3 April 2016: With the launch of a policy handbook during African Development Week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is encouraging countries on the continent to implement “blue economy” policies and to make long-term investments in oceans, lakes and other bodies of water.

Titled ‘Africa’s Blue Economy: A policy handbook,’ the publication provides guidance on designing policies for the sustainable development of many water-related sectors, including marine and freshwater fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, transport, shipbuilding, renewable energy, bio-prospecting and underwater mining. Related to the green economy, the blue economy concept seeks to maintain the productivity of freshwater and ocean ecosystems through an integrated, holistic and participatory approach. The handbook is aimed at supporting the work of the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) and the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC), which are initiatives of the ECA, African Union and partners.

GRID-Arendal, a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) collaborating center, developed the handbook based on the “Book Sprint” method, which is a facilitated process through which contributors with a range of expertise and perspectives come together to write a book collaboratively.

The ECA highlighted the importance of water resources to African countries, noting that 38 of the 54 African nations are coastal states, more than 90% of the continent’s imports and exports are conducted by sea, and freshwater and ocean fish support the food and nutritional security of more than 200 million Africans.

The handbook outlines a step-by-step approach to mainstreaming blue economy policies into national development planning. It recommends managing water resources as “development spaces,” noting that challenges include such threats as piracy, trafficking of people, narcotics and weapons, and unsustainable fishing practices. It offers many examples of blue economy-focused policies and practice, such as the establishment of an association for small-scale women oyster harvesters in The Gambia, and projects that generate “blue carbon” credits from carbon sequestration through the sustainable management of mangroves in Kenya and Madagascar.

Speaking at the launch, Antonio Pedro and Kaiser Gonçalves de Souza of ECA encouraged African countries to explore opportunities in developing offshore oil and gas, and seabed mining for precious metals and minerals. [ECA Press Release] [GRID-Arendal Press Release] [Publication: Africa’s Blue Economy: A Policy Handbook]