Choukroune, L.

Kirabira, T.

Yuan, H.

English

UEL Research Repository at University of East London

Africa’s Blue Economy: What Rolefor Social Sustainability?By:Leïla ChoukrouneTonny KirabiraHe YuanApril 29, 2024The Blue Gold for Africa? Joining the new global rush for “Blue Gold” Uganda, a landlocked country,recently adopted its national blue economy strategy prepared with the supportof the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa (IGAD). FromSouth Africa to Kenya or Cameroun, African countries, -as most States andregions around the world-, are encouraged to design Blue Economyframeworks, and other implementation toolkits, to grasp the economicopportunities offered by the extraordinary resources of oceans, seas, rivers,and lakes. As for Uganda, the Blue Economy concept is now extended farbeyond the Oceans to cover all fresh waters as well as ground waters andassociated resources. The African Union (AU) developed its Blue EconomyStrategy from 2018 to guide sustainable development and the utilization ofaquatic resources in the continent. It was endorsed, in October 2019, and isPage 1 of 3referred to in the strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation ofAfrica over the next 50 years, the ambitious Africa 2063. Promoted as the newgold for Africa, the Blue Economy is presented by the United Nations EconomicCommission for Africa as a tool for “both coastal and land-locked States” to“harness opportunities, which could yield mutual benefits, including theprovision of efficient and coordinated services to each other as well as accessto resources”. Whilst the Blue Economy might provide new sources of growth for Africancommunities, it could also only generate very few shared benefits and widenexisting inequalities. As often in the developing world indeed, new conceptssuch as the Blue Economy are mostly exported by international organisations,economically more advanced donors and other consultants. These importedideas and norms are not always suited to more complex local realities whentransferred without adequate tools and time. The African Union itself isconscious of these many challenges, which are alluded to in its strategy: “mostcoastal and lake communities in Africa are poor, less educated, lack capacityand are impoverished, having few rights of tenure over resources of theirlivelihoods and often excluded from the decision-making process”. As a matterof fact, the Blue Economy might not live up to its promises if socialsustainability is not integrated in the great African development plans. Social Sustainability, the often Forgotten yet Central Element ofSustainability Mainstream environmental and economic approaches to sustainability tend toforget its key third pillar: social sustainability. Social sustainability (andinclusion), formerly referred to by the World Bank as “social development” canbe seen as an umbrella concept to achieve inclusive and resilient societiesbased on democratic participations, the rule of law, and rights for all, withoutany distinction based on gender, race, ethnicity or religion. In a context ofglobal extreme inequalities, the inclusion of social sustainability is crucial tomeet poverty reduction targets and share the benefits of growth. Socialsustainability can also be defined, as in the United Nations Global Compact,from an accountability angle and target the “identification and management ofbusiness impacts, both positive and negative on people”. The sea, as well asother fresh waters, do not only constitute important sources of growth, but theyPage 2 of 3are also the place of major human right violations. Ghana’s fishers havereported instances of modern slavery treatment on Chinese fishing vessels. Thefishery industry as it remains labour intensive is also the subject of illegallabour practices. African seafarers, now in high demands, are not alwaysoffered decent jobs by an Industry in transition towards more protectiveregulations for its workers as per the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention and thelatest International Labour Organisation Regulations . African women whilstmore involved in the Blue Economy but remain vulnerable to grace humanrights violations. In this context and without a strong focus on social sustainability, thepiecemeal sectoral approach (fisheries, tourism, shipping, transportation, etc.)and essentially environmentally focussed perspective of sustainability chosen inmost Blue Economy national and regional strategies will not contribute to thesustained growth for all promised for “Africa’s renaissance”. Some recentinitiatives are, however, encouraging. For example, the United NationsEconomic Commission for Africa has developed a valuation toolkit to assess theeconomic, environmental but also social aspects of the Blue Economy to betterstrategize their priorities. The latest editions of country’s Blue Economystrategies, such as that of Ethiopia 2020-23 adopt a more holistic approachbased on “circular economy, good governance and environmental and socialsustainability” and include a human rights. In doing so, African countries BlueEconomy strategies and implementation toolkits will contribute to the UnitedNations Common Agenda and, most importantly, generate practical benefits fortheir populations.View online: Africa’s Blue Economy: What Role for Social Sustainability?Provided by AfronomicslawPage 3 of 3

Africa’s Blue Economy: What Role for Social Sustainability?

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Africa’s Blue Economy: What Role for Social Sustainability?

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