Not only does taking care of our oceans make good environmental sense, it also makes good business sense.
In the UK, the government expects the ocean economy to grow faster than the global economy as a whole over the next decade. In response, they have established a £500 million Blue Planet Fund to support developing countries to protect the marine environment and reduce poverty.
In 2022, IDEEA Group worked with the Global Oceans Accounts Partnership (GOAP) to prepare a set of Guidelines for Standardised and Comparable Reporting across Blue Planet Fund Projects. Over the next two years IDEEA Group will be continuing to provide technical advice and assistance to the many countries and agencies involved in GOAP.
The GOAP work is underpinned by the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA). There is also work underway to develop a version of the SEEA specifically for the oceans.
IDEEA Group Directors, Carl Obst and Mark Eigenraam, are both highly engaged in the statistical and accounting work that can be used to help make our oceans – and the blue economy – healthier.
For example, Carl will be attending the Ocean Business Leader Summit in Sydney on 1 and 2 March 2023. This summit will continue the dialogue among leaders in business, science and government across concepts such as governance and management, innovation and futures, ocean health and ocean finance.
IDEEA Group will continue to support the successful stewardship of the blue economy with research and accounting practices that help governments and business sectors understand what’s going on under the surface.
Here are some great examples of our work in this area:
- In 2022, we produced a natural capital accounting report for the Irish Government in Clew Bay, looking at the Irish seafood sector.
- In 2020, we undertook an Ocean Accounting Pilot for the Geographe Marine Park, Australia. You can download the Synthesis Report
- In 2019, we worked with Deakin University and The Nature Conservancy to examine past trends and potential future restoration options in two large metropolitan bays – Western Port and Port Phillip in Victoria. We found that AUD$100 million of ecosystem services could be generated from an investment of $8.5 million.
Feel free to contact us if you’d like to discuss our work in the blue economy.