ABSTRACT

The Blue Economy is an emerging framework through which sustainable development is being pursued within the oceans. To date there is limited guidance into how a Blue Economy should be enacted. We propose four initial steps in the development of Blue Economy policies and plans. Firstly, we argue for early deliberation over what is meant by the Blue Economy within the relevant context. Secondly, consideration of the sectors that make up a Blue Economy should be articulated. Thirdly, we argue that Blue Economy plans should aim to be coherent within the existing policy framework. Therefore, an assessment is required of the existing policy settings for the relevant marine and coastal sectors, and the degree to which they are already coherent, or ‘mutually consistent’ with each other. Finally, a contextually sensitive and coherent Blue Economy policy can be designed which plugs policy gaps and adds value to the existing situation. We test the application of these four steps in two different case study areas, a region of Australia and Timor Leste. Despite substantial differences in context, the process identified ways in which Blue Economy policies could add value to existing governance arrangements in both settings.

摘要

蓝色经济是一个新兴的框架，通过它可以在海洋中追求可持续发展。迄今为止，关于如何制定蓝色经济的指导还很有限。我们提出了制定“蓝色经济”政策和计划的四个初始步骤。首先，我们主张在相关背景下就“蓝色经济”的含义进行早期审议。第二，应该明确考虑构成蓝色经济的部门。第三，我们认为“蓝色经济”计划应旨在在现有政策框架内保持一致。因此，需要评估有关海洋和沿海部门的现有政策设置，以及它们之间的连贯性或相互“一致”的程度。最后，可以设计上下文相关且连贯的“蓝色经济”政策，以填补政策空白并为现有情况增加价值。我们在澳大利亚的一个地区和东帝汶的两个不同的案例研究区域中测试了这四个步骤的应用。尽管上下文存在重大差异，但流程仍确定了“蓝色经济”政策可以为两种环境下的现有治理安排增加价值的方式。