Blue Economy, its importance to Ghana’s development

The ocean’s importance is so great that to say that human beings cannot do without it is almost stating the obvious.

The ocean resources have suffered unsustainable exploitations in recent times.

The sustainable exploitation and use of ocean resources is known as the blue economy.

A prima facia of the blue economy involves how the already established industries such as the fisheries, are transitioning to practices that are more environmentally responsible.

Using the fishing sector as a case study, I highlight the importance of the blue economy to Ghana’s development, two main benefits and two ways that should be done.

Benefits: Poverty reduction

Among the tenets of the blue economy is to help empower the small-scale fishers who are mostly rural and semi-urban dwellers along the coast of Ghana.

Apart from fishing, the majority of the fishers don’t do any other job, and any change in fishing policy that limits their fishing effort could affect their livelihood.

Thus, empowering them by helping them develop skills outside the industry, and gain alternative livelihood could serve as a cushion in times of the industry changes.

This will help to reduce poverty in coastal areas.

Again, when the ocean is healthy and resilient and human usage is sustainable, it could contribute to the alleviation of poverty and multidimensional poverty and increase human well-being in coastal communities.

SDGs targets

The blue economy tenets when pursued will help achieve economic growth and economic development as well as attaining the majority of the SDGs.

For instance, the blue economy calls for the prevention and reduction of marine pollution; and protect marine and coastal ecosystems and these will help to reduce climate-related events hence, building climate-resilient marine communities leading to the attainment of SDGs 13, climate change, 14-life below water, and SDGs 8, decent employment, and SDG 2, food security.

Also, the blue economy calls for ensuring there is an end to overfishing and illegal fishing practices. These could help achieve SDG 2.

Furthermore, marine communities have fishers, maritime workers, and farmers who are often small-scale in nature use less technology and lack finance and market access.

Thus, ensuring government empower small-scale fishers could potentially help to attain SDG 1, end poverty and SDG 10, reduce inequalities.

Women are largely engaged in post-harvest activities in fishing jobs with about 80 per cent of seafood marketed by women in Ghana. Offering empowerment aid to the small-scale fishing sector will be key to achieving Goal 5 of the SDG, which is to achieve gender equality. What should be done?

Change: policies, action
Apart from the Fisheries Act 2002 (Act 625) and the Fisheries Regulation, 2010 (L.I. 1968), there should be deliberate policies made to conserve marine resources by vigorously pursuing marine protected areas-MPAs.

Currently, Ghana has less than 0.1 per cent of its territorial waters being MPAs and this percentage is far below the target of at least 10 per cent.

Another aspect the country should look at is changes in actions and behaviours. The coast of Ghana is heavily polluted with plastics, debris, faeces, etc.

These pollutants are from land-based activities which pose a health risk to coastal resources. Conscious efforts should be made by the government to fight this menace.

Again, most fishermen use unapproved fishing nets that end up harvesting even the smallest of fish species. Efforts should be in place to monitor these fishermen’s behaviour at sea.

Social resilience, coastal communities
The blue economy comes with changes in marine rules, regulations, policies and practices, that will affect those who depend on the ocean directly for livelihood. Thus, enhancing the coping strategies (social resilience) of marine communities is vital to adapting to any possible effects that might emanate from implementing the blue economy.

The government can build the social resilience of our marine communities by building community assets, the capacity of customary institutions and social capital. To build community assets is ensuring there are enough livelihood alternatives in coastal communities that create significant local employment to achieve a less-crowded sector.

Building the capacity of customary institutions such as local close seasons, conservations, co-management groups, etc. could help conserve ocean resources.

Also, building social capital such as social networks, membership groups, social relations etc. is vital in determining social resilience.

Social networks will ensure resource users act as stewards over the resource not only as users.

The writer is a Lecturer,
Department of Applied Economics,
University of Cape Coast.
E-mail: alhassan.karakara@ucc.edu.gh/wakeel.kara@gmail.com