lectures by engbert

• The marine realm is a contested space, impacting the social construct of SBE (Sustainable Blue Economy).
• SBE has varying conceptualizations, definitions, and enactment across different settings.
• SBE is also known as ocean economy, Blue Growth, and marine economy.
• The understanding of SBE is dependent on individual interests, positions, backgrounds, and influence/power.

History of SBE

• Gunter Pauli's book, The Blue Economy (2000), is a key publication
• SBE was discussed at the UN Convention on Sustainable Development (Rio 20+) conference in 2012.
• The SBE concept builds upon the Brundtland report's definition of sustainability and meeting present needs without compromising future generations' needs.
• The green economy concept, emphasizing human well-being, social equity, and reduced environmental risks, influences SBE.
• SBE has various definitions that are used by actors to negotiate ideas and agendas.

Development of SBE

• There has been a shift in focus from economic growth to environmental and social development in SBE
• Economic growth and job creation aspects focus on:
  • Marine transportation/shipping
  • Fisheries/ aquaculture
  • Ports
  • Energy (oil, gas)
  • Tourism and other sectors.
• Environmental and social aspects include:
  • Ecosystems
  • Biodiversity
  • Climate change
  • Pollution
  • Marine biotechnology
  • Renewable energy
  • Human rights
  • Equity
  • Labor standards and Gender equality.

Reflections on SBE (McKinly, 2022)

• The United Nations defines the blue economy as a range of economic sectors and related policies to ensure sustainable use of ocean resources
• A main challenge is managing oceanic sustainability, from sustainable fisheries to ecosystem health and pollution prevention
• Sustainable management requires collaboration across borders and sectors.
• Collaboration will emphasize environmental well-being and international collaboration
• The European Commission's "Blue Growth" is a strategy for sustainable growth in marine and maritime sectors
• Seas and oceans are drivers for the European economy and have potential for innovation and growth.
• "Blue Growth" emphasizes growth and innovation in a sustainable way
• The World Bank defines SBE as using ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of the ocean ecosystem
• World Bank emphasis is on growth and livelihood security
• The Commonwealth Secretariat sees SBE as encouraging better stewardship of ocean resources, this links the ocean, climate change, and the wellbeing of the people
• Commonwealth Secretariat emphasis is on good governance and linkages between environmental and social issues

Shades of Blue

• SBE can be explained using conceptual frameworks
• When explaining SBE it is important to focus on things like actors, objectives and scale

Differing Views on Oceans

• Oceans as natural capital are viewed by environmental NGOs to argue for better recognition and accounting of ecosystem services provided by marine environments, along with sustainable development, human health, and well-being.
• Oceans as livelihoods is employed by SIDS (Small Island Developing States), and small-scale fisheries to safeguard human health, safety, food security, poverty alleviation, income, and employment generation, mainly done by developing states
• Oceans as good business refers to the development of 'maritime clusters' that help interconnected companies and institutions in maritime industries
• "Oceans as good business" are deployed by large and developed economies
• Oceans as a driver for innovation relates to investment, innovative financing, and private sector involvement in Blue Growth strategies

Questions from Diverging Views on Oceans

• Primary objectives of SBE
• Which actors adopt a specific frame
• Which sectors are involved
• Geographic scales interpretations apply to
• Tools used to realize the SBE

Challenges Facing SBE

• The role of SBE in addressing awareness of the oceans for social development, environment and climate
• How SBE can address privatization of ocean space
• Role of SBE in geopolitical disputes

Take Away points

• The Blue Economy is a notion that has emerged at a time of considerable change in the way oceans spaces are conceived and used.
• The Blue Economy attempts to bridge the gap between the economic opportunities provided by the oceans and the pressing need for improved environmental stewardship, protection and restoration.
• Definitions of the SBE follow the needs and wants of the user
• Ways of conceiving and understanding the Blue Economy can help identify potential future conflicts, guiding consensus-based and diplomatic approaches

Lecture 2: Economics Explained

• Economics concerns decision making and ways to do that efficiently enhancing welfare
• Economic approaches have different concepts, not all economists are neo-liberals.
• Key: how do markets function
• Valuing nature and environmental impact is part of economics,
• Macro economics concerns stimulating economic growth and welfare, determining development, and prosperity reasons.

Balancing the Economy

• Understanding how to balance the economy and policies to soften economic crises ( unemployment , no growth, etc.)
• Problems include supply and demand side issues, policies that soften supply driven recessions may have a reversed effect if it is a demand driven recession
• Micro economics concerns individual decisions of households, consumers, business economics and how they contribute to the growth and welfare of a region/country
• Business concerns also include investments and choices of limited resources such as labor, capital, finance and raw materials
• Economics is instrumental in viewing and helping to solve problems in society through market and non-market based solutions
• Economic view lead to the choices and social and political organisation of society such as state-capitalism / communism or liberal-democratic nations.

Differing Economic Viewpoints

• Keynesianism seeks to stimulate economic growth by demand impulse through government intervention
• Economic cycle will (should be softened)
• Creative destruction creates circumstances that are best for innovation and has cycles that are part of winners and losers while also stimulating growth
• Neo-liberalism aims for limited government intervention to allow markets to function well
• The Neo-liberalism viewpoint is that government is responsible for inefficiencies

Dominance of Neo-liberalism

• Reaction to the oil crisis of the 70s and 80s shaped neo-liberalism
• Government adopted austerity measures
• Reaganomics and Thatcherism shaped neo-liberalism
• (financial) markets were liberalised in the 90s
• The financial crisis of 2007-2009 resulted in bankruptcies, system crisis along with bail outs, nationalisation, and regulation of banks

Economic Policy Mix: In Reality

• Economic policy combines stimulating R&D and innovation and creating optimal conditions for upscaling
• There is also stimulating entrepreneurship, less regulation, lower taxes, remove market barriers
• Measures to soften insufficiencies on the demand side (fiscal stimulus)
  • A response due to the Covid crises which has economic support (Keynesian model)
    • This included supporting bussinesses and the self-employed

Measuring GDP

• Measuring the economy’s by using the gross domestic product which is the economic (monetary) value of all goods and services that are produced in a country/region
• Measured by international statistical standards, can be from a central government statistical office
• Compared by economic structure, economic growth, gdp/capita to observe the differences in welfare between the countries/regions

Economics of the Oceans

• Ocean activities include:
  • Harvesting (fish etc.)
  • Extraction (mining)
  • Commerce/trade (shipping)
  • Environmental impacts (blue carbon, protection)
• Economic sectors involved: Components of the Blue Economy, drivers of Growth

Sectors of the Blue Economy

• Fisheries & aquaculture
• Coastal and Marine Tourism
• Mining (minerals)
• Energy (oil, gas, wind)
• Desalination
• Shipping & Port economy
• Marine biotechnology/bioprospecting
• Tourism
• Supporting activities
• The Blue Economy is $1.5 trillion US dollars

Fisheries

• Fisheries are important in coastal areas and islands, they supply most protein intake and play an important part in local markets
• In islands they make up 10% of GDP, and may be the largest export
• Issues of fisheries include;
  • overfishing
  • foreign competitors
  • collapse of marine ecosystems

Aquaculture

• Aquaculture shows strong growth and is found in regions of Chile, China and Norway, and SouthEast Asia and Africa
• Population growth + demand for protein drive aquaculture
• Issues of aquaculture include;
  • Destroying ecosystems and habitats
  • Use of chemicals and antibiotics
  • Reliance on wild-caught fish for feed

Extraction (minerals)

• This is a new venture which has high potential
• There are new techniques that are used to explore
• Polymetallic nodules such as copper, nickel, cobalt, iron, manganese, and rare earth elements
• Elements are essential for magnets for wind turbines and EV motors
• The Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) has nickel
• ISA (International Seabed Authority) have Drivers
• Drivers include;
  • Economic growth (need for minerals)
  • Energy transition
  • Geo-politics

Issues From Extraction

• Environmental impact
• Eco-systems

Oil and Gas

• Are related on harbours, refineries, and activities offshore
• Offshore activities economic importance for oil producing countries such as the North Sea; Norway, United Kingdom
• Issues for oil and gas are;
  • Contracts with oil companies
  • Where the profits from Oil and Gas are going
  • Profits not used for investments?
  • (Risk of) environmental disasters
  • Fluctuating oil prices
• Curaçao exemplifies the challenges and uncertainties in the oil industry after Shell refinery of Venezuelan oil ended in 1985, having high unemployment, emigration, and contracts

Heritage Oil Curaçao

• Shell's departure from oil refining at Curaçao had negative impacts;
  • Short run high unemployment
  • Government (budgetary impact)
  • Emigration to the Netherlands (social impact)
  • Indemnity agreement on environmental issues, Buskabaai / asphalt lake

Offshore Wind

• Growing in places such as The Netherlands
  • Offshore wind energy: 2030: 21 GW and 2050: 38-72 GW , it is contributing to electricity use
• Growth from offshore wind, building, operation and maintenance could compensate for loss in oil/gas
• Drivers: energy transition
  • EU frontrunner
  • North sea
• Issues in offshore wind include;
  • Competition for space (nature areas, fisheries)
  • Environmental impacts: noise, electromagnetic fields, microplastics/toxins in the waste, changes in biodiversity, seabirds collision
  • Impact during building

Desalination

• Growing markets and the 2021 market was around 15 billion USD, and 2030 it should be 33 billion USD
• Drivers of desalination are;
  • Economic growth (Middle East)
  • Water scarcity (worldwide increasing problem) - Arid regions depend on desalination - Also, California, Texas, Florida depend on desalination
• Issues desalination may cause is;
  • High Energy use and production of waste and toxic chemicals

Marine Biotech/Bioprospecting

• Exploiting genetic and bio-chemical material in marine organism such as algae and bacteria to treat diseases, antibacterial treatments, to find healthy food and bioremediation
• New technology, information and data give increased revenue to the pharmaceutical industry
• Issues for mining and generating revenues

Shipping and Port Economy

• Connected to sea shipping and world trade
• Growth is driven by cheap transport, world trade and globalisation, and the global role China plays in these
• However shipping plays a role in CO2 emissions
• Shipping can release invasive species in ship’s ballast water
• Waste and Disasters

Coastal and Marine Tourism

• Backbone to many coastal and island economies up to 5%-25% of GDP and employment
• Experiencing strong growth due to international tourism
• However has damanging environmental sides
• All-inclusive cruises show little economic earnings and a large waste production
• Shows a small contribution to productivity/innovation
• Low skilled labour
• Vulnerability due to Corona

Blue Economy

• Strong Growth with high expectations
• This is driven by population growth, economic growth, demand for energy minerals and globalisation
• A high food demand for protein.
• The sustainability is reliant on health, climate change, desalination and what role energy will play

Marine logistics and port economy

• Ports raise important questions, such as how important they are historically, economically, nationally, and internationally
• Sustainability of ports and future ports must be addressed.

History maritime economy

• Ancient times saw maritime activity by:
  • Egyptians.
  • Phoenicians.
  • Greeks/Romans, who used galleys.
  • Arabic countries (India, Africa) who used Dhows.
• China: Yuan and Ming dynasty (13th-16th century) led by Zheng He; the compass was invented 500 BC
• Vikings
  • Northumbrians experienced "harrowing inroads of heathen men made lamentable havoc in the church of God in Holy-island, by rapine and slaughter."
• Discoveries of the 16th century
  • Portuguese discovered the African coast and pathway to India and the Strait of Magellan
  • Spanish, Columbus discovering America from Genua
  • Dutch Republic: Kaap de Goede Hoop, Willem Barentz and engaged in Dutch trade (VOC + WIC)
    • The Dutch traded herring, wood (Baltics), spices (Indies), and slaves (Africa), creating the first commercial company with shareholders.

Technology

• Technology has driven change and upscaling, which included:
  • The age of the tall ships.
  • Iron ships.
  • Transition from sail to steam.
  • The combustion engine, bunker oil.

Trade networks and the role of ports

• Trading networks have developed over time and are now global and include:
  • British Empire.
  • International trade agreements/regulation.
• Ports, the distribution centers of world trade, handle raw materials (salt, stone, wood, metals, oil, gas) and commodities.
• Ports come with:
  • Natural/geographical harbour conditions.
  • Infrastructure.
  • Combinations of functions.
  • Economic hinterland.
• Port functions
  • Transport node (multimodal)
  • Logistics
  • Industrial
  • Commercial and Services.
• Natural harbors have different aspects:
  • Protection from sea
  • Leeward away from prevailing winds
  • Adequate depth for ships
  • Easy access to shore
  • Adequate tide

Sea shipping and international trade

• Maritime transport is a driving force of world trade and globalisation.
• Sea transport make up 90% of worldwide transportation
• There has been tenfold growth since 1950s.
• Growth of world trade and sea shipping are interconnected

Economics of International Trade

• Sea shipping is attractive for international trade is its large scale and low costs per ton.
• Sea shipping is efficient: almost no human labor and relatively limited needed infrastructure, cheaper fuel
• International regulation
  • Safety, environmental, labor conditions and flag states contribute to low costs.
• Due to all of these factors, sea transport is cheap.

Containerization

• The technology given a strong stimulus to sea shipping and world trade, involves containers
• Loading and unloading was completed by dockworkers
• Malcolm McLean (1913–2001) invented the sea container
• The first container trip completed in 1957, with the standardization and facilitating multimodal transport
• Container terminals are found in harbors worldwide, but faced resistance by dockworkers (unions)
• Containers provide advantages such as:
  • Easy loading and unloading
  • Standard transport and trans-shipment
  • Cheap (90% cheaper)
  • Safe storage
  • Stackable for easy storage

Dimensions and Measures

• Twenty Feet Equivalent Unit (TEU): 6.10 x 2.44 x 2.59 m
• Forty Feet Equivalent Unit (FEU): = 2 x TEU
• Standards are applied across train, lorry and inland Shipping (Development container terminals)
• Development includes automatisation/digitalisation

Container Ships

• The amount of containers have grown overtime
• 58 containers (1957)
• 600 TEU (60s)
• 6,000 TEU (90s) -13,000 TEU (2010)
• 24,346 TEU (now)
• Current ships dimensions
• 400m long and 61m beam
• There are millions of containers worldwide
• Consisting of 6,000 containerships
• List of biggest containerships: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_container_ships

Unit Cost

• Unit-Cost-Function (UC) is based on four values
• LC (Letter of Credit)
• OPEX (Operational costs)
• CH (Costs cargo handling)
• PS (Cargo)
• LC+OPEX+CH/PS = UC
• UC decreases if the cargo increases due to the non-cargo costs are always constant
• Shipping cash flow model
  • Transport demand increases (world trade) which results in freight rates increase, then More revenues (freight earnings).
  • Then flows Ship-owners have more funds ( more cash flow shipping sector) and second demand ships rises, supply second hand ships decrease.
  • Price can very but price will rise but then decreases but the demand will increase, but in doing so, price new built rises, and new buildings
• Shipping cycles are affected through external events, often resulting from supply and demand side changes that have impact of the supply of ships.
• Can go to low supply for high tariffs or high supply with low tariffs

Recent Events

• The recent Covid-19 pandemic is causing many of these supply disruptions
  • Reduced total shipping and trade, but then increased because of the effects of e-commerce has increased over capacity
• Recent world events have had a strong negative impact on shipping

Measuring Port Economic Significance

• Ports/sea shipping are very important to trade - Train: limited infrastructure + 3.5 times more expensive - Airplanes: limited capacity + 7 time more expensive

Netherland Operations

• Sea shipping (Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Vlissingen, Harlingen, Eemshaven)
• Containers (2e Maasvlakte, Amsterdam)
• Petrochemistry (Rotterdam, Botlek)
• Navy (Den Helder)
• Off-shore (Rotterdam, Den Helder, Eemshaven)
• Fisheries (Den Oever, Ijmuiden, Scheveningen, Lauwersoog, Harlingen)

Value Added

• A sector contributes to welfare/income with the gross total of
  • earnings/income
  • Raw materials etc. Total Value Added is equal to profit, compensation

Netherlands

Employment - Rotterdam has greatest employment with 56 - Amsterdam after at 20 -Followed with ljmuiden,Drechtsteden,Vlissingen,Terneuzen,Other - Has most employment through transportation but followed after -Constrution ShipBuilding

• offshore- en dredging ships, multipurpose ships, luxurious yachts
• big shipyards built complex ships + finishing/installations
• Body of ships (hull) built in low wage countries

Makkum Donald Trump had a boat here and this the location of boat making and harbour control

Leading Harbors

• Rotterdam
  • Dominant role in Europe (Le Havre – Hamburg range)
    • big logistics center (moving goods all around Europe, big oil based industrial center Petrochemistry, chemical industry
  • investment in 2e Maasvlakte – big container ships, excellent hinterland transport (road, inland travel, rail
  • High level of knowledge, digitalisation (modern harbour), role of Havenbedrijf Rotterdam, Mainport Rotterdam
  • Maasvlakte contains major containers
  • 24m deep with
• Eemshaven Built in 1973 – economic impuls North-Netherlands with
  • Butterfahrten (tax free minicruise) Eemshaven -Groningen ports contains clusters as well as
    • Hydrogen for ports
    • rwe stations ####World wide Leading harbors

-China leading harbors

• Ports internationally: largest include -Shanghai -Rotterdam -Los Angleles ####Trends Seaport Trends relating too -Increase oil use -Sustainability -Increased Automatisation