This draft blue economy policy framework prepared in line with the Government of India’s Vision of New India by 2030 highlights blue economy as one of the ten core dimensions for national growth.

The project was designed to support the government’s efforts to address the pollution and water management issues of its marine ecosystems. The Qingdao municipal government in Shandong Province started the preparation of a new development strategy of “embracing bay development, surrounding bay protection” in 2008.

The ocean and its resources are the lifelines of Asia and the Pacific. As a resource for the economy, livelihoods and identity for coastal communities, the condition of the ocean is inextricably linked to the pathways of sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.

Healthy marine and freshwater ecosystems are critical to sustaining life on earth. Water— both freshwater and the oceans—supports and connects ecosystem functions, human health, and key economic sectors. Yet our aquatic ecosystems face unprecedented threats.

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11 men and unleashing a torrent of oil and natural gas from BP’s Macondo wellhead into the Gulf of Mexico. By the time the well was capped 87 days later, an estimated 200 million gallons of crude oil and four million pounds of gas had escaped into the Gulf.