Rethinking the blue economy: sustainability, equity and ocean futures
As the global demand for marine resources accelerates, oceans, coasts, and inland waters are being severely impacted by the growing effects of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. These challenges are not only environmental, but also profoundly economic and social, especially for developing countries and small island developing states (SIDS). Ocean-based sectors are essential to economic resilience, food security, and cultural identity for many of these nations. Yet, they are also the most vulnerable to ecosystem degradation and climate disruptions.
The “blue economy” is broadly understood as the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and ecosystem health. Although the term has gained growing recognition recently, it remains an evolving and contested concept. Competing definitions emphasise priorities, ranging from decarbonisation and technological innovation to ecosystem restoration, equity, and ocean governance. As ocean-based industries, ranging from offshore energy to aquaculture, rapidly expand, the need to align economic ambition with ecological limits and social justice becomes ever more pressing.
This Collection seeks contributions that critically engage with the blue economy as both a policy agenda and a field of practice. We invite papers that interrogate its conceptual foundations, assess its implementation, and explore its implications across political, ecological and economic domains.
We invite submissions on topics including, but not limited to:
- The blue economy in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (especially SDG 14: Life Below Water)
- Ocean governance, legal pluralism, and institutional fragmentation
- Marine spatial planning, environmental impact and regulation
- Emerging ocean-based energy systems (e.g., offshore wind, ocean thermal, floating solar, and hybrid systems) and their intersections with other ocean industries (e.g., aquaculture, seabed mining, marine industrial infrastructure) and coastal sectors that rely on marine resources (e.g., desalination, coastal tourism, and land-based processing facilities)
- Climate resilience, adaptation, and nature-based solutions in coastal and island contexts
- Blue finance, ocean insurance, and the political economy of investment risk
- The geopolitics of marine resources and implications of the High Seas Treaty
- Indigenous and local knowledge systems, coastal livelihoods, and equity frameworks
- Evolving legal regimes, including UNCLOS, PSMA, IMO regulations
- Case studies of national and regional blue economy strategies, roadmaps, and contestations
Submissions should be conceptually grounded and methodologically rigorous, offering fresh insights into the transition toward sustainable ocean futures. Interdisciplinary perspectives, including environmental economics, marine policy, oceanography, international law, political ecology and critical geography are strongly encouraged.
