Blue Economy and Coastal Development - Sharing Swedish Experiences

A growing economy relies on coastal and marine natural resources and ecosystem services, but how far does it actually promote flourishing coastal communities and an economic development benefiting these? Not necessarily - which is why the question needs to be explored further and experiences mapped and shared across the globe.

This commissioned report maps and shares experiences from seven Swedish case studies, providing an overview based on information collected through workshops and interviews with persons with deep knowledge about the cases. It is targeted towards an international general readership interested in collaboration to develop a local and regional blue economy in coastal areas. The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM) has commissioned the report to broaden the knowledge base of its international development programme SwAM Ocean (focusing on local and regional blue economy and development in Eastern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean and financed by the Swedish Development Agency) and to promote sharing and learning between the North and the Global South.

The report is based on a qualitative study of seven complementary cases of illustrative Swedish experiences, where marine sectors, coastal communities, and authorities at various levels have collaborated with focus on a local and regional blue economy and sustainable development in coastal communities. Its focus is on extracting key challenges, prerequisites and enablers and related strategies. The study aims to:

1. to share state-of-the-art experiences from Swedish actors working with their own interpretations of blue economy and sustainable development agendas in coastal areas,
2. to map how they deal with challenges they encounter and exploit related opportunities,
3. to extract and share common lessons across cases, including working strategies, in order to inspire and promote reflection and exchange across borders and oceans.

The questions of this study include:

• Which institutional, infrastructure-related and other conditions facilitate initiatives that fulfil their aims?
• Which important challenges arise and what are related enablers?
•  What strategies can be identified to work around challenges and mobilise enablers?