Transitioning to a Sustainable Blue Economy: A Practical Framework

This framework provides practical guidance to help countries advance a sustainable, regenerative, and equitable blue economy while supporting implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and international commitments on climate, biodiversity, and pollution. It enables governments to assess governance systems, ecosystems, and resources; identify priority actions; and establish practical pathways for transition. Four goals guide the framework: protecting and restoring healthy ecosystems, promoting equity and inclusion, strengthening climate resilience and stability, and advancing circular economy approaches while reducing pollution and waste. A systems-based approach emphasises coordination across connected landscapes and seascapes, stakeholder participation, policy coherence, gender equality, social inclusion, and alignment of public and private finance with sustainable development objectives. The framework is structured around three phases: understanding the system, setting vision and direction, and delivering the transition through integrated management, spatial planning, and evidence-based decision-making. A rapid readiness assessment supports governments in evaluating policies, institutions, capacities, and financing arrangements, identifying gaps and priorities, and developing nationally owned transition pathways. Monitoring, evaluation, and learning enables governments to track progress, assess social, economic, and environmental outcomes, understand trade-offs, and adapt policies and actions over time. Nature-based solutions are central, with ecosystem protection, conservation, and restoration supporting climate resilience, biodiversity, food security, disaster risk reduction, and livelihoods.