T10-10 | Alignment of investments in finance and the blue economy with the goal of a sustainable, equitable and healthy ocean future

T10-10

Alignment of investments in finance and the blue economy with the goal of a sustainable, equitable and healthy ocean future

Orals

| Tue, 03 Jun, 10:30–12:00 (CEST)|Room 3

Posters on site

Posters virtual

Further information on the theme is available at: https://one-ocean-science-2025.org/programme/themes.html#T10

Orals: Tue, 3 Jun | Room 3

Chairperson: Peter Haugan

10:30–10:40

OOS2025-53

How much are countries investing in Oceans and SDG 14? estimating public sector investments in oceans and ocean science with evidence from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Pacific.

Mauricio Ruiz

Oceans are considered an integral part of the 2030 Agenda, especially for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), also known for their status as Large Ocean States. Ocean protection is a significant narrative component of sustainability in the context of NDCs, COPs, and global events, but there is little measurement of countries’ efforts to allocate resources for SDG 14. Despite methodological difficulties in estimating the amount of resources needed for optimal ocean protection (i.e. ocean financing gap), this document compiles budget data from ocean projects financed in Colombia, Dominican Republic, Seychelles, and Fiji, to provide an overview of current public financing that is being directed towards SDG 14 and ocean science. Three strategic messages arise from looking at the data and from conversations with governments: (i) total investment in SDG 14 ranges from 0.1% to 0.9% of total national budgets. This means that oceans and ocean science are receiving less than 1% of total public budget; (ii) there is scarcity of resources for ocean action, as regulation of fishing activities, aquaculture development, and coordination and planning are the kind of activities with the most financing observed under investments in SDG 14; and (iii) beyond the observed low levels of investment for ocean action, SDG 14 and ocean science in the four countries analyzed, there remain significant institutional challenges for governments to prioritize and effectively invest in SDG 14. The alarmingly low levels of public financing for SDG 14 and ocean science contrast with the narrative impetus for conservation. Urgent action is needed to match ocean science with financing at the national and global level.

How to cite: Ruiz, M.: How much are countries investing in Oceans and SDG 14? estimating public sector investments in oceans and ocean science with evidence from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Pacific. , One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-53, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-53, 2025.

10:40–10:50

OOS2025-1153

ECOP

Closing the Blue Funding Gap: A Blue Investment Readiness Index for SIDS

Karuna Rana and Shabbir Esmael

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are, in fact, Big Ocean States (BOS), controlling 30% of global oceans, making a sustainable blue economy a viable path towards resilient, inclusive prosperity, and positioning SIDS as leaders in blue innovation. However, current financial flows into the blue economy often continue to support unsustainable activities and extractive industries that do not necessarily benefit local communities and which can harm marine and coastal ecosystems. Moreover, in the race for untapped ocean resources as the next frontier for sustainable development, SIDS are being left behind, failing to receive crucial investments, and raising concerns about equity and benefit-sharing between them and the Global North. Three case studies from Mauritius and Seychelles reveal that current national policies and ecosystems are not conducive to fostering blue innovation or supporting small-scale, early-stage innovators and entrepreneurs working in ocean-related areas. These barriers limit the ability of SIDS to actively participate in sustainable sectors of the blue acceleration, impeding the provision of potential benefits to local communities.

Building on the author’s previous work that proposes the Big Ocean States Innovation and Impact Fund (BOSIIF) as a mechanism to address the blue funding gap, this paper introduces the Blue Investment Readiness Index, designed to build science-based, community-centric investment ecosystems for SIDS and enhance investment flows into sustainable blue economy sectors. The BOSIIF framework emphasized the importance of valuing SIDS’ natural capital—the ocean—and human capital—local communities—as dual pillars for sustainable economic development. Expanding on the foundational principles of BOSIIF, the Index integrates key metrics to assess investment readiness, emphasizing science-based frameworks and community participation as core pillars. The Index measures factors such as community-driven innovation capacity, integration of local knowledge with scientific research, frameworks for science-backed policies, accessibility of early-stage financing for community-led, evidence-based solutions, and national research and development (R&D) capacity to support ocean and climate resilience.

Using Mauritius as a pilot, this paper sets benchmarks for locally driven R&D capacity, natural capital management, national budgetary alignment with climate-resilient practices, the inclusion of community priorities in innovation pathways, and crucially, the investment-attraction capacity of local innovators and small-scale entrepreneurs. Ultimately, the Index, applicable to other SIDS, provides targeted recommendations to empower SIDS to lead in sustainable ocean innovation by channeling investments toward science-informed, community-centered initiatives.

How to cite: Rana, K. and Esmael, S.: Closing the Blue Funding Gap: A Blue Investment Readiness Index for SIDS, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-1153, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-1153, 2025.

10:50–11:00

OOS2025-1204

Rethinking the Blue Economy: Integrating Social Science for Equitable and Sustainable Outcomes

Jerneja Penca, Irmak Ertör, Marta Ballesteros, Birgit Pauksztat, Maciej Kowalewski, Dražen Cepić, Sebastian Villasante, Michael Briguglio, Natasa Vaidianu, Cristina Piñeiro-Corbeira, and José J. Pascual-Fernández

In 2024, the innovative, emancipatory and ecosystem-based potential of the original Blue Economy concept remains largely unrealized. The Blue Economy’s implementation measures, outputs and outcomes have often produced negative impacts on natural resources and social equity. While the Blue Economy discourse offers a platform for bridging the persistent science-policy divide, effective decision-making requires an enhanced approach to producing and communicating scientific knowledge. This paper outlines the reasons for a stronger integration of social science perspectives in Blue Economy research and policy engagement, showcasing how to do so, using the example of COST-funded network RethinkBlue. We argue that social sciences are essential for (a) holistically and critically comprehending the existing Blue Economy; (b) designing integrative decisions in a dynamic social, economic, political, technological and environmental context, through both advance planning and response measures, and (c) generating artefacts and boundary objects to support knowledge production and the science-policy interface. Achieving these goals demands: a) interdisciplinarity collaboration across diverse scientific fields, particularly among social scientists, organized around thematic issues rather than sectors; b) co-creation through cross-sector partnerships on topical and emerging issues; c) active knowledge translation and boundary-spanning efforts, d) knowledge sharing and capacity building to enhance collaboration between social scientists and policymakers; and e) a commitment to transparency to ensure ethical, equitable, and accountable operation of the network. In the mid-term, we expect such efforts to gradually transform how we conceptualize and implement marine and coastal activities, specifically through a redefinition of priorities beyond profit maximization to emphasize well-being, equity, resilience, ecological sustainability, and the development of new governance models that are more inclusive, participatory, and adaptive, and a science-policy interface that informs policy in ways that are more nuanced and sensitive to social context. A greater integration among social sciences is a pre-requisite to a truly interdisciplinary framework, drawing on social and natural sciences, and a development of the economic agenda of Blue Economy into a hybrid field that fosters trust in marine and maritime policies and enhances their legitimacy. The findings are relevant to the broader debate on ocean governance, supporting reflective thinking on how to effectively contribute to the Ocean Decade vision 2030.

How to cite: Penca, J., Ertör, I., Ballesteros, M., Pauksztat, B., Kowalewski, M., Cepić, D., Villasante, S., Briguglio, M., Vaidianu, N., Piñeiro-Corbeira, C., and J. Pascual-Fernández, J.: Rethinking the Blue Economy: Integrating Social Science for Equitable and Sustainable Outcomes, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-1204, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-1204, 2025.

Discussion Post a comment

11:00–11:10

OOS2025-1558

ECOP

Mapping the Ocean Impact Innovation Landscape Towards Equitable Ocean Futures

Lily Zhao

The burgeoning ocean impact innovation ecosystem includes entrepreneur-supporting organizations such as venture capital funds, incubators, and accelerators. The ecosystem represents a potentially transformative opportunity to accelerate sustainable and equitable ocean solutions and has already garnered increasing recognition for its capacity to mobilize private capital for ocean health. Backed by the 1000 Ocean Startups (1000OS) coalition hosted by the World Economic Forum, the ecosystem is increasingly interested in investing in innovation toward an equitable ocean future. However, little is known about the current innovation landscape and which solutions have been prioritized for investment. To support emerging future directions, we analyze investments made by 1000OS. By reviewing a database of recently backed startups, we synthesize data related to the sectors, primary impact areas, and operational geographies of these innovators through an equity lens. We consider thus far in the ecosystem: solutions by whom and for what end? Our findings reveal that 1000OS has primarily supported innovations towards sustainably managed ocean resources, a clean ocean, and a 1.5°C world, and investments in ocean innovation have also gone primarily to countries comparatively less vulnerable to climate change. We discuss the social equity implications of this investment pattern at the local, regional, and global scales. Finally, we explore both perceived barriers and potential opportunities that capitalize on the ecosystem’s capacity to foster an equitable ocean future through impact investments.

How to cite: Zhao, L.: Mapping the Ocean Impact Innovation Landscape Towards Equitable Ocean Futures, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-1558, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-1558, 2025.

11:10–11:20

OOS2025-319

Inquiry into the Potential of Stakeholder-Driven Sustainable Blue Economy Strategies to Bolster Resilience in Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Services

Alice Guittard, Susa Niiranen, Anastasiya Laznya, and Phoebe Koundouri

The Ocean, with its distinctive habitats and bountiful resources serves as a crucial asset for coastal communities. However, it faces mounting threats from various anthropogenic stressors, including pollution, eutrophication, overfishing, invasive species, biodiversity decline. Concurrently, national strategies are being implemented to boot the Blue Economy, which relies heavily on the proper functioning of marine ecosystem services which depend on the good environmental status of marine biodiversity. This underscores the pressing need to prioritize actions aimed at nurturing healthy, resilient, and productive marine ecosystems. In response to these challenges, the BRIDGE-BS project engaged local stakeholders at the science-policy-society interface, including public and private representatives of blue economy sectors, academia and NGOs, from the coastal Black Sea regions in a collaborative effort to develop transformative pathways for fostering a sustainable blue economy. Employing a goal-oriented, interactive system-wide approach, the project facilitated the co-production of knowledge and co-design of interventions geared towards catalyzing transformative change within unsustainable maritime systems (i.e. fishery, coastal tourism, shipping and ports). The objective was to support the well-being of local communities socially and economically, while ensuring a good environmental status of marine ecosystems. The outcome is a comprehensive portfolio of short, mid, and long term actions intended to achieve sustainable objectives formulated through a future vision collaboratively developed with local stakeholders. Those actions range from ambitious environmental management measures to innovative solutions, including technological, social and institutional innovations. Furthermore, this research endeavors to evaluate the stakeholder-driven approach's efficacy in delivering sustainable outcomes by assessing its capacity to support the resilience of key ocean ecosystem services and mitigate the tendency to prioritize economic development over environmental conservation. To accomplish this, a qualitative framework was devised to address fundamental inquiries such as: the specific components of the system affected by proposed actions and their impacts on ecosystems; the ecosystem services (ES) to which these actions pertain and whether priority ES (i.e. provisioning of food, delivery of cultural recreational services; regulating and maintaining habitats functioning), deemed less resilient, are targeted; the identification of potentially lost or overlooked ES, and elucidation of any latent ecosystem services. Through such analysis, this research aims to explore the potential of stakeholder engagement co-production processes in nurturing resilient marine and coastal ecosystems while safeguarding against the undue prioritization of economic interests over environmental sustainability.

How to cite: Guittard, A., Niiranen, S., Laznya, A., and Koundouri, P.: Inquiry into the Potential of Stakeholder-Driven Sustainable Blue Economy Strategies to Bolster Resilience in Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Services, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-319, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-319, 2025.

11:20–11:30

OOS2025-1358

ECOP

Global distribution, quantification, and valuation of the biological carbon pump. Implications for climate finance, conservation, and ocean management.

Fabio Berzaghi, Jerome Pinti, Olivier Aumont, Olivier Maury, Thomas Cosimano, and Mary Wisz

Marine organisms, from plankton to fish, provide a wealth of ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration in a process known as the ocean’s biological carbon pump (BCP). The BCP brings carbon from the atmosphere to the ocean depths where it is stored for decades to centuries. Although parts of the ocean’s BCP are under threat from human activities, BCP carbon sequestration rarely features as an objective in efforts to protect ocean spaces. Moreover, although BCP carbon sequestration services could support discussions of conservation and climate finance, its economic value has yet to be estimated in space and time and thus the BCP has not been discussed in relation to the blue economy.We performed a spatial analysis and financial valuation of the carbon pump service in relation to geo-political and management boundaries. We developed a new metric to map and quantify the global ocean’s BCP long-term carbon sequestration accounting for the carbon that remains stored in the ocean’s interior for more than 50 years, what we call 50-year carbon sequestration rate. We show the global spatial patterns and valuation in relation to geopolitical and management boundaries, and highlight options for governance and management. We estimate that, annually, the biological carbon pump adds in the ocean 2.81 Gt of carbon (range 2.44 - 3.53) with a storage time of at least 50 years (±25 years). This ecosystem service is worth US$383 billion/year (range 336 - 471) within all Exclusive Economic Zones, US$545 billion/year (range 471 - 694) in areas beyond national jurisdiction, and US$2.2 trillion (range 1.9 - 2.7; sum of discounted values for 2023-2030). These results quantify the climate and economic importance of the biological carbon pump and the important role of Small Island Developing Nations in carbon sequestration. These findings can support discussions in climate finance and in the COP global stocktake for climate action for developing a more equitable and sustainable ocean economy through opportunities for preserving the climate services of the BCP both nationally and in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.

How to cite: Berzaghi, F., Pinti, J., Aumont, O., Maury, O., Cosimano, T., and Wisz, M.: Global distribution, quantification, and valuation of the biological carbon pump. Implications for climate finance, conservation, and ocean management., One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-1358, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-1358, 2025.

11:30–11:40

OOS2025-221

How to design a robust ocean finance architecture that delivers effective investment flows into a sustainable and regenerative blue economy.

Torsten Thiele

A sustainable and regenerative blue economy focusses on impacts of human activities on marine ecosystems, it aims to conserve and restore natural capital, integrating positive outcomes for nature and people. To align ocean sectors requires significant investment into businesses and projects and the science, data, management frameworks, decision tools and regulations. Emerging ocean finance from public and development finance sources, as well as from private grant funding and impact equity investment leaves a significant SDG14 funding gap. 
Designing an ocean finance architecture for effective investment flows requires a number of key steps:
Alignment of approaches, frameworks and taxonomies around principles of a sustainable and regenerative blue economy, with sustainable ocean plans.
Natural capital assessment and accounting, backed by ocean science and data collection, using remote sensing and related technologies.
Integration of nature-based solutions into commercial value chains and coastal infrastructure projects.
Connection of multiple initiatives and opportunities in coastal communities with large global finance pools. A dedicated ocean finance institution that can help to integrate multiple sources of funds, support blended finance approaches and manage large-scale capital market issuance.
A regulatory and central banking framework that allows institutional investors to hold blue natural capital assets for the long term.
Progress is being made on these points, UNOC3 offers the opportunity to make a leap forward.

How to cite: Thiele, T.: How to design a robust ocean finance architecture that delivers effective investment flows into a sustainable and regenerative blue economy. , One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-221, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-221, 2025.

11:40–12:00

Discussion

Posters on site | Poster area "La Baleine"

Display time: Tue, 3 Jun, 17:00–Thu, 5 Jun, 20:00

P704

OOS2025-296

New insights into the seasonal cycle and interannual variability of water, heat and salt budgets over the South China Sea from a high-resolution numerical study.

Ngoc Trinh Bich, Marine Herrmann, Caroline Ulses, Patrick Marsaleix, Thomas Duhaut, Claude Estournel, Sylvain Ouillon, and Thai To-Duy

With 70% of the planet covered by water, oceans and seas are important drivers of global climate. The effects of global warming and human pressure are unevenly distributed across ocean regions, and semi-enclosed seas and shallow coastal areas are particularly vulnerable to global changes. Located in the Western Pacific ocean-atmosphere system, characterized by a large and complex topography and subject to many variability factors such as typhoons, tropical monsoons, ENSO, etc., the South China Sea (SCS) plays an important role in the exchange of water, heat and salt between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Southeast Asian seas and the atmosphere, and is an ideal location for studying ocean-atmosphere interactions and the effects of climate variability and change.

This study provides new insights into the water, heat and salinity budgets over the SCS from annual to interannual time scales using numerical methods. A high-resolution (4 km) configuration of the SYMPHONIE ocean model developed by the SIROCCO group (sirocco.obs-mip.fr), including an explicit representation of tides, has been implemented over this region within the framework of the Vietnamese-French International Joint Laboratory LOTUS (lotus.usth.edu.vn). The simulation is analysed over 9 years (2010 - 2018) to investigate the contribution of lateral exchanges through different straits (the South China Sea Throughflow SCSTF) and through air-sea and land-sea interactions to the water, heat and salt budgets over the area.

On a climatological scale, the SCS receives an average annual water input of 4.5 Sv, mainly from the Luzon Strait. This water is then discharged to neighbouring seas through the Mindoro Strait (49%), Taiwan Strait (28%) and Karimata Strait (22%). 70% of this Pacific water input is transferred to the Indian Ocean through the SCSTF. The seasonal variability of water volume and salinity budget is driven by the lateral interoceanic exchange, while the annual cycle of the heat budget is controlled by atmospheric fluxes. On interannual time scales, the variability of the water volume budget is controlled by the annual atmospheric water flux. Similarly, the interannual variability of salinity is mainly driven by the lateral interoceanic exchange of water fluxes, which in turn is driven by the variability of the atmospheric water input. In particular, we show that the saltening of the SCS between 2012 and 2016 is mainly due to the ENSO-induced decrease in rainfall freshwater input, which was compensated by an increase in (saline) seawater import across Luzon from the western Pacific. The salinity of the inflowing seawater slightly enhanced this effect, but played a minor role. The interannual variability of the heat content is driven by the variability of the total lateral heat flux through the interoceanic straits, which in turn is driven by the variability of the temperature of the outgoing and incoming waters.

How to cite: Trinh Bich, N., Herrmann, M., Ulses, C., Marsaleix, P., Duhaut, T., Estournel, C., Ouillon, S., and To-Duy, T.: New insights into the seasonal cycle and interannual variability of water, heat and salt budgets over the South China Sea from a high-resolution numerical study., One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-296, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-296, 2025.

Posters virtual | online

Display time: Tue, 3 Jun, 17:00–Thu, 5 Jun, 20:00

vP135

OOS2025-1394

Closing the Ocean Science Gap: Empowering Africa towards Ocean Innovation and Global Ocean-Based Solutions

Barkha Mossae and Josheena Naggea

The global ocean science community faces critical inequities that hinder Africa’s participation in research and innovation, resulting in limited African contributions to ocean-based solutions for climate, food security, and biodiversity. Despite Africa’s extensive coastal and marine resources, the continent’s representation in ocean science remains sparse due to funding gaps, insufficient infrastructure, and limited access to technical expertise. These disparities not only impede Africa’s ability to address regional ocean challenges but also limit global science’s capacity to create holistic responses to urgent ecological issues. Without African perspectives, the global ocean science community overlooks diverse insights that could foster sustainable ocean economies and adaptive responses to environmental change.

The science gap in Africa also has significant economic consequences. Without a robust foundation in ocean science and technology, African nations struggle to realize the potential of their blue economies, leading to missed economic opportunities and dependence on external expertise. This imbalance restricts economic growth, limits job creation, and undermines effective resource management, which are all essential for the region's socio-economic resilience. Bridging this science gap is therefore an economic necessity for Africa, as well as a critical step toward sustainable global ocean stewardship.

This paper aims to explore the multifaceted challenges and opportunities associated with closing the ocean science gap in Africa. It will examine the historical context of this disparity, analyze current R&D trends, and assess the socio-economic implications of limited African participation in ocean science. The methodology will involve a comprehensive review of existing literature, data analysis, and case studies highlighting successful initiatives in promoting ocean science capacity in Africa.

The expected outcomes of this paper include:

A clear articulation of the current state of ocean science capacity in Africa and its implications for global ocean governance and sustainable development.
Identification of key barriers hindering the advancement of ocean science in Africa, including historical inequalities, limited funding, and inadequate infrastructure.
Recommendations for targeted interventions to empower African researchers and institutions to contribute meaningfully to ocean innovation and global ocean-based solutions.

By closing this science gap, Africa can be repositioned as a leader in ocean-based solutions, contributing to a balanced global approach that meets the needs of climate resilience, sustainable food systems, and biodiversity conservation.

How to cite: Mossae, B. and Naggea, J.: Closing the Ocean Science Gap: Empowering Africa towards Ocean Innovation and Global Ocean-Based Solutions, One Ocean Science Congress 2025, Nice, France, 3–6 Jun 2025, OOS2025-1394, https://doi.org/10.5194/oos2025-1394, 2025.