Download Swedish efforts concerning sustainable blue growth

WORKING DOCUMENT
Swedish efforts concerning
sustainable blue growth
Sustainable Development Goals, Target 14.7: By 2030, increase the
economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least
developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources,
including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture
and tourism
Executive summary
 The concept of the blue economy has developed alongside the
green economy to consider the economic benefits generated by
coasts and oceans in all aspects of economic activity.
 The concept encompasses a wide range of different sectors, such
as mineral extraction, tourism, energy production, aquaculture,
fishing, recreation, shipping, culture and traditional production
and processing industries. It must therefore be seen from a
number of different perspectives, in which multisectoral and
cumulative impacts are taken into account.
 A great deal of research and development work is being carried
out in connection with blue growth within several sectors, not
least within energy, shipping and aquaculture.
 Advanced management models and cross-sectoral cooperation –
as well as collaboration between the public and private sectors –
are important in order to achieve sustainable blue growth. The
Swedish Maritime Strategy is a good example of a multisectoral
way of working.
 Swedish players are actively involved in regional and European
cooperation to develop new methods and industries, and are
striving for sustainable blue growth. Globally, Sweden supports
international bodies in the work to achieve blue growth and
sustainable global management of marine resources.
 If blue growth is to be sustainable and more than just a “fluffy”
concept, changes are required within a number of areas, such as
advanced systems thinking, improved cross-sectoral
management models and political initiatives to regulate and
restrict resource extraction.
Publisher: Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management
Date: 2017-02-13
Authors: Tomas Andersson (Main Author), Linda Lingsten,
Fredrik Lindgren, Frida Åberg, Johanna Egerup
Photographer: Maja Kristin Nylander
Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management
Box 11 930, 404 39 Gothenburg
Sweden
www.havochvatten.se
Swedish initiatives for sustainable blue
growth
Introduction
This note aims to support Sweden’s positions and actions at the UN Ocean Conference in New
York on June 5-9 2017 on the implementation of Sustainable Development Target 14.7.
Challenges
The UNEP (2011) has defined the “green economy” as an economy that “results in improved
human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and
ecological scarcities”. The concept of the blue economy has developed alongside the green
economy to consider the economic benefits generated by coasts and oceans in all aspects of
economic activity (UNCSD, 2012a).
The concept encompasses a wide range of different sectors, such as mineral extraction, tourism,
energy production, aquaculture, fishing, recreation, shipping and culture. It therefore has to
consider a number of different perspectives in which multisectoral cumulative impacts must be
taken into consideration. Blue growth are also linked to traditional production and processing
industries. Collaboration between the public and private sectors is important in order to achieve
sustainable blue growth. The challenges of sustainable blue growth are:
 balancing the ecosystem’s need for reproduction and stability with various
industries’ resource extraction requirements,
 being able to assess and deal with multisectoral, cumulative consequences and
 facilitating sustainable approaches in activities’ indirect use of the ecosystem
(mineral extraction, energy extraction, shipping).
Swedish approach to blue growth
The Swedish governance approach is inclusive and strive to achieve environmental targets in a
multisectoral manner. The implementation of the policies is based on cooperation and
stimulation between different levels and actors within society, such as the state, regions,
municipalities, research, civil society and industry. This is done through governance by
assignment, financial means and dialogue with the actors involved. One good example is the
Maritime Strategy and with indicators for follow up. There are no overall Swedish statistics for
the maritime industries, but the number of employees within these industries has been
estimated at between 34,000 and 158,000. Turnover corresponds to around 5% of Sweden’s
GNP1.
Energy
Offshore energy productions comprise a wide range of activities and are experiencing rapid
progress. Sweden was one of the first nations in the world to make use of offshore wind power.
In Europe (and in Sweden), offshore wind power is expanding. At the same time, technological
development and research are taking place in parallel, both to improve existing technology and
1 En Svensk Marin Strategi, page 9
to develop new technology. New technologies currently being developed in Sweden includes
mobile wind turbines, wave power, energy extraction from ocean currents and growing biomass
at sea for energy production. Off shore energy extraction and production generates need for
transporting energy using cables, pipelines and shipping. Increased off shore energy production
are expected to boost the development of maritime industries, and contributes towards an
increased proportion of renewable energy and reduced CO2 emissions. The energy sector is also
creating extensive maintenance and service industries.
Aquaculture
The Swedish aquaculture industry is diversified and geographically spread across the entire
country. There are currently fish farms in around a hundred Swedish municipalities – on land, in
lakes and in the sea. Aquaculture produces fish, shellfish, algae and molluscs for direct sale to
consumers, for release and for processing.
The combined value of the production of food fish, food crayfish and molluscs for consumption
in 2015 has been estimated at SEK 345 million, and the value of the production of fish and
crayfish for stocking has been estimated at SEK 79 million. In 2015, a total of 375 men and 77
women worked in the cultivation of food fish or fish for stocking in Sweden2.
The vision for Swedish aquaculture is that it should be a growing, profitable and sustainable
industry, with ethical production. New cultivation techniques, environmentally sustainable feeds
and new species are a few factors that will characterise Swedish aquaculture in the future. Today,
more than 90% of farmed fish comes from traditional cage farms. Land-based facilities that
allow for greater control of production and recirculation of nutrients are making advances.
Professional fishing
The stocks of fish and shellfish are renewable resources that can contribute to a greater degree
towards putting useful food on our plates. This assumes that fishing is carried out in a manner
that is environmentally sustainable in the long term, ensuring the survival of fish stocks. Swedish
professional fishing shall be environmentally, socially and economically sustainable by 2020.
Local fishing communities are dependent on the fish in the immediate vicinity, and fishing is
often carried out on a small scale or seasonally. The sustainable economic development of society
and businesses thus requires a diversification to include other activities. Many companies
therefore supplement their operations, investing in activities such as smoking fish, selling fish,
camping and marinas. Swedish professional fishing is dominated by small businesses. The
number of registered, active fishing vessels fell between 2008 and 2015 from 1,150 to just under
1,000. The number of businesses operating within professional fishing dropped from 1,211 to
968 during the same period3.
Tourism and recreation
Tourism is one of Sweden’s fastest growing industries, and is now a basic industry in a number of
coastal communities. It is often locally based, small scale and diversified, and contributes
towards a vibrant rural area and growth for small businesses. It is based on cultural and natural
2
Documentation from the Swedish Board of Agriculture, 2016 aimed for The Ocean Conference
3 Documentation from the Swedish Board of Agriculture, 2016 aimed for The Ocean Conference
experiences. In many cases, tourism strives to achieve locally based development and backing in
order to be sustainable.
Tourism is growing in terms of both turnover and jobs. In certain Swedish coastal and
archipelago locations, the population doubles or even grows fivefold in the summer. In
Bohuslän, one of Västra Götaland’s strongest tourist brands, day trippers and commerce turned
over SEK 6.7 billion in 20114. During 2011-2014, 600,000 to 900,000 foreign visitors, who came
to Sweden each year, said that they carried out recreational fishing5.
Cruise traffic in the Baltic Sea consists of around 2 million passengers annually6. It is mainly a
large-scale operation and has minor positive impact on local society. Cruise shipping mainly calls
at the larger port cities. In 2010 80 % of Calls made in Sweden was in Stockholm7.
According to the estimates of the Swedish Boat Survey (2015), boating resulted in a turnover of
around SEK 15 billion in 2014 for the goods and services arising in connection with the use of
boats.
Shipping
Shipping is in many ways a global business and roles and regulations are agreed up on in
international fora’s such as IMO8. Shipping is the dominant form of transport for Swedish
foreign trade, accounting for approximately 90% measured by volume. In addition, around 30
million passengers per year are transported to and from our neighbouring countries by ferry. The
shipping sector and related businesses employ around 100,000 people9. Enhancing the
competitiveness of Swedish ports in order to contribute towards a more highly developed
transport system is a priority together with improved environment. Fee structures need to
support a socially effective use of transport resources, with the individual means of transport
meeting their own environmental costs. There is a desire to transfer land transport to sea
transport. In 2017 a strategy for how to achieve a fossil-free transport sector will be presented.
Through continued development of means of control, emission reduction, type of fuel used and
improved technology; shipping can be transformed into a more environmentally friendly means
of transport with great significance for sustainable blue growth. Authorities and industries in
Sweden have cooperated on developing devising tools such as the Clean Shipping Index and the
Zero Vision Tool to make shipping more environmentally friendly. Safety at sea and prevention
of transfer of alien species are other example of prioritized topics together with issues around
tank washing.
Marine technology
From a Swedish perspective, much of blue growth is linked to the traditional technology industry
and the knowledge that has traditionally been built up within the shipbuilding industry and
those sectors linked to e.g. shipping such as logistics centres, insurance agents, seaworthiness,
etc. However, new areas of technology – such as within digital applications – are part of the
emerging blue growth. The leading shipping lines all have service companies and subcontractors
4 Turistrådet Västsverige AB - Slutrapport Bohuslän på export 2015
5 Tillväxtverket, 2011-2014. Den nationella gränsundersökningen IBIS, inkommande besökare i Sverige.
6 Havsplanering- Nuläge 2014, page 86
7 Maritime tourism and recreation in Sweden, page 28
8 International Maritime Organisation
9 Havsplanering- Nuläge 2014, page 85, 86
who can also be linked to the maritime sector. For example, there are world-leading
subcontractors within ro-ro (roll-on, roll-off) and the wind power industry.
Västra Götaland is a cluster area for marine technology, with around 1,000 companies in the
region working within marine technology and shipping10. Products include everything from
material development, design and consultancy/guidance to the traditional manufacturing
industry.
Marine spatial planning (MSP)
MSP deals with the marine spatial aspects of all the thematic areas included in sustainable blue
growth and can be defined as “ ... as a process to create preparedness within society to meet an
uncertain future and to try to shape developments and organise space (and the use of resources)
in a desirable direction” (Andersson, Vasab workshop 2016).
MSP is a national process, but requires cooperation between states in order to achieve the
desired effects. In Sweden and around the Baltic, there is an ongoing process to develop
ecosystem-based marine spatial plans. MSP is an important tool for identifying the most suitable
geographic area for an activity. MSP should balance and weigh different interests, and should
point out future uses. Identifying and highlighting areas worth protecting and the connectivity
between them in order to protect them from exploitation is an important aspect. MSP also deals
with land-sea interactions, and relates to the climate target and opportunities for development in
the coastal area.
Regional initiatives
Swedish actors from authorities, civil society and industry are involved in a number of
organisations and projects within the framework of regional cooperation, for example within
HELCOM, the BONUS research programme, Interreg projects and the Baltic Sea Region
Programme. This cooperation involves improving the environment and developing new
industries and areas of technology.
International initiatives
Sweden works both bilaterally and through various global and regional organisations to create a
sustainable environment and to strengthen local society’s capacity for sustainable development
in both coastal and marine areas. Via international programmes such as the UNDP Water and
Ocean Governance Programme (WOGP) 2014-2017, Sweden supports the development of
sustainable marine resources management in ten of the world’s most important large marine
ecosystems and promotes integrated land, water, biodiversity and coastal area management in
all 33 of the world’s small island developing states (SIDS) in the Caribbean, in the Pacific and
around the African continent.
Sweden also participates in and works through a number of international organisations, e.g. FAO
and IUCN, to improve coastal and marine management and the environment. Support to
research is important components, as is support to strengthen cooperation between countries
and regions. In the shipping sector Sweden are instrumental on the global and regional arena
10 Maritim strategi för Västra Götaland
and are working through conventions and organisations such as e.g. SOLAS11, MARPOL12, IMO13
to improve management, and environmental standards, rules and regulations. Sweden is also
hosting and contributing to the World Maritime University (WMU) located in Malmö.
Gaps
If blue growth is to be sustainable and more than just a fluffy concept, changes are
required within a number of areas:
 Increased knowledge and understanding of the structure, function and value of ecosystems
 The development of management models that are able to deal with cross-sectoral
perspectives and cumulative consequences of different activities
 Statistical data to substantiate the value of blue growth
 Clear political initiatives to regulate and if necessary restrict resource extraction
11 International Convention for Safety of Lives at Sea
12 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
13 International Maritime Organization
About this document
 This document is one of eight documents that together
constitute preliminary underlying support for the work in
connection with the Ocean Conference.
 The documentation has been drawn up on behalf of the Swedish
Ministry of the Environment. The work has been carried out in
close cooperation between the Swedish Agency for Marine and
Water Management and the Swedish Environmental Protection
Agency.
 Contributions to this work have been collated from several
national agencies (SEPA, SIDA, SMHI, Swedish Board of
Agriculture, Swedish Chemicals Agency and Swedish Transport
Agency) and educational institutions. The time frame for
coordination has however been li mited, so not all contributors
have had the chance to give a final approval.
 The documentation focuses on a situation assessment, divided
up into eight areas, and refers to Swedish work to achieve SDG
14. In particular, national and regional initiatives ar e dealt
with.
 The operational areas of the Swedish Agency for Marine and
Water Management and the Swedish Environmental Protection
Agency have been taken as a starting point, and have been
expanded to include more significant aspects based on existing
contacts and knowledge. The documentation does not thus
constitute a complete picture of the Swedish initiatives being
carried out in order to achieve the targets.
 Continued analysis support for the Government Offices of
Sweden ahead of the conference is plan ned, in dialogue with
involved authorities. The analyses should be developed with
more international, future-oriented aspects, according to
Swedish priorities ahead of the conference. This work will take
place with the support of new contacts and new combi ned
knowledge. In this, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water
Management will be supported by the Swedish Institute for the
Marine Environment in connection with contact with Swedish
educational institutions, and by IVL Swedish Environmental
Research Institute for compiling good examples from industry.