1. Enlarged Meeting of the Bureau of ARLEM
Ramallah
30/6/2019
Report on Blue Economy
Enzo Bianco

2. Blue Economy
Despite the lack of a formal definition, here, Blue Economy is referred to the following sectors:
Coastal tourism (including related urban development and infrastructure, as well as recreational activities and sports).
Food, health and ecosystem services (fisheries, aquaculture, cosmetics).
Energy (oil, gas, renewable energy) and raw materials (salt extraction, marine aggregates extraction).
Transport (incl. shipbuilding and maritime monitoring and surveillance).
Environmental monitoring and protection of maritime areas.
Enlarged Meeting of the Bureau of ARLEM, Report on Blue Economy, Ramallah, 30/6/2019

3. Blue Economy (key figures in 2016)
Turnover: EUR 566 billion (+7.2%).
Gross value added Blue Economy:  EUR billion (+9.7%).
Gross profit:  EUR 95.1 billion (+8.1%).
Gross profit margin: 16.8% (+8.1%).
Employment: 3.5 million (+2%).
1.6% of EU’s total employment.
Net investment: EUR 22.2 billion (+71.7%).
Net investment to GVA: 29% (up from 18% in 2009).
Average  annual salaries: EUR 28.3 thousand (+14.2%).
Blue Economy represents 1.3% of total EU GDP (2016).
Enlarged Meeting of the Bureau of ARLEM, Report on Blue Economy, Ramallah, 30/6/2019

4. Barriers and opportunities
Opportunities are huge, since marine ecosystems covers about 71% of earth surface. Blue economy can be at the same time a great opportunity for occupation and economic development and a great aid for environmental protection.
Main barriers can be classified in three categories:
Data management (numerous and dispersed sources of information, databases and data sets; gaps in broadly available data).
Governance and regulation of Blue Economy (Lack of capacity and resources to manage databases at LRA level; lack of smart decision- making process).
Availability of reliable environmental indicators (marine data are fragmented; data are not harmonized among sectors and among different geographies).
Barriers and opportunities
Enlarged Meeting of the Bureau of ARLEM, Report on Blue Economy, Ramallah, 30/6/2019

5. Definition of economic, social and environmental standards and implementation of a harmonized database of indicators for the above sectors.
Education and capacity building. Promote behavioral changes, in cooperation with relevant stakeholders.
Support to pilot projects to build a database of proof-of-concepts with a full coverage on both sectors and geographies.
Proposed actions
Enlarged Meeting of the Bureau of ARLEM, Report on Blue Economy, Ramallah, 30/6/2019

6. Thanks for your attention!
Enzo Bianco Councillor of Catania
Thanks for your attention!