Blue Economy

Seychelles is a global biodiversity hotspot comprising of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. As an island nation that depends almost entirely on its ocean, it has become a prime example of a country that has embraced the Blue Economy.

The original Blue Economy sector by Gunter Pauli was to look for the best nature-inspired technologies to shift society from scarcity to abundance by tackling environmental and other problems in new ways.¹ Sustainability is central to the success of the Blue Economy concept and this has multi-sectoral implications. To better coordinate the approach of the Blue Economy concept, the Department of the Blue Economy was established in 2015 and it has been promoting the sustainable use of marine resources as well as coordinating its approach for the usage of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Any business activity within the EEZ will be developed according to the Seychelles Marine Spatial Plan and will have to reflect sustainable use of marine resources.

Seychelles has developed a Blue Economy roadmap, which defines how Seychelles will make maximum use of its 1.358 million square kilometres of ocean in the most sustainable manner possible. This comprehensive roadmap covers the whole spectrum of potential resources from:

Mandated under the Ministry of Fisheries and the Blue Economy, to provide strategic direction and coordination of the Blue Economy implementation, as part of the continued sustainable development of Seychelles, the sector is expected to deliver opportunities for diversification of the Seychelles economy.