From Blue Growth Strategy to Sustainable Blue Economy: Interreg Italy-Croatia’s effort in making this change tangible

Abstract

Oceans, seas and coastal areas hold a central position for the sustainment of life on our planet as they produce oxygen, absorb carbon emissions and are the main source of proteins for more than one third of the population worldwide. Furthermore, marine ecosystems provide a home to an extensive biodiversity and their waters and depths could be a source of clean energy and untapped resources. European history, culture and economy have traditionally shared a strong bound with the sea, but in the present day, Blue economy sectors (which comprise all marine-related economic activities) have come to occupy a prominent position in European governance, thanks to its significant growth prospects and its potential in contributing to the achievement of European sustainability targets. In order to attain a Sustainable Blue growth, two main criticalities must be overcome: the first one is that of establishing an integrated governance in maritime affairs, while the second one concerns the sustainable use of all available resources. The European Union can be considered a best practice in this field especially in light of the European Commission’s 2021 Communication highlighting the urgency to shift from “Blue Growth to Sustainable blue economy”. In its framework it is possible to find all the tools necessary to overcome the aforementioned challenges, in particular within the Interreg Programmes for territorial cooperation and through the adoption of coherent Capitalisation strategies.