9 Challenges to Building a Sustainable Blue Economy

There are a number of challenges that need to be overcome to achieve environmental sustainability and build the blue economy (BE). Many of these challenges will be addressing in more detail. These include:

• Biodiversity degradation
• Pollution impact
• Impacts of climate change
• Feeding the planet
• Ocean equity
• The poverty-environment nexus
• Maintaining maritime sovereignty, safety and security

Biodiversity degradation

The diversity of life in the oceans, marine biodiversity, is declining globally at an alarming rate (Lotze et al., 2019; Worm et al., 2006), driven by multiple interacting anthropogenic stressors (including habitat destruction, pollution, anthropogenic climate change impacts, overexploitation), which are degrading marine ecosystem function, shifting species’ distributions, and initiating the formation of novel ecosystems with unknown characteristics and services (e.g. Harborne & Mumby, 2011; Pecl et al., 2017). These losses threaten the wellbeing and survival of much (arguably all) of humankind that fundamentally depends on the many services provided by marine biodiversity and ecosystems, including climate regulation, coastal protection, food and medicinal products, recreational activities, and livelihoods (Peterson & Lubchenco, 1997; Selig et al., 2018).

‘Close-up of Seaweed in Tidal Pool, Victoria Coast’ by deep Bhullar used under a Pexels License

These ecosystems also possess unique, often intangible, inherent values making them crucial to the health and wellbeing of peoples around the world. As such, safeguarding marine biodiversity and ecosystem function into the future is a task of critical importance. The challenge is to conserve existing biodiversity, while increasing the capacity to forecast ecological trajectories and future ecosystem states to inform sustainable management long-term (Cheung, 2019). Ecological forecasts are needed for developing adaptation strategies to guide ecosystems towards states that support a high diversity of functions and species. Stemming the rate of biodiversity loss at all levels – including genetic, taxonomic, community, ecosystem, and functional diversity – will leave marine species and ecosystems with a wider breadth of adaptive pathways, thus increasing the likelihood of resilience, rather than extinction, in future seas.

Pollution impact

Marine and coastal pollution is a global issue and has led to biodiversity decline and human health implications. The rate at which an increasing population is polluting marine and coastal environments is increasing, resulting in further damage to ocean ecosystems (Willis et al., 2021). Pollution impacts include impact to biodiversity, livelihoods, food security, marine navigation, and wellbeing (Krushelnytska 2018). Impacts of climate change such as increased ocean temperatures, severe weather events, and ocean acidification adds additional stressors to already polluted environments. Multiple stressors to the marine environment can additive or synergistic leading to greater impact than one stressor alone.

‘A Boat Sailing on the River Near Industrial Plantation’ by Gaynor Mullen used under a Pexels License

Contaminants in the marine environment come from a number of sources including to following point and non-point sources:

• Wastewater from industry and municipal sewage at various levels of treatment which can include pharmaceuticals, metals, excess nutrients, persistent organic pollutants (POP)
• Contaminants form agriculture which runoff from land into waterways including pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers, livestock waste
• Urban runoff including oils, metals, plastics, and litter which enter the coastal environment through stormwater drains and runoff into waterways
• Marine industries such as shipping, offshore oil and gas, fisheries and aquaculture can result in direct input of contaminants such as untreated ballast water (including introduced species), oil, nutrients, antibiotics, and discarded fishing materials such as netting and line
• Atmospheric deposition through industries where highly volatile, light, small compounds can be transported in the atmosphere via the grasshopper effect to the poles and are often POPs

Climate change impacts

Anthropogenic climate change has led to increasing atmospheric and oceanic carbon dioxide concentrations through greenhouse gas emissions, habitat degradation and clearing of land impacting marine habitats that provide a huge blue carbon sink including mangrove and salt-marsh.

A number of areas around the world, including Australia, are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability and human-induced climate change. We are already experiencing impacts across the Australian economy, society and environment, and these are likely to be even greater in the future.

‘Crop woman with burning globe in hands’ by ArtHouse Studio used under a Pexels License

In the marine environment impacts include sea level rise, coral bleaching events, acidification, tropical cyclone frequency and intensity, changes in freshwater run-off, invasive marine species, ocean warming, extreme events and changes in hydrological cycles, and ocean circulation. For example, around 250,000 Australian homes, roads, rail, ports, airports, water and wastewater services, energy and communications infrastructure, public assets and commercial assets are vulnerable to a 1.1 metre sea level rise by 2100 (Steffen, Hunter & Hughes, 2014). The estimated sum at risk is $226 billion.

Other sectors at risk of sea level and sea temperature rises include aquaculture and fisheries industries, worth about $2.23 billion, and the Great Barrier Reef, which contributes $5.7 billion to the Australian economy each year, most of it derived from tourism (Deloitte Access Economics, 2013).

Coral bleaching will also see a loss of biodiversity and degradation of fish stocks, increasing the risk to food security in the Australasian region. The range of affected stakeholders is wide. These include the defence forces, tourism, agriculture, offshore oil and gas and renewable energy industries, coastal planning, marine parks and regulatory authorities, international nongovernment organisations, and international, national, state and local governments.

Feeding the planet

As the global population increases, so too does the need to find a sufficient sustainable food supply to feed the planet. The ocean has a huge potential to contribute to sustainable development goal 2: no hunger, by providing food and nutrition to communities who currently don’t have access to sufficient food resources.

‘Queen Victoria Market Meat & Fish Hall’ by Wpcpey is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

However, there are a number of challenges to achieve this. These include:

• Poor management leading to over exploited food resources such as fish and invertebrates
• Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing
• Pollution habitat destruction and degradation leading to biodiversity loss
• Social and economic equity issues (the poverty-environment nexus)
• Impacts of climate change
• Aquaculture that utilises wild caught fish as a feed source
• Biosecurity issues including introduced species and pathogens

Ocean equity

Ocean equity refers to the fair and equal distribution of benefits and opportunities relating to the use of the oceans and it’s resources among different stakeholders and equity groups. Stakeholders include Indigenous peoples, the community, industry, and various levels of government. It involves equitable access and use as well as inclusivity in governance an management.

‘Flags on a Paper map of Australia’ by Lara Jameson used under a Pexels License

There are national and international challenges to reach ocean equitability include:

• Inequitable resource allocation and issues with environmental justice
• Conflict between different countries regarding resources
• Conflict or lack of consultation between stakeholders
• Situations where Indigenous custodians and other stakeholders are not consulted and included in management and governance.

Poverty-environment nexus

Poverty and environmental issues are interconnected and entangled in a complex web of human-environment relationships. Poor people often have no alternative but to degrade the environment to meet present needs at the expense of their future benefits. Conversely, environmental degradation tends to exacerbate poverty through deterioration of their livelihoods, income, and health (Kassa, Teferi & Delelegn, 2018). It is a significant paradox that poor people often place the least burden on the environment, while disproportionately shouldering the harmful impacts of a rapidly deteriorating environment (Uitto, 2016; Pelling & Uitto, 2001; Hallegatte, Fay & Barbier, 2018; UNDP-UNEP 2015; Duraiappah, 1998). This poverty–environment nexus is particularly visible in local communities’ interactions with coastal and ocean ecosystems. More than 3 billion people in this world directly depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods, and on the oceans as their primary source of protein (United Nations, 2020). Marine fisheries directly or indirectly employ more than 200 million people globally, and the market value is estimated at US$3 trillion per year.

Utilising a balance of environmental, social, and economic aspects in management will help alleviate the poverty-environment nexus.

Maintaining maritime sovereignty, safety and security

Our marine estate is a vital yet challenging contributor to Australia’s sovereignty, national security and safety. Marine stakeholders, including the shipping industry, coastal managers, port operators, the offshore oil and gas industry, defence, border protection, the aquaculture and fishing industries, tourism, recreational boating, coastal engineers and emergency managers, all require accurate and up-to-date information about sea state, atmospheric conditions and geohazards, to support their multiple uses of the jurisdiction.

‘Bridge Controls of a Yacht’ by rois martin used under a Pexels License

There is a constant need for information at timescales that stretch from hours to weeks—whether it is for industry operations, or for prediction, prevention, mitigation or compliance activities, out at sea or along the coast. Meeting these needs is a constant challenge, but particularly so in the case of extreme weather events which remain poorly understood and a challenge to predict. Their impact is also disproportionately strong, and climate change is predicted to increase the intensity and frequency of some events.

This text is from “National Marine Science Plan “ by National Marine Science Committee  which is licensed under CC BY 3.0