92645 THE WORLD BANK Helping to Better Manage the World’s Oceans The World Bank and the Drive for ‘Blue Growth’ SYNOPSIS A healthy ocean is a valuable natural asset that, if maintained and nurtured, can provide ‘ecosystem services’ that contribute to economic expansion – or ‘blue growth’ – in developing coastal and island countries. World Bank investments in the oceans between 2007 and 2011 have supported developing coastal and island countries in improving the health of their ocean environments, enhancing the value of the ecosystem services they provide to the local and global economy. In particular, these investments supported countries to manage the transition to more sustainable fisheries, establish coastal and marine protected areas, and implement integrated coastal and marine ecosystem management. In the years going forward, the Bank aims to significantly scale up investments in the development and implementation of new laws and institutions for the use of ocean ecosystem services in countries’ waters, through leadership in a Global Partnership for Oceans. Challenge The oceans are presently contributing far less to the lost potential economic benefits from global economic growth than they could be, largely marine fisheries are estimated to be on the order as a result of human actions changing the ability of of US$50 billion annually. the underlying natural systems to provide ecosystem services. The environmental status of the oceans is changing at a rate and scale not seen since the rise  Pollution, particularly land-based nutrient of modern civilization, largely due to failures in the pollution: Nitrogen application has increased governance of human actions. The four key results fivefold since 1960, but as much as 50 percent of these failures that are driving ocean decline are as follows: of the nitrogen fertilizer applied is lost to the environment, depending on how well the  Overfishing: Technological improvements application is managed. Much of this excess coupled with open access to fish stocks have led runs off into rivers and streams and eventually to roughly one-third of the world’s ocean to the ocean, resulting in algal blooms that fisheries being over-exploited or depleted. consume most of the oxygen. This has adverse Fishing capacity is estimated to be 2.5 times affects on marine life, leading to ‘dead zones’. greater than sustainable harvest levels. Through There are now an estimated 405 ocean dead analysis by the Global Program for Fisheries zones around the world, covering 95,000 square (PROFISH), the World Bank and the Food and miles – an area the size of New Zealand. Agriculture Organization estimated in 2009 that April 2012 2 Helping to Better Manage the World’s Oceans  Habitat loss or conversion (e.g. coastal resulting from countries’ inability to exercise the development, coastal deforestation, fishing with jurisdiction over their waters. dynamite, and mining): Ocean areas are Based on the lessons learned so far, the approach is experiencing some of the most rapid to scale up these investments to support the next environmental change on the planet. An generation of governance reforms; these include estimated 35 percent of mangrove area in implementing rights-based fisheries management, countries with data on this aspect was either lost supporting development of sustainable aquaculture, or converted between 1985 and 2005; and at developing blue carbon assets, creating market least 20 percent of coral reefs have been mechanisms to internalize the costs of marine destroyed globally in the last several decades of pollution, and supporting partnerships for sustainable financing of marine protected areas, the twentieth century, with another 20 percent among others. These governance reforms would being degraded. lead to an enhanced quality of ocean environments, and support economic growth and livelihoods.  Climate change: Over the coming decades and centuries, ocean health will become increasingly stressed by rising seawater temperature, ocean Results acidification, and ocean de-oxygenation in ways The World Bank’s ‘blue growth’ portfolio is that we are only beginning to understand. Coral relatively new (compared to the traditional portfolio bleaching, caused by rising ocean temperatures, in ocean extraction/use which did not account for is already affecting vast areas of tropical coral the underlying natural capital), but there is already reefs, which harbor 25 percent of marine growing evidence of its impact. Some of the results biodiversity. achieved with World Bank support, based on financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or the Approach International Development Association (IDA), or through trust funds managed by the World Bank, Although human actions are driving negative are as follows: changes in the ability of the living ocean to contribute to global economic growth, they could  Establishing marine protected areas and also drive positive change to reverse this trend and integrated coastal management systems. rebuild the natural capital of the living ocean. Most Since the 1990s, the Bank and Bank-managed of such actions occur in the context of the trust funds (such as those from the Global institutions that govern the way ocean ecosystem Environment Facility) are supporting the services are valued and used. For this reason, the establishment and operation of marine World Bank has been working with partners to protected areas in a number of countries around increasingly support public investment in the the world, to protect critical habitats and development of new laws and institutions needed to biodiversity. For example, the Coral Reef both enhance the value of ocean ecosystem services Rehabilitation and Management Program in (i.e. develop the ocean’s contribution to the ‘green’ Indonesia (FY 1999) has supported a vast economy) and to alter conditions of blurred public information effort on the importance of ownership leading to the tragedy of the commons, coral reef ecosystems, training 1,225 teachers in drawing upon the analytical work of PROFISH. marine education, and reaching 130,000 These laws and institutions aim to establish clear students (including over 600 university students frameworks for the effective and efficient use of working in coastal villages). In the second ocean ecosystem services that remove the open phase of this project (approved FY05), the Bank access characteristic of these resources generally worked together with local government to support 358 villages in seven coastal districts to World Bank 3 improve the management of coral reef reduced illegal fishing and increased local value resources, and to protect the underlying reef added to fish products In Liberia, the ecosystems. This helped in legal formation of government passed a comprehensive fisheries co-managed reef areas covering approximately regulation in December 2010 as the first legal one million hectares, and a 60 percent decrease framework for fisheries management since the over six years in the use of destructive fishing 1970s. It also inaugurated the first fisheries practices such as the use of dynamite for monitoring center with radio and satellite fishing. As these practices are reduced, and the communication links to the fishing fleet in order reefs recover or are maintained under to help reduce illegal fishing. Subsequently, the protection, they can supply greater levels of fish government conducted its first arrests on five to surrounding fishing grounds, acting as ‘fish illegal fishing vessels over the next several banks’. months, including the first at-sea arrest by the Liberian Coast Guard in July 2011. The first  Similarly, the Coastal and Biodiversity full registration of the country’s small-scale Management Project in Guinea-Bissau (FY05) fishing fleet of 3,000 boats has been completed, helped the country to establish a national parks and fishing licenses and revenues publicly and protected areas agency and network, disclosed for the first time. All of these efforts protecting 480,000 hectares of the country’s have begun to introduce a minimum level of coastal zone (representing over 13 percent of rule of law in the fisheries, that will allow for the the national territory) together with local development of more secure fishing rights as communities. In four of the five protected incentives for greater private investment in the areas established, the effectiveness of park sector. management increased by at least 15 percent from 2005 to 2010, based on an index of IDA Results management indicators (e.g. sufficient budget, park management planning, consultation, etc.) Some of the key highlights of results achieved in in the World Bank/World Wildlife Fund IDA-supported projects mentioned above are as protected areas tracking tool. To ensure that follows: these protected areas are sustainably financed, partners and stakeholders have now established a private foundation, Fundaccão BioGuinea. A  Guinea-Bissau: New parks and protected new Bank project, the Biodiversity Conservation areas have been established, along with a Project (FY11), is supporting the operation and protected areas network in the coastal zone fund-raising efforts of this foundation until it is that covers over 480,000 hectares, or 13 fully capitalized to be self-sustaining. These percent of the country’s national territory. protected areas are considered national assets by Management effectiveness of four of the five the country and would form the backbone of a protected areas has increased by at least 15 percent between 2005 and 2010.| future tourism industry.  Supporting sustainable fisheries. Since 2007,  Indonesia: In seven coastal districts throughout eastern Indonesia, 358 villages the Bank has been increasingly focused on comprising more than 10,000 people were supporting the development of the laws and supported to legally establish community- institutions needed for sustainable fisheries. For managed areas of coral reef ecosystems, example, the West Africa Regional Fisheries covering over one million hectares, and with Program covers nine countries from Mauritania 15 percent set aside as fully-protected ‘no- down to Ghana, beginning with Cape Verde, take’ zones. Destructive fishing practices, Liberia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone in early 2010. such as the use of dynamite, have declined The objective of this Program is to sustainably by 60 percent in these community-managed increase the contribution of the marine fish  areas over the last six years. resources to the region’s economy, through strengthened governance of the fisheries, 4 Helping to Better Manage the World’s Oceans support of FAO and the World Wildlife Fund Bank Contribution and financing from Bank-managed GEF funds, to promote sustainable fisheries in Africa. The World Bank and Bank-managed trust funds are increasingly supporting initiatives to rebuild the  Capturing Coral Reef and Related ocean’s natural capital. Many of the Bank’s Ecosystem Services partnership aims to investments in the oceans over the last five years capture the value of coral reef ecosystem promote sustainable governance of marine fisheries, services through support for eco-enterprises the establishment of coastal and marine protected linked to green markets, and other incentives to areas, and integrated coastal resource management. encourage investment in their protection. Partners The Bank has been working with a number of Beneficiaries partners to increase investment in sustainable governance of ocean ecosystem services. These include: “Since we stopped some of the illegal fishing, Liberians along the coast are able to eat more  The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has fish than we were able to eat two or three years been an integral partner in all of these efforts, ago, or even last year." with most investments by the Bank blended Florence Chenoweth, together with grants from the GEF. In many Minister of Agriculture, Liberia cases, GEF co-financing has played a catalytic October 2011 role in attracting Bank and other finance towards investments in ocean governance reforms.  The Global Program for Fisheries Moving Forward (PROFISH) is a multi-donor trust fund created in 2005 and managed by the World Bank to The opportunity that comes from addressing the support governance reforms for sustainable challenges to healthier oceans, and the benefits that fisheries. PROFISH is working actively with a countries stand to gain from healthier oceans, such range of partners, including the United Nations as rebuilding fish stocks and expanding sustainable Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the aquaculture, restoring the productivity of key coastal Organization for Economic Cooperation and habitats and reducing the threats from pollution, is Development (OECD), Worldfish, fundamental to the development mandate of the development organizations, and the private World Bank. Efforts to date by the Bank, as well as sector. the large number of other organizations supporting healthier oceans, have been somewhat scattered and  The Alliance for Responsible Fisheries not sufficient to capture this opportunity. A (ALLFISH) was established in 2009 as a coordinated global effort is needed to improve the public-private partnership by the seafood health of the world’s oceans and the benefits they industry, working together with the provide to the global economy and human welfare. International Coalition of Fisheries Due to its ability to convene a wide range of Associations, the World Bank, FAO, and the partners and stakeholders, and to mobilize public GEF, to promote responsible fisheries and investment for governance reforms, the World Bank aquaculture, particularly in developing countries. is uniquely positioned to coordinate such a global partnership effort. For this reason, the Bank is  Strategic Partnership for Fisheries in Africa working to bring small island states and coastal is a partnership led by the Africa Union, with developing nations together with some of the World Bank 5 world’s premier ocean-focused organizations and sustainable, well-managed aquaculture operations; bilateral country partners in a Global Partnership (iii) support for the protection of critical coastal for Oceans. The aim is to combine cutting edge habitats that complement better fisheries knowledge with finance to support workable and management and encourage tourism, and (iv) “scalable” solutions in 8-10 key ocean areas to systems and support for reducing land-based improve the management of ocean resources. In sources of pollution going into the oceans. These each of these priority areas, the Partnership could investments would be supported at the global level support a package of investments, including: (i) by an oceans knowledge portal, as well as a global support to countries for improved management of advocacy and communications campaign. fisheries; (ii) technical and financial support for LEARN MORE Web Sites – Global Partnership for Oceans: http://www.globalpartnershipforoceans.org/ Multimedia – See video at Global Partnership for Oceans: http://www.globalpartnershipforoceans.org/