Special Issue "Blue Economy and Resilient Development: Natural Resources, Shipping, People, and Environment"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021).

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Tianming Gao
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Arctic Blue Economy Research Center, School of Economics and Management, Harbin Engineering University, 150001, Harbin, China
Interests: economic development; industrial policy; investment; maritime economy; blue economy; China’s Arctic policy and developments; China-Russia and China-Nordic economic collaboration
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Dr. Vasilii Erokhin
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Arctic Blue Economy Research Center, School of Economics and Management, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China
Interests: sustainable development; regional development; maritime economy; shipping; international trade; shipping and trade routes in the Arctic
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Dr. Konstantin Zaikov
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov, 163002, Arkhangelsk, Russia
Interests: international collaboration in the Arctic; sustainable exploration of Arctic resources; development of maritime routes in the Arctic Ocean

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ever since the ancient era, the blue economy has played one of the most important parts in mankind’s life and in assuring the resilient development of all communities involved. Oceans and seas cover over 70% of the Earth’s surface, constitute more than 95% of the biosphere, and provide a substantial portion of the global population with food and livelihoods. As the economic globalization has evolved in the past decades, the concept of the blue economy has been extended to include not only fisheries and marine products, but also extraction of mineral resources, intercontinental trade routes between major markets, cargo shipping and marine transport, energy production, tourism, and many other types of economic activity. As the oceans have emerged to become one of the global resource bases and transport corridors, it is crucial to identify the dangers that such a boom of human development activities may bring. In economic, social, and environmental terms, both the coastal territories and water areas are now changing at an unprecedented pace, in ways that fundamentally affect ecosystems, people, biodiversity, and sustainability. These transformations are likely to be felt globally, not only in coastal states. The most vulnerable regions include circumpolar territories (Arctic and Antarctic), the Atlantic Ocean (Northern Atlantic and the Mediterranean), and Asia (East, Southeast, and South Asia, the Pacific Ocean, and the Indian Ocean).

This Special Issue aims to address critical challenges to the blue economy in view of the growth in exploration and utilization of natural resources, transport connectivity, effects of climate change, sustainable fisheries management, food security, and social and economic issues of human well-being in coastal areas. In this context, this Special Issue supplements the existing literature by summoning political, economic, environmental, and social factors that influence various dimensions of the sustainable development of blue economy, as well as translating the findings into workable approaches and policies for the benefit of the economic actors, people, and environment. We welcome submissions from all areas of the blue and maritime economy, international relations, and social and life sciences with a high degree of novelty as full-length articles, reviews, and conceptual papers. Both theoretical and practical contributions that focus on topics related to the sustainable development of the blue economy are encouraged.

Prof. Tianming Gao
Dr. Vasilii Erokhin
Dr. Konstantin Zaikov
Prof. Andrei Jean Vasile
Prof. Jonel Subić
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biodiversity
  • blue economy
  • economic development
  • environment
  • investment
  • maritime routes
  • shipping
  • sustainable development

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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Article
Predictive Innovative Methods for Aquatic Heavy Metals Pollution Based on Bioindicators in Support of Blue Economy in the Danube River Basin
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8936; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168936 - 10 Aug 2021
Viewed by 334
Abstract
Heavy metal pollution is still present in the Danube River basin, due to intensive naval and agricultural activities conducted in the area. Therefore, continuous monitoring of this pivotal aquatic macro-system is necessary, through the development and optimization of monitoring methodologies. The main objective [...] Read more.
Heavy metal pollution is still present in the Danube River basin, due to intensive naval and agricultural activities conducted in the area. Therefore, continuous monitoring of this pivotal aquatic macro-system is necessary, through the development and optimization of monitoring methodologies. The main objective of the present study was to develop a prediction model for heavy metals accumulation in biological tissues, based on field gathered data which uses bioindicators (fish) and oxidative stress (OS) biomarkers. Samples of water and fish were collected from the lower sector of Danube River (DR), Danube Delta (DD) and Black Sea (BS). The following indicators were analyzed in samples: cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) (in water and fish tissues), respectively, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), malondialdehyde (MDA) (in fish tissues). The pollution index (PI) was calculated to identify the most polluted studied ecosystem, which revealed that Danube River is seriously affected by the presence of Fe (IP = 4887) and strongly affected by the presence of Zn (IP = 4.49). The concentration of Cd in fish muscle tissue was above the maximum permitted level (0.05 µg/g) by the EU regulation. From all analyzed OS biomarkers, MDA registered the highest median values in fish muscle (145.7 nmol/mg protein in DR, 201.03 nmol/mg protein in DD, 148.58 nmol/mg protein in BS) and fish liver (200.28 nmol/mg protein in DR, 163.67 nmol/mg protein, 158.51 nmol/mg protein), compared to CAT, SOD and GPx. The prediction of Cd, Pb, Zn, Fe and Cu in fish hepatic and muscle tissue was determined based on CAT, SOD, GPx and MDA, by using non-linear tree-based RF prediction models. The analysis emphasizes that MDA in hepatic tissue is the most important independent variable for predicting heavy metals in fish muscle and tissues at BS coast, followed by GPx in both hepatic and muscle tissues. The RF analytical framework revealed that CAT in muscle tissue, respectively, MDA and GPx in hepatic tissues are most common predictors for determining the heavy metals concentration in both muscle and hepatic tissues in DD area. For DR, the MDA in muscle, followed by MDA in hepatic tissue are the main predictors in RF analysis. Full article
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Article
The Importance of Maritime Transport for Economic Growth in the European Union: A Panel Data Analysis
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7961; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147961 - 16 Jul 2021
Viewed by 417
Abstract
Maritime transport is one of the main activities of the blue economy, which plays an important role in the EU. In this paper, we aim to assess the impact of maritime transport, related investment, and air pollution on economic growth within 20 countries [...] Read more.
Maritime transport is one of the main activities of the blue economy, which plays an important role in the EU. In this paper, we aim to assess the impact of maritime transport, related investment, and air pollution on economic growth within 20 countries of the European Union, using eight panel data regression models from 2007 to 2018. Our results confirm that maritime transport, air pollutants (NOx and SO2) from maritime transport, and investment in maritime port infrastructure are indeed positively correlated with economic growth. In other words, an increase of 10% in these factors has generated an associated increase in economic growth rate of around 1.6%, 0.4%, 0.8%, and 0.7% respectively. Alongside the intensity of economic maritime activities, pollution is positively correlated with economic growth, and thus it is recommended that policymakers and other involved stakeholders act to diminish environmental impacts in this sector using green investment in port infrastructure and ecological ships, in accordance with the current European trends and concerns. Full article
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Article
Online Education in the Russian Arctic: Employers’ Confidence and Educational Institutions’ Readiness
Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6798; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126798 - 16 Jun 2021
Viewed by 306
Abstract
The rapid spread of online learning demonstrates that it is becoming one of the trends in the development of vocational education in the modern world. Along with the obvious advantages of online learning such as cost reduction, cross-border opportunities for receiving it, and [...] Read more.
The rapid spread of online learning demonstrates that it is becoming one of the trends in the development of vocational education in the modern world. Along with the obvious advantages of online learning such as cost reduction, cross-border opportunities for receiving it, and adaptability for students, educational institutions encounter specific difficulties: a lack of optimal teaching methods, inflexibility of the institutional environment to the use of new teaching technologies, the transformation of communication between teachers and students, and technological unpreparedness for the development of online learning. At the same time, the need to solve the problem of accessibility of education and fill the shortage of labor resources in Russia, in particular its Arctic zone (AZRF), will contribute to the spread of online learning practices. To consider developing online education, this article, on the one hand, presents the results of a study of the regional employers’ confidence in education in a non-traditional format and, on the other hand, shows the readiness of vocational educational institutions to implement training programs in a distance format. The main research method was a questionnaire survey, in which 2240 organizations and 344 professional educational institutions located in the Russian Arctic took part. The survey results indicate that more than half of employers (58%) declared the applicability of online learning in the Russian Arctic, but about 40.6% of companies do not consider applicants with a diploma from online education. At the same time, employers’ confidence in distance learning in higher education is lower than in vocational secondary education. Additionally, the majority of institutions of higher education (62.5%) believe in the possibility of using distance education in the Russian Arctic, while organizations of vocational secondary education (64.98%) have the opposite opinion. Based on the results of the study, recommendations for federal and regional authorities were prepared. Full article
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Article
Planning for Sustainability: An Emerging Blue Economy in Russia’s Coastal Arctic?
Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 4957; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094957 - 28 Apr 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 489
Abstract
The main research objective of this study is to examine how coastal urban communities in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF) organize the sustainable development (and emerging blue economy) strategy planning process. Along with this general objective, this study focuses on [...] Read more.
The main research objective of this study is to examine how coastal urban communities in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF) organize the sustainable development (and emerging blue economy) strategy planning process. Along with this general objective, this study focuses on four more specific questions: First, to examine whether the sustainable development and blue economy concepts are integrated into the urban development strategies and whether they are a real priority for the northern coastal communities? Second, to figure out which local government and civil society institutions are involved in the policy planning process and whether this sphere of local politics is transparent and open to public discussions? Third, to find out which specific aspects of the sustainable development and coastal blue economy concepts are given priority in the municipal development strategies? Finally, to discuss whether the AZRF coastal sustainable development/blue economy strategies aim to solve short-term/most pressing problems or they suggest long-term policies built on sustainability principles and are oriented to solve fundamental socioeconomic and ecological problems of the AZRF coastal communities? The hypothesis of this study is that a properly designed strategy planning system would be helpful for both familiarizing northern municipalities with the blue economy concept and its effective implementation. This research is based on several empirical cases, including major Arctic coastal urban centers/ports—Anadyr, Arkhangelsk, Dudinka, Murmansk, Naryan-Mar, Pevek, Sabetta, and Severodvinsk. Full article
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Article
Economic Spillover Effects of Industrial Structure Upgrading in China’s Coastal Economic Rims
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3855; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073855 - 31 Mar 2021
Viewed by 417
Abstract
As a vital element affecting economic efficiency, the impact of marine industrial structure upgrading on marine economy has become a hot topic, and China is not an exception. This paper analyzed the dynamic relationship of marine industrial structure upgrading and marine economy efficiency [...] Read more.
As a vital element affecting economic efficiency, the impact of marine industrial structure upgrading on marine economy has become a hot topic, and China is not an exception. This paper analyzed the dynamic relationship of marine industrial structure upgrading and marine economy efficiency to verity the “structural bonus” and “cost disease” effects. The results confirmed the existence of cost disease in China’s marine economy, although occasionally it illustrated structural bonus effects with the improvement of the regional marine economy efficiency. The spatial Durbin model (SDM) was introduced to study the spillover effect of local marine industrial structure upgrading (MISU) on the adjacent regions’ marine economy efficiency, and this spillover effect was verified to have agglomerate characteristics in China’s coastal areas. Then several countermeasures were proposed to realize marine ecological civilization and promote regional cooperation in the development of China’s marine economy. Full article
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Article
Cross-Country Potentials and Advantages in Trade in Fish and Seafood Products in the RCEP Member States
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3668; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073668 - 25 Mar 2021
Viewed by 796
Abstract
Fisheries has always played a vital role in supporting livelihoods and ensuring food security and sustainable economic and social development in Southeast Asia. Historically, rural and coastal communities across the region have heavily relied on the fish trade as an indispensable source of [...] Read more.
Fisheries has always played a vital role in supporting livelihoods and ensuring food security and sustainable economic and social development in Southeast Asia. Historically, rural and coastal communities across the region have heavily relied on the fish trade as an indispensable source of income and employment. With the establishment of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) between Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies and large fish traders like China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, there is a threat for smaller countries to lose competitive advantages in the regional market. By studying bilateral trade flows between fifteen RCEP members in 2010–2019 and matching indicative untapped trade potentials (ITP method) with revealed comparative (RCA method), relative trade (RTA method), and competitive (Lafay index) advantages across 210 pairs of countries, the authors found substantial misbalances between potential values of country-to-country trade and actual advantages of RCEP economies. To optimize gains from intraregional trade for both smaller and larger RCEP members, this study identified advantageous and disadvantageous trading destinations and product categories for individual countries. The recommendations were then generalized along the four groups of economies based on their level of income, contribution to overall RCEP trade in fish, and the share of fishery products in the national trade turnover. From a practical side, the study adds to the knowledge about the fish trade in Asia by detailing how countries can better utilize individual combinations of advantages. From a methodological side, the approach can be employed widely outside the RCEP to establish a reliable picture of potential gains or losses of a particular country in trade with its counterparts across varied sets of competitive advantages. Full article
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Article
Blue Economy and Coastal Tourism: A Comprehensive Visualization Bibliometric Analysis
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3650; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073650 - 25 Mar 2021
Viewed by 768
Abstract
This paper aims to analyze the scientific production of the blue economy and coastal tourism research fields to identify research topics and publication patterns. Accordingly, bibliometric analysis was selected as a quantitative meta-analysis literature review method. Scopus was the main database for extracting [...] Read more.
This paper aims to analyze the scientific production of the blue economy and coastal tourism research fields to identify research topics and publication patterns. Accordingly, bibliometric analysis was selected as a quantitative meta-analysis literature review method. Scopus was the main database for extracting the scientific production in blue economy and coastal tourism. Various bibliometrics analysis techniques were used to analyze 476 and 49 publications in blue economy and coastal tourism, respectively. The main results are summarized as follows: (i) the number of publications in the blue economy scientific sector has increased significantly, and (ii) contrarily, a relatively small body of blue economy literature is concerned with the coastal tourism sector despite its significant role in the blue economy. Full article
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Article
Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Maritime Connectivity? An Estimation for China and the Polar Silk Road Countries
Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3521; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063521 - 22 Mar 2021
Viewed by 755
Abstract
In light of about 80% of international freight traffic carried by sea, maritime supply chains’ stability is pivotal to global connectivity. For over a year now, the transboundary mobility of vessels and cargoes has been restricted by diverse forms of the COVID-19 containment [...] Read more.
In light of about 80% of international freight traffic carried by sea, maritime supply chains’ stability is pivotal to global connectivity. For over a year now, the transboundary mobility of vessels and cargoes has been restricted by diverse forms of the COVID-19 containment measures applied by national governments, while the lockdowns of people, businesses, and economic activities have significantly affected the growth prospects of various maritime connectivity initiatives. This study investigates how the pandemic-related public health, trade, and market factors have shifted the connectivity patterns in the Polar Silk Road (PSR) transport corridor between China, South Korea, Japan, Russia, and four economies of Northern Europe. The causality links between the Shipping Connectivity Index (SCI) and the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, trade volumes with China and the rest of the world, and price indexes of minerals, fuels, food, and agricultural products are revealed separately for eight countries and thirty-five ports. The study algorithm is built on the consecutive application of the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and the Phillips-Perron (PP) stationarity tests, the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method, the Fully-Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) robustness checks, and the Toda-Yamamoto causality test. Tight trade-connectivity links are recorded in all locations along the China-PSR transport corridor in 2015–2019, but in 2020, the relationships weakened. Bidirectional influences between the number of COVID-19 cases and connectivity parameters demonstrate the maritime sector’s sensitivity to safety regulations and bring into focus the role of cargo shipping in the transboundary spread of the virus. The authors’ four-stage approach contributes to the establishment of a methodology framework that may equip stakeholders with insights about potential risks to maritime connectivity in the China-PSR maritime trade in the course of the pandemic. Full article
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Article
A Contribution to the Sustainable Development of Maritime Transport in the Context of Blue Economy: The Case of Montenegro
Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3079; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063079 - 11 Mar 2021
Viewed by 530
Abstract
Maritime transport and sustainable development require a recognizable global approach. The state, as the dominant structure in the world, enables the realization of sustainable maritime transport aims through its instruments. Therefore, it is very significant to consider the national maritime policies because the [...] Read more.
Maritime transport and sustainable development require a recognizable global approach. The state, as the dominant structure in the world, enables the realization of sustainable maritime transport aims through its instruments. Therefore, it is very significant to consider the national maritime policies because the effective implementation of the global policy is impossible without considering the adequate mechanisms at the state level. The adopted Montenegrin strategic documents impact the institutional framework set-up of the Blue Economy (BE) sectors and potentials for ecologically sustainable maritime transport. Although there are no practical directions for the sustainable use of sea resources, Montenegro is affirmatively oriented to the BE concept. Knowing that Montenegro is in the process of the pre-accessing EU phase, it is of importance to be on the right road to creating a national maritime transport policy including environmental practices, to become part of the strategic implementation of the BE. The paper provides recommendations that can serve for the successful follow-up of the BE activities in Montenegro and the wider area. Full article
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Article
Impact of Demographic Structure on Economic Development of Ukrainian Coastal Regions
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1798; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041798 - 07 Feb 2021
Viewed by 486
Abstract
The main aim of our paper is to study peculiarities of two periods, i.e., the pre-conflict period (2004–2013) and conflict period (2014–2018), in the context of the impact of the demographic structure of the population on the economic growth and development of coastal [...] Read more.
The main aim of our paper is to study peculiarities of two periods, i.e., the pre-conflict period (2004–2013) and conflict period (2014–2018), in the context of the impact of the demographic structure of the population on the economic growth and development of coastal regions of Ukraine. In the first step of the analysis, we investigate the relationship between the demographic shifts and selected economic indicators, using the Pearson’s correlation coefficient. In the next step of the analysis, we focus on the quantification of the impact of demographic indicators on the economic variables, based on the panel model with fixed effects. The received results confirm that the influence of the demographic stricture on the economic state of coastal regions changed significantly in the conflict period in comparison with the pre-conflict period, especially concerning income, unemployment, and the openness of the economy. Additionally, our findings show that while economic differences existed between the Azov Sea regions and the Black Sea regions in the pre-conflict period, they disappeared due to the economic deterioration of the Azov Sea regions during the conflict period. It is concluded that war affects adversely the population’s demographic structure, which inhibits the growth and economic development of Ukrainian coastal regions. Full article
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Review

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Review
Blue Gold: Advancing Blue Economy Governance in Africa
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7153; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137153 - 25 Jun 2021
Viewed by 356
Abstract
In Agenda 2063, the African Union focused on making the use of ocean resources a priority in the new frontier of its blue economy. However, most African countries are still lagging in taking the initial steps of identifying and prioritising blue economy sectors [...] Read more.
In Agenda 2063, the African Union focused on making the use of ocean resources a priority in the new frontier of its blue economy. However, most African countries are still lagging in taking the initial steps of identifying and prioritising blue economy sectors and understanding the risk to sea and ocean health. Many have not developed integrated blue economy strategies and road maps, and this delays the progress and vision for an African blue economy envisaged by Agenda 2063 and 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy. For Africa, however, the blue economy offers greater opportunity beyond the economy and the environment. It presents Africa with a unique opportunity to achieve its national objectives, to improve regional integration, and to exert influence in the global setting. In this review, we agree with Schot and Steinmueller (2018) that we need to develop new framings and begin to experiment with new policy practices to address social and environmental challenges. Furthermore, we maintain that existing theories and knowledge based on innovation studies in Africa may be significant for designing and implementing policies towards climate change mitigation, blue economy governance, and sustainability transitions. Finally, we conclude by highlighting how experimentation is the key feature of transformative innovation policy that Africa has to employ in its blue economy while emphasizing how Africa (and the Global South generally) are in a unique position to develop their own transformation models that are different from those of the Global North. Full article
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