Blue Economy: Sharing Success Stories to Inspire Change

Blue Economy

Sharing Success Stories to Inspire Change

patterns of consumption and production, a strong dependence on natural resources, as well as inefficient policies or market signals for improving the adoption of green principles in economic development. Despite being a relatively new concept launched by UNEP, the Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication has attracted much attention from the international community at a time when the financial crisis is seriously affecting socioeconomic development. A Green Economy – referred to as a Blue Economy when applied to the coastal, marine and maritime sectors of the Mediterranean – is one that promotes sustainable development while improving human wellbeing and social equity, and significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. 13 The Thematic Working Group (TWG) devoted to this priority objective focuses on defining Strategic Directions (SDs) for achieving a resilient, low carbon, resource-efficient and socially-inclusive economic development in the region. The TWG gathered information through online consultations and participatory 13. At theWorld Summit Rio+20, therewas an acknowledgement that governments should renew their commitment to shift towards Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) with the adoption of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on SCP patterns (10YFP). Furthermore, negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda, and on the associated SDGs, indicate that there is a strong interest in embedding the objective of SCP in both.

workshops between June and December 2014. Six Strategic Directions have been identified with the aim of ‘creating green and decent jobs for all, particularly youth and women, to eradicate poverty and enhance social inclusion (SD1); Reviewing the definitions and measurement of development, progress and wellbeing (SD2); Promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns (SD3); Encouraging environmentally-friendly and social innovation (SD4); Promoting the integration of sustainability principles and criteria into decision-making on public and private investment (SD5); Ensuring a greener and more inclusive market that integrates the true environmental and social cost of products and services to reduce social and environmental externalities (SD6). 14 Enabling Conditions The MSSD Review is closely linked to the preparation of the “the Sustainable Consumption and Production Action Plan for the Mediterranean” (SCP Action Plan). The 22 Contracting Parties of the Barcelona Convention already recognized the importance of switching to more sustainable patterns of production and consumption in order to achieve sustainable development in the Mediterranean. In December 2013, during the COP 18 of the Barcelona Convention, the parties requested the UNEP/MAP Secretariat to prepare, with the support of the SCP/RAC, 15 a SCP Action Plan for the Mediterranean, addressing the region’s common priorities for sustainable development, including pollution reduction; and identifying SCP actions and tools

14. Revised draft of the MSSD – April 2015. 15. www.cprac.org/en/about-us/scp/rac

14