Bìznes Inform (Apr 2024)
Economic Development of Coastal Areas in the Context of a Sustainable Blue Economy
Abstract
The aim of the article is to study the conceptual foundations and global significance of the blue economy and provide recommendations for ensuring the economic development of the coastal areas of Ukraine in the context of the sustainable blue economy of the EU. The article examines the conceptual foundations of the blue economy and analyzes the global significance of its sustainable development in international declarations and legal documents. The main problems on which international attention in this area is focused are identified as follows: the complexity of approaches and methods for assessing the economic, social and environmental impacts of the blue economy on the development of coastal areas; defining a clear standard of regional and local governance necessary for the blue growth of territories; different degrees of institutional involvement of countries in the blue economy. With this in mind, the article proposes approaches to stimulating a sustainable blue economy in coastal areas. The article examines the regulatory framework of Ukraine and academic developments on the formation of the foundations of the domestic blue economy in recent years. It is emphasized that initiatives for a sustainable blue economy in Ukraine have appeared, first of all, at the local level, the stakeholders of which are local governments, technological business communities, representatives of academia and higher education, innovation clusters and civil society organizations. The sustainable blue economy reflects the process of coastal and maritime governance through debatable and substantive regionalization, in which new partnerships between public and private sector actors build networks, boundaries, and management methods. Of course, today we are talking about the unoccupied sea and coastal spaces of Ukraine, so we have outlined the challenges that our country faces in this area in the current conditions. In the context of the European integration movement, taking into account the legal conditions of martial law and post-war expectations, we see the vectors of modernization of the economic development of the coastal areas of Ukraine as follows: the development of a transparent framework policy for the development of a sustainable blue economy in Ukraine; institutional and innovative approach to coastal developmental management; economic development and security; local approach; stimulating the innovation ecosystem; inclusive blue economy; digital technologies in support of coastal development initiatives; ensuring the protection and restoration of the coastal and maritime environment; use of the cultural and historical heritage of coastal regions; proper democratic governance.
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