Harnessing the Blue Economy
The oceans cover nearly 70 per cent of earth surface and possess enormous potential to support human activity. Nearly 90 per cent of trade by volume, and 70 per cent by value is transported over the seas. The oceans are rich in living and non-living resources: about 30 per cent of the supply of hydrocarbons sourced from the oceans and seas can generate wind, wave, tidal, thermal and biomass energy. Besides, it is also a major supply of food and an avenue of livelihoods: a number of industries such as fishery, tourism, ports, shipping, and ship building are dependent on it. At another level, nearly 60 per cent of the global population lives within 100 kilometres of the coast, and oceans contribute through resources and augment the services sector. The above indicators are a good example of the economic value of the seas whose potential has, in recent times, come to be labelled as the Blue Economy.Gunter Pauli was the first to propound the idea of a Blue Economy in 2010, and published a book1 wherein he argued that the focus should shift from identifying the problems to finding solutions. In 2012, during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in Rio de Janeiro (also called as 'Rio +20'), the participating countries agreed to advance the concept of the Green Economy for 'sustainable development and poverty eradication'. However, the island states questioned the relevance and applicability of the Green Economy, which led them to argue that 'the world's Oceans and Seas require more in depth attention and coordinated action'.2 Further, the UNDESA expert group meeting on Oceans, Seas and Sustainable Development, the work of the Global Ocean Commission, the Global Partnership for Oceans, and the UN five-year Action Agenda 2012-2016 had provided requisite prominence to the oceans and the seas.3 Meanwhile, the UN has expanded the mandate of the UNCLOS and begun to address sea spaces beyond national jurisdiction, and has also called for an 'intergovernmental conference aimed at drafting a legally binding treaty to conserve marine life and govern the mostly lawless high seas beyond national jurisdiction'.4The concept of the Blue Economy is currently resonating among a number of countries across the world, and also finding reference in the national agenda for the post-2015 Development Agenda, in actions plans for the sustainable development of resources, climate change and environment discourses, and in plans for enhancing wellbeing, and poverty alleviation among the people through job creation. Several countries have announced national initiatives and action plans to promote the Blue Economy.In 2012, the European Union announced its 'Blue Growth' strategy for sustainable development of marine and maritime sectors to contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.5 A number of multilateral institutions such as the APEC, East Asia Summit (EAS), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) have highlighted the Blue Economy, as well as encouraged multilateral approaches, identified and developed cooperative strategies and actions plans, and moved towards sustainable development of marine resources.6 However, China can be credited to be the forerunner in this, and has established Five-Year Development Plan for National Marine Economy which monitors the progress of various marine sectors. Significantly, China's State Council has published a White Paper on the subject.7At the core of the Blue Economy lies the idea of 'optimization of natural marine resources within ecological limits', and the 'de-coupling of socioeconomic development from environmental degradation'.8 The Blue Economy involves a number of interdependent sectors, which harness the wealth of the seas for economic growth through sustainable development.In this context, this essay makes a broad survey of the understanding and initiatives taken by the South Asian countries to promote the Blue Economy. …
Correlation between Innovation Strategy and Operational Performance in Tourism based on Competitive Advantage
Along with the changes in social environment, the public demands for leisure and recreation become stronger that tourism gradually becomes an important industry. In the operation of tourism, the sustained-yield management based concept also needs constant pursuit of advance. For this reason, innovation becomes an inevitable part of business operation. Tourism is facing lots of tests, and the operation is getting diffi cult. Under such a diffi culty situation, the enhancement of competitive advantage through innovation strategy would be a practicable method. Aiming at tourism, the supervisors and employees in tourism in Taichung City, as the research objects, are distributed 420 copies of questionnaire. Total 317 valid copies are retrieved, with the retrieval rate 75%. The research results show positive relations between 1.innovation strategy and competitive advantage, 2.competitive advantage and operational performance, and 3.innovation strategy and operational performance. According to the results, suggestions are proposed, expecting to assist domestic tourism in enhancing competitive advantage and operational performance with innovation strategy to achieve the sustainable development.
The importance of estimating the contribution of the oceans to national economies
The oceans are in trouble. Poorly understood and unprecedented environmental and economic changes are underway in our world's oceans that will significantly affect life in the sea as well as on land. Only in the last thirty years has the contribution of the ocean sector to the economy been measured. An examination of these studies has exposed definitional, conceptual and methodological differences in measuring marine-related economic activity in the economy, making comparisons difficult. Both the ocean and the coastal economies face a world of volatile changes. In the ocean economy marine transport faces unpredictable fuel costs. Coastal tourism also faces losses from climate change impacts and sea level rise. Finally, a warming ocean and increasing acidification of the oceans from greenhouse gases is already affecting coral reefs and a range of fish stocks. Economic measures are important to predict these impacts, as are economic measures of the resilience of different areas of the ocean and coastal economies. This article demonstrates how knowledge of both the ocean, coastal and national economies can help governments address the future impacts and demands posed by nature and human populations on our coasts and oceans.