14 December 2012: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have launched a joint publication titled “Catalysing Ocean Finance,” on 14 December 2012, in Washington, DC, US. The two-volume publication demonstrates how public investment can reverse declines in global ocean health, scale up ocean planning and policy tools, leverage financial flows and transform ocean markets towards sustainability.

Volume I analyzes three instruments used over the past 20 years to catalyze financial flows: Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA)/Strategic Action Programme (SAP); Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) for Sustainable Development of Coastal Areas (SDCA); and regional or global ocean legal frameworks. It illustrates their application through six case studies: the Danube River/Black Sea; the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (LME); the Rio de Plata/Maritime Front; the Seas of East Asia; the West/Central Pacific Fisheries; and the Global Ballast Water Programme. Chapters include: new paradigms to address drivers of ocean degradation; strategic planning instruments for catalyzing ocean finance; lessons learned; and a roadmap to restore and protect oceans.

Volume II reviews methodologies and tools to create enabling environments to leverage ocean investments through the six cases. Chapters include: applying TDA/SAP in LMEs; ICM; and transforming industries to address global and regional issues, including through legal frameworks. Among other findings, this volume highlights how public and private investments in oceans have influenced ocean industries, such as the tuna fishing and shipping industries, to adopt more sustainable paths.

The report presents seven key lessons, including the importance of: investing in capacity development for ocean policy makers to accelerate policy formulation, and adopt and implement economic and regulatory instruments at all levels; reaching consensus on appropriate instruments among communities, ocean-impacting industries, policy makers and financiers; and dedicating public resources to investment pre-feasibility work during policy analysis and development of market transformation efforts. The report also underscores that correcting market and policy failures through science-based ocean planning and barrier removal can restore and protect coasts and oceans and generate business activity and jobs, providing strong evidence for blue economy. Finally, the report calls for immediate action on key ocean challenges, given the combination of long timeframes to facilitate transformative changes and the geometric pace of ocean degradation. The launch event included a presentation of the publication, an expert panel discussion, and a question-and-answer session. [Event Information] [UNDP Press Release] [Publication: Volume 1: Transforming Markets to Restore and Protect the Global Ocean] [Publication: Volume 2: Methodologies and Case Studies]