Healthy seas and oceans are drivers for national economies and hold great potential for innovation and sustainable growth. An increasing number of countries around the world are moving towards a more structured approach and cross-border/international collaboration on maritime policies and the development of the blue economy.
The Blue Economy (BE) refers to established and emerging marine and maritime activities such as maritime transport and port operations, shipbuilding and ship repair, fisheries, aquaculture, maritime and coastal tourism, off-shore wind, tidal and wave energy, marine biotechnology, marine protection and environmental monitoring, etc.
The “Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Ministerial Declaration on BE” was a milestone in the history of advancing Blue Economy in the Mediterranean; the ministerial document signed by 43 countries gave the political mandate to improve maritime governance and provide guidance to create an environment conducive to job creation, innovation and knowledge-based business opportunities at national and sea basin level, whilst safeguarding healthy seas and developing a clear vision for the sustainable and integrated development of marine and maritime sectors.
The UfM Working Group on Blue Economy was established to bring together the Mediterranean countries to exchange information, views and best practices; create synergies among current initiatives and provide input to future actions and possible sea basin approaches/maritime strategies. In parallel, the Mediterranean Blue Economy Stakeholder Platform (MedBESP) was set up as a networking mechanism and information sharing tool for blue economy stakeholders active in the Mediterranean region.
Funded by the EU and managed by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) since April 2017, the MedBESP is as a one-stop shop/online web portal allowing for the consolidation and sharing of general, technical and sectoral information related to marine and maritime affairs in the Mediterranean. It compiles the most relevant maritime and marine projects, programs, initiatives and knowledge resources across the Mediterranean and beyond.
Now through a more user-friendly interface, the MedBESP allows to identify projects, initiatives and stakeholders relevant to Blue Economy and related maritime topics in the Mediterranean.
One of its main objectives is to gather the Mediterranean Blue Economy Community and ensure that registered users can submit information on their projects and initiatives in order to improve, coordinate, disseminate and widen the impact of their activities and to extend their network as well as to open opportunities for new partnerships. Among others, the platform facilitates contacts between existing education networks, exchange information including pedagogic tools and serve as an interface for mobility programs.
Joining the Blue Economy Community of the MedBESP as an Initiative (programmes, projects and initiatives) or as Stakeholder (organisations and individual experts/consultants) will enable you to exchange knowledge and views, know who does what, extend your network, contact partners, build operational partnerships and widen the impact of your action on blue economy.
If you are an expert and are involved in an initiative, project or program in the blue economy sector, or you are simply interested in blue economy, we invite you to visit the Mediterranean Blue Economy Stakeholder Platform to stay tuned on the latest news on the blue economy in the Mediterranean region.
For further information, please contact blueconomy@ufmsecretariat.org
