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BLUE ECONOMY AND THE 2030 AGENDA

Thauan Santos

1. Introduction

Although there is still resistance to the is- the center of the 2030 Agenda, particularly
sue, it is possible to state that sustainable de- because of its cross-cutting and intersec-
velopment already assumes a key role in the toral nature.
global agenda. With timid movements from This chapter will strengthen the dialogue
the 1970s onwards, it was at the beginning between the Blue Economy and sustainable
of the 21st century that society witnesses the development, highlighting the strategic role
first major global effort to promote sustain- that marine resources and maritime activities
able development. In 2000, the Millennium have in the current context of the global de-
Development Goals (MDGs) emerged, which velopment agenda, including developed and
totaled 8 goals, 18 targets and 48 indicators. developing countries in this process. To this
After 15 years, the 2030 Agenda has been end, it will initially and briefly present the
launched, with its Sustainable Development 2030 Agenda, as well as its 17 SDGs, and
Goals (SDGs), totaling 17 goals, 169 targets then make a brief review of the literature on
and 232 indicators. the concept of a Blue Economy. These two
Having an interface with different initial discussions support the following anal-
themes, the seas and the ocean are often ysis, which will highlight the key role of the
associated only with SDG 14 (SANTOS, sea and ocean in the 2030 Agenda.
2020, 2021a). Nevertheless, this chapter Analyzing the case of Brazil in particular,
aims to criticize this perspective, as it is lim- it is a major regional and global player with
ited and inconsistent with the 2030 Agen- the second largest economy and population
da itself – which intends to be bold, trans- on the American continent, with 7,491 km
versal and interconnected. In this sense, a of coastline facing the Atlantic Ocean. This
broader view of marine and ocean resourc- geographical peculiarity results in it having
es is proposed based on the concept of a a maritime economy by nature, which is
Blue Economy; instead of focusing only on why it deserves to be studied in more detail
marine life, we place the seas and ocean at (SANTOS, 2021a).

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