Trade in ocean-based goods and services is estimated to be worth at least $2.5 trillion per year – about 3% of global GDP in 2020.
Ocean-based economic opportunities for which markets don’t exist yet, such as marine ecosystems services, are estimated to be worth at least $24 trillion.
But these resources and opportunities are under threat and their protection is underfunded.
About 8-12 million tonnes of plastic waste and 51 trillion microplastic particles flood the marine environment, making it into the global food chain.
And nearly 34% of the world’s fish stocks are below sustainable biological levels.
Yet only 1.6% of Official Development Assistance – roughly $2.9 billion per year – targeted the ocean economy from 2013 to 2018.
The distribution of the funds was geographically uneven, with little provided to the poorest nations, particularly small island developing states (SIDS) and least developed countries.
The fourth edition of the UN Oceans Forum, organized by an UNCTAD-led coalition from 6 to 8 April, called for sufficient and reliable long-term investment in a Blue Deal to conserve and sustainably use the ocean for sustainable development.