Oceans have long been at the heart of our planet.
They provide jobs, food security, water, transport, energy and are key drivers of wealth and prosperity.
If they were a single economy, oceans would be the seventh-largest, with an annual estimated value of $1.5 trillion per year, according to The Commonwealth.
More and more interest is emerging around the ‘blue economy’. which is made up of a number of ocean industries such as fisheries, tourism, maritime transport, aquaculture, renewable energy and other economic activities associated with the ocean.
The World Bank has estimated that fisheries contribute $270 billion annually to global gross domestic product. More than 80 percent of trade takes place by sea and the volume of trade by sea is expected to double by 2030.
As more governments are taking steps to promote ocean-based economies, how can the Middle East and North Africa ride the wave?
Pursuing the blue economy and the sustainable use of the oceans can help enable economic diversification and move the region towards a post-oil era.
With diversification plans underway in the region, developing sustainable coastal and marine tourism has vast potential. It is projected to be the largest value-adding segment of the ocean economy by 2030, with global growth rates of more than 3.5 percent forecast by the World Bank. This indicates that investing in non-oil sectors such as the tourism industry is an opportunity to help better diversify the economy.
New waves of investments are encouraging the development of such sectors. As the country with the longest Red Sea coastline, Saudi Arabia has unveiled ambitious plans to invest and develop its Red Sea Coast.
Through Vision 2030, the country is seeking to develop its coastline under a portfolio of projects dubbed the “Riviera of the Middle East” that include Amaala and NEOM.
In the UAE, initiatives have been launched to promote ecotourism across the country.
The National Ecotourism Project was announced by the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment in a bid to transform and position the country into a leading ecotourism destination.
Another opportunity to boost the blue economy is through developing the maritime industry.
As a backbone of the blue economy, maritime transport remains an integral part of international trade.
Nearly 90 percent of the world’s trade is carried by sea, according to the UN’s International Maritime Organisation. The Indian Ocean alone has the world’s busiest trade route and almost 80 percent of global maritime oil trade flows transits through three of its narrow passages of water.
The region can leverage its strategic location by giving priority to maritime growth.
Strengthening maritime cooperation can help make use of opportunities the blue economy offers. Steps have already been taken to improve the stability and enhance the prosperity of the Indian Ocean – whose coasts are home to nearly 2.7 billion people.
Last year, the UAE took the helm as chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) for the next two years. This was the first time the country has done so since joining the organisation in 1999.
As part of its mandate, the UAE pledged to revive the idea of establishing a development fund for the organisation.
The creation of such a fund has been a long source of disputes since the inception of IORA and will not be an easy task due to the diversity of member states.
However, given their complex interconnectedness, heavy reliance on the Indian Ocean and shared climate change woes, a development fund could further unlock the potential of the ocean.
The blue economy is aligned to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal number 14, which aims to “conserve and sustainably use the ocean, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”. While the potential of the blue economy has garnered interest from policymakers globally, this comes at a time where the oceans are at a tipping point.
The compounding effects of climate change, pollution, overfishing and the loss of biodiversity put added strain on the oceans.
While the blue economy offers vast potential, ocean health should be at the heart of the agenda.
Strategies taken to advance the blue economy’s potential must be taken through a climate and sustainability lens with a collective responsibility to support ocean health.
The blue economy depends on it.
Maram Ahmed is a Senior Fellow at SOAS, University of London
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
The Specs:
The Specs:
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 444bhp
Torque: 600Nm
Price: AED 356,580 incl VAT
On sale: now.
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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