ADB launches $5 billion healthy ocean action plan

The plan will expand financing and technical assistance for ocean health and marine economy projects to US$5 billion from 2019 to 2024, including co-financing from partners.

It will help create inclusive livelihoods and business opportunities in sustainable tourism and fisheries; protect and restore coastal and marine ecosystems; reduce land-based sources of marine pollution; and improve sustainability in port and coastal infrastructure development.

As part of the action plan, ADB will launch the Oceans Financing Initiative to create opportunities for the private sector to invest in bankable projects that will help improve ocean health.

The initiative, being piloted in Southeast Asia in collaboration with the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund and the Republic of Korea, will provide technical assistance grants and funding from ADB and other donors through instruments such as credit risk guarantees and capital market “blue bonds”.

The “blue economy”, which includes livelihoods and other economic benefits derived from oceans, is estimated at between $3 trillion to $6 trillion per year globally. Oceans contribute significantly to the gross domestic product of many developing countries – as much as 13 per cent in Indonesia and 19 per cent in Viet Nam.