Kwabena Adu Koranteng writes on The Impact of Blue Economy on Wealth Creation and Poverty Eradication in Ghana

The concept of developing Ghana’s blue economy to enhance livelihoods and human development especially in coastal communities has been acknowledged by economic experts as one of the key factors in wealth creation and poverty eradication.

The level of poverty in coastal communities has been exacerbated by illiteracy, ignorance, poor infrastructural development, illegal fishing, and abuse of human rights and influx of illegal foreign fishing vessels as well as poor regulation of the fisheries sector among others.

Low level of investments in the fisheries sector and lack of political will to develop the sector has impacted negatively on livelihoods and even state revenue and encouraged illegal fishing by foreign forces in Ghana’s marine waters.  Aside these challenges, the government and state agencies as well as stakeholders look on as people pollute our beaches with human excreta, refuse, and others pollutants making it difficult to attract tourists in some coastal areas and in effect depriving the state of some earnings from tourism

Just imagine that in the 21^st century, Ghanaian fishermen still use wooden canoes and wooden boats to undertake fishing expeditions when other African countries have developed more rugged and advanced technological boats with fibre and metals

In today’s world, the four main materials used for building boats, are steel, aluminum, fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP), and polyethylene.

Fiberglass boats tend to weigh more, so they generally have better sea keeping abilities and more stability than aluminum boats. Their higher weight means fiberglass boats don’t get easily buffeted by the wind, so they tend to drift slower and more predictably (a trait important to anglers, in particular).

The “Blue Economy” refers to the sustainable use of coastal and marine natural resources for economic growth and improved livelihoods and jobs while maintaining the integrity and health of coastal and marine ecosystems

With the right structures put in place and adequate investments, Ghana could earn more than one 10 billion dollars a years from the Blue Economy as it will help in ending fish import and promoting tourism.

The good news is that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President of Ghana acknowledged the significance of the blue economy in the 2024 manifesto of the ruling government, that’s the New Patriotic Party.

According to the Vice president, the preservation of marine and freshwater environments is essential for the growth of Ghana’s economy.

Speaking at the 3rd Conference on Fisheries and Coastal Environment at the University of Cape Coast, on Monday, November 6, Dr Bawumia disclosed that the government has sanctioned a $150 million World Bank loan to combat coastal degradation.

He said the loan will fund various projects, including the advancement of sustainable fishing and aquaculture practices, as well as the promotion of blue tourism and other economic activities related to the marine sector.

“The government has approved a loan of $150 million from the World Bank for the West Africa coastal area programme to stem the tide of coastal degradation occurring in our coastal areas.”

Dr. Bawumia highlighted the government’s dedication to collaborating with the private sector for the development of the blue economy. He mentioned incentives like tax exemptions and access to funding that have been established to attract private investment in this sector.

He emphasized that the blue economy has the potential to generate millions of jobs and yield billions of dollars in revenue for Ghana.

According to the World Bank, oceans represent a significant jurisdictional area and a source of opportunity in some low middle income countries. In some of these countries innovation and growth in the coastal, marine and maritime sectors could deliver food, energy, transport, among other products and services and serve as a foundation for sustainable development.

Diversifying countries’ economies beyond land based activities and along their coasts is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and delivering smart, sustainable and inclusive growth globally.

In Europe for example, the blue economy represents roughly 5.4 million jobs and generates a gross added value of almost €500 billion a year.

Fish contributes over 16 percent of the animal protein consumed by the world’s population and 6.5 percent of all protein consumed, with 1 billion people relying on this source of protein. Fish is also a particularly critical source of nutrition. Even in small quantities, provision of fish can be effective in addressing food and nutritional security among the poor and vulnerable populations around the globe.

Livelihoods:

FAO estimates that fishers, fish farmers and those supplying services and goods to related industries assure the livelihoods of as many as 660–820 million people worldwide. In addition, women play a critical role in fishery supply chains – it is estimated that women account for 15 percent of people directly engaged in fisheries and up to 90 percent of jobs in secondary activities (particularly in fish processing, whether in the formal or informal sector). Oceans and coasts also form the foundation for extensive employment in tourism – one of the top five industries in most small island states.

Mitigation of climate change:

Oceans constitute a major sink for anthropogenic emissions, absorbing 25 percent of the extra CO2 added to Earth’s atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. ‘Blue carbon’ sinks like mangrove forests, sea grass beds and other vegetated ocean habitats are up to five times as effective as tropical forests at sequestering carbon. Homes and shelter: Roughly 40 percent of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast.

Healthy coastal ecosystems provide protection from natural hazards, coastal erosion and rising sea levels particularly in small island developing states (SIDS) and low-lying, exposed delta regions. Sustainable economic growth: A large number of developing coastal and island nations depend on tourism and fisheries for a significant part of their gross domestic product and public revenues.

Aquaculture is projected to continue to grow rapidly and if done sustainably, can serve as a major source of food and a cornerstone of the blue economy. Advances in seaweed production hold promise for replacing fishmeal and animal feeds with plant materials produced with less pollution. Tourism, and particularly nature-based tourism, also provides an important path towards the sustainable development of marine and coastal ecosystems. Coastal tourism is a key component of small island state economies. The value of nature-based tourism is expected to increase over time as the supply of pristine natural assets declines while demand, which seems impervious to economic shocks, increases with rising GDPs.

 Trade:

Seafood is the most highly valued internationally traded food commodity in the world, with 36 percent of all fish produced exported in 2013-2014. At US$139 billion in 2013, the export value of fish is more than double that of the next most traded commodity – soybeans. More than half of the fish trade originated from the waters of developing countries. Challenges undermining the blue economy.

The potential to grow the blue economy is limited by a series of challenges. For much of human history, aquatic ecosystems have been viewed and treated as limitless resources and largely cost-free repositories of waste. These resources, however, are far from limitless and we are increasingly seeing the impacts of this approach. The narrow coastal interface is oversubscribed by myriad sectors, and increasingly impacted by climate change. Rising demand, ineffective governance institutions, inadequate economic incentives, technological advances and insufficient management tools have led to inefficiently regulated or unregulated competition among users. This in turn has resulted in excessive use, and in some cases irreversible change, of valuable aquatic resources and coastal areas. In this increasingly competitive space, the interests of those most dependent and vulnerable (for example smallscale artisanal fishers) are often marginalized. Most significant human impacts have been from:

Overfishing as a result of technological improvements coupled with poorly managed access to fish stocks and rising demand. The FAO estimates that approximately 57 percent of fish stocks are fully exploited and another 30 percent are over-exploited, depleted or recovering. Fish stocks are further exploited by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, responsible for roughly 11 to 26 million tons of fish catches annually, or US$10-22 billion in unlawful or undocumented revenue.

Habitat degradation due largely to coastal development, deforestation, mining, and unsustainable fishing practices as well as pollution, in the form of excess nutrients from untreated sewerage, agricultural run-off and marine debris such as plastics. Coastal erosion also destroys infrastructure and livelihoods.