With over 80 per cent of global trade by volume and more than 70 per cent of its value being carried on board ships and handled by seaports worldwide, the importance of maritime transport for trade and development cannot be overemphasized.
Tourism – in terms of its contribution to gross domestic product, employment and trade – is an important sector in many African economies, and its growth is increasingly driven by tourists originating from the continent itself.
Global poverty is increasingly concentrated among a group of 48 countries, which are falling further behind the rest of the world in terms of economic development, according to a United Nations report released by UNCTAD.
The present edition of the Review of Maritime Transport takes the view that the long-term growth prospects for seaborne trade and maritime businesses are positive. There are ample opportunities for developing countries to generate income and employment and help promote foreign trade.
An example of the opportunity comes from an East African regional programme, which saw the region's organic exports grow from $4.6 million in 2002/03 to $35 million in 2009/10, according to the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements.
In 2015, global flows of foreign direct investment rose by about 40 per cent, to $1.8 trillion, the highest level since the global economic and financial crisis began in 2008. However, this growth did not translate into an equivalent expansion in productive capacity in all countries.
The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing is a new multilateral environmental agreement under the CBD, seeking to clarify definitions, issues of scope and coverage of ABS, and specific actions by user and provider countries of biodiversity resources.
UNCTAD's first report on the state of biofuel technologies in 2007 highlighted a sector with great potential, but at the time that was a long way off from markets.
