Conference theme: Limits to Blue Growth?

The 1972 report Limits of Growth marked the beginning of critical debates about ever increasing economic expansion and its effects related to resource depletion. The largely academic discussions contributed to the birth of sustainable development that now for decades serves as guiding concept for policy makers, including those concerned in coastal and ocean governance. At the same time, the ‘blue economy’ and ‘blue growth’ have nowadays become popular concepts in marine policy. Notions on blue growth especially ask attention for new uses of the oceans, such as renewable energy (wind at sea), deep sea mining and deep-sea fishing but also aim at highlighting ecosystem services that have societal value (coastal protection, CO2 storage and biodiversity). The concept aims to reconcile two seemingly opposing uses of the oceans: exploitation and conservation, in the same way as was intended with the use of ‘sustainable development’. The concept also seems to promise that there still is a new, not yet reached frontier for economic expansion. With the theme “Limits to Blue Growth?”, MARE would like to contribute to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Key to this contribution is the fundamental social sciences question “Blue for who?”, so who are the people of the blue economy? Who are winning and who are losing from the new developments? Who are making the decisions? Whose knowledge counts? And related to this, is a set of questions like for what, when, where and why? And with what relation to, and impact on sustainable development?

The conference theme “Limits to Blue Growth” is divided into the 6 streams:

• Stream 1: Making Blue Livelihoods
• Stream2: Knowing the Blue
• Stream 3: Governing, Steering and Managing the Blue Realm
• Stream 4: Emerging Sectors in the Blue Space
• Stream 5: Resisting Blue Appropriations
• Stream 6: Blue Crisis