Ocean economy needs protection against wave of threats: OECD

The ocean economy doubled between 1995 and 2020, but future growth could be curtailed by multiple threats.

The global ocean economy is at risk of major disruption without increased protection, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The global ocean economy had grown to a size of $2.3 trillion by 2020, the OECD said in a report issued on Monday, as it called for action to improve sustainability.

Climate change, environmental degradation, lagging productivity, and slow digital transformation are intensifying pressures on marine ecosystems and economic potential, the report warns.

The oceans provide food security for more than three billion people, facilitate the transportation of 80 percent of global goods, and are home to cables that carry 98 percent of international internet traffic, the OECD notes.

From 1996 to 2020, the world’s ocean economy doubled in size, contributing to between three and four percent of total global gross domestic product (GDP). Tourism and offshore oil and gas generated almost two-thirds of that output during those years. Fishing and maritime trade were also important drivers of growth.

“If considered a country, the ocean economy would be the world’s fifth-largest economy in 2019,” the OECD said, highlighting that the blue economy supports more than 100 million full-time jobs.

Beachgoers dip in the Atlantic Ocean at Hollywood Beach, Florida, the United States [File: Wilfredo Lee/AP]

Published ahead of a high-level summit in Paris, the report adds that if historical trends continue, the ocean economy “could be nearly four times larger by 2050 than in 1995”.

However, sustaining this growth will require policy measures, it warns.

‘Further action needed’

Oceans are struggling under the pressure of human population growth, increased environmental degradation, and increased territorial disputes, the OECD worries.

Elsewhere, the growth of illegal activities has given rise to a “dark ocean economy”.

“Further action is needed” to foster international cooperation and governance mechanisms to ensure a productive and sustainable economy, the report declares.

“Through science-based policy, improved management of marine spaces, and innovative digital solutions, we can protect the jobs, livelihoods, and food security of hundreds of millions of people who depend on the ocean” OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said.

The report comes as the world’s oceans suffer a crisis of pollution, overfishing, and record-breaking levels of warmth that have harmed marine life and raised global temperatures.

The United Nations is hosting a major conference in the southern French city of Nice in June to specifically address these challenges and the sustainable use of the world’s oceans.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies