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The blue economy, comprising coastal and marine resources, offers vast benefits for sub-Saharan Africa: of the 53 countries and territories in the region, 32 are coastal states; there are 13 million sq km of maritime zones; more than 90% of the region's exports and imports come by sea; and the African Union hails the blue economy as the 'new frontier of African renaissance'.
Despite their importance, the region's coastal and marine resources have been neither fully appreciated nor fully utilized. They are only now being recognized as being key to Africa's potential prosperity. As the region grows, it has, in general, not taken adequate safeguards to protect these valuable resources. That is partly because some of the problems (pollution, for example) are regional and know no borders. All too often, short-term gains are made at the expense of the long term (overfishing, for example).
This book provides, for the first time, a study of the constraints and opportunities the blue economy offers for sub-Saharan Africa. It includes an introduction and overview; sectoral analyses (including tourism, fisheries, mineral resources, culture, shipping and maritime safety); country case studies; and analyses of regional and international efforts towards better coastal zone and marine management.
List of contents
Foreword by The Honorable Vincent Meriton, Former Vice-President of Seychelles
Acknowledgements
The Editor and Contributors
Introduction: The Blue Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa
Donald L. Sparks
Part I: Elements of the Blue Economy
1 Culture, Communities and Society
Thean Potgieter
- Tourism, Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Threats
Angela M. Lamptey
- Fisheries and Aquaculture in the West Indian Ocean States
Erika Techera and Abdi Fatah Hassan
- Coastal and Offshore Energy and Mineral Resources
Vivian Louis Forbes
- Maritime Safety and Security
Jade Lindley
- Ports, Shipping and Transportation
Vivian Louis Forbes
Part II: Country Case Studies
- South Africa: The Blue Economy Experience
Thean Potgieter
- From Concept to Practice: The Blue Economy in Seychelles
Dominique Benzaken and Kelly Hoareau
- Managing the Blue Economy: A Case Study of Tanzania
Francis Mwaijande
Part III: Financing, Measuring and Governing the Blue Economy
- Innovative Financing for Africa’s Blue Economy
Torsten Thiele
- Measuring the Blue Economy
Charles Colgan, Vivian Louis Forbes and Iddi Mwanyoka
- International Ocean Governance as a Necessary Backdrop to Developing Africa’s Blue Economy
Nick J. Hardman-Mountford, Jeff A. Ardron, Rosemarie Cadogan, Chilenye Nwapi, Alison Swaddling
- Making the Blue Economy Happen
Clever Mafuta
Afterword: What is Possible? What is Likely?
Donald L. Sparks
About the author
Donald L. Sparks, PhD, is Emeritus Professor of International Economics at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, and a university lecturer in International Business at the Management Center Innsbruck, Austria.
Summary
The book provides a study of the constraints and opportunities the blue economy offers for sub-Saharan Africa. Including sectoral analyses (including tourism, fisheries, mineral resources, shipping and maritime safety); country case studies; and analyses of regional and international efforts towards better coastal zone and marine management.
