Sustainable use of oceans

THE Malaysian marine environment is renowned for its biodiversity and unique ecosystems, which include mangroves, coral reefs and sea grass. These ecosystems provide natural resources that contribute significantly to the socioeconomic development of the country.

For centuries, the seas around Malaysia have served as the foundation for global commerce and commercial activity, particularly shipping, tourism, fisheries, and offshore oil and gas.

However, human development activities are severely straining the marine ecosystem with pollution and irresponsible coastal development leading to biodiversity loss and damage to the ecological functions of the ocean.

As a Member State of the United Nations, Malaysia had previously demonstrated her deep commitment to sustainable ocean management by 2030 by incorporating Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14) into the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020).

SDG14 (Life below water) has 10 objectives that are primarily focused on the health of the seas and their living resources. Malaysia, in line with the international community, agreed on each target for ocean conservation and sustainable development in order to keep its marine ecosystems healthy and productive.

The management of ocean health and resilience is inextricably linked to the blue economy or oceans’ economy, which strives to manage and conserve marine ecosystems sustainably.

The blue economy idea evolved from the concept of green growth in response to growing concern about the considerable harm being done to the marine ecosystems as a result of overfishing, habitat destruction, marine pollution, ocean acidification and climate change.

It has grown more popular over the last decade because it promotes the sustainable use of marine resources for economic growth while also protecting and promoting the health of the oceans.

The blue economy concept originated from the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is primarily concerned with the effective and equitable use of resources. It places a premium on sustainable development that does not degrade the environment.

The blue economy’s components include established traditional ocean industries such as fisheries, tourism and maritime transport, and also new and emerging activities such as offshore renewable energy (pic), aquaculture, seabed extractive activities and marine biotechnology.

According to a recent UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) study in 2020, the blue economy accounts for between 3.5% and 7% of global gross domestic product (GDP), which is valued at US$1.5 trillion and is predicted to reach three trillion US dollars by 2030.

The blue economy strives to strike a balance between long-term economic advantages and ocean health by prioritising the effective use of resources to maximise economic growth for human requirements and to enhance the well-being of coastal inhabitants.

Malaysia will gain from the blue economy in terms of job generation and economic growth. In fact, it has been projected that the blue economy contributed up to 23% of Malaysia’s national GDP.

The blue economy has been officially reported as a work in progress in the Malaysian setting, and is on track to become a pillar of the country’s socioeconomic growth.

As such, it was also incorporated into the 12th Malaysia Plan with input from the relevant ministries and agencies based on their feasibility studies.

DR IZYAN MUNIRAH MOHD ZAIDEEN

Senior lecturer

Faculty of Maritime Studies

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu