our planet has about 70 percent of its surface area covered with water. Yet marine ecological and environmental governance is still relatively new to most countries, notably the developing Global South.
Parallel to this, the blue economy–an emerging concept that the World Bank defines as the “sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem”–has begun to capture the attention of many economists and political actors.
The list of components has been growing from the established traditional ocean industries like fisheries, tourism, and maritime transport, to emerging sectors such as offshore renewable energy, aquaculture, seabed extractive activities, marine biotechnology and bioprospecting. Meanwhile, concerns of waste management, sustainability of ocean life and impact on climate change have been called into questions as the blue economy grows.
Under the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s Blue Growth Initiative, sustainable development is given due emphasis in economic, environmental and social dimensions. In this regard, the establishment of the China-ASEAN partnership on blue economy provides a good platform for bilateral fishery cooperation.
–The Daily Mail-Beijing Review news exchange item
