In Its New Issue, The Ecosystem Review Delves into the Concept of Blue Economy from the Perspective of Regenerative Solutions and New Approaches for the Future of Our Planet

The new issue of the Ecosystem Review, the quarterly publication by TSKB Economic Research, is dedicated to the concept of blue economy, which is of critical importance for our planet and human life. The publication covers the concept of blue economy in various dimensions such as transportation, tourism and energy. It also elaborates on private sector initiatives offering solutions for the protection and regeneration of marine ecosystems as well as new concepts emerging from international economic relations such as friendshoring and selective protectionism, with columns on the foregoing topics and current developments on the ecosystem agenda. The publication also highlights the need to go beyond the sustainable blue economy approach and to give it a regenerative perspective.

The 16th issue of the Ecosystem Review by TSKB Economic Research comprehensively discusses the protective role of the oceans in the ecosystem as well as blue finance and regenerative approaches with a focus on the concept of blue economy. The publication takes a close look at the impacts of blue economy in transportation, tourism and energy sectors and highlights the key benefits of the oceans, which serve various areas such as fisheries, trade and marine biotechnology, as well as absorbing heat from the atmosphere, acting as carbon sinks and maintaining marine biodiversity.

The Ecosystem Review also examines the role of blue bonds in financing the blue economy and the concept of debt-for-nature swaps. The latest issue offers crucial insights into the future of sustainability and financing. It also details private sector initiatives to protect marine ecosystems as well as new concepts in international economic relations and current developments, all from an ecosystem perspective.

The Ecosystem Review shares the need to bring a regenerative perspective to the concept of blue finance, defined by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as financing and refinancing activities that contribute to the protection of oceans and the improvement of water management. It also states that the regenerative blue economy approach puts 'blue natural capital' at the heart of the matter.

Here are key highlights from the 16th issue of the Ecosystem Review:

• Ocean transportation is responsible for more than 70% of the global transportation of raw materials, finished products, energy and food. 
• Efforts to eliminate the negative impacts of maritime transportation on marine ecosystems, particularly emissions, other wastes and noise pollution at sea, are critical as the sector is expected to quadruple in size by 2050. 
• Population pressure from coastal migration, rising sea levels, degradation of coastal ecosystems due to anthropogenic wastes and other activities, and extreme weather events are among the major risk factors for the tourism sector, which employs 1 in 11 people globally and is responsible for 9.1% of global gross domestic product (GDP) as of 2023.
• According to the European Commission, coastal floods have caused an annual loss of 1.64 billion dollars in small island developing states as of 2020.
• The renewable energy sector is a rather new sector of the blue economy as compared to tourism, transportation and fishing, but it is growing rapidly. 
• The importance of the sector as part of the blue economy concept requires consideration of the impact of new offshore wind power plants on marine and ocean ecosystems.
• The ocean economy is expected to be worth 3 trillion dollars and employ around 40 million people by 2030. In financing the ocean economy, blue bonds are used in multiple ocean-related areas such as sustainable water management, ocean conservation activities, ports, tourism and fisheries. 
• By the first quarter of 2024, the bond market for water projects reached a share of approximately 7.2 billion dollars out of the 4-trillion-dollar green bond market. Bloomberg reports that a total of 53 blue bonds have been issued since 2018, ranging in size from 12.8 million dollars to 750 million dollars, almost half of which were issued by China-based organizations.
• As global economic competition continues apace, countries are moving in new directions in terms of trade and industrial policies, leading to the emergence of new concepts. One of the latest examples of these concepts is ‘friendshoring’.

The Ecosystem Review is available for access in here.