Page 314 - Economia Azul - versão: inglês

The countries that, throughout their his- These waters, carried by the winds, irrigate
tories, knew how to guide the influences of the continents. Thus, we have rivers such as
the Maritime Mentality to national devel- the Amazon, Nile, Thames, Mississippi, and
opment reached high levels of Prosperity, others, “running” in the atmosphere and
with consequent robust capacity for Sur- being decisive in contributing to the conti-
. nuity of life on planet Earth.
vival. To remember:
. Portugal – The Great Navigations; Environmental preservation, in the Mar-
England – Pax Britannica. The Empire itime Mentality, brings to the debate the
. United States of America – Pax Ameri- connection of life with the developments
where the sun never sets!;
related to the physical states of water: solid,
. China – The Silk Road. In dispute over not exist, the Earth would be unviable due
liquid, and gaseous. In fact, if the oceans did
cana; and
oceanic spaces. to the heat radiated by the Sun. The physi-
Access to knowledge and technologies cal states of water contribute significantly to
that make it possible to extend the perma- the protection of the planet by existing, in
nence of human beings in a hostile environ- the atmosphere and on earth, water in solid,
ment, such as the maritime one, allows a con- gaseous, and liquid states. This finding justi-
tinuous solution of difficulties and the neu- fies the preference of many for replacing the
tralization of threats existing on land, for ac- name of our habitat: Planet Water.
cess to mineral resources, food, and energy. In historical retrospect, we remember
The Blue Economy, or even the New that, at first, the oceans were barriers, which
Economy, according to the Organization for prevented human movement. Then, dis-
Economic Co-operation and Development, placements began to occur, both for trade,
OECD, in the book The Ocean Economy in war and incipient exploration and exploita-
2030, in free translation: “[...] is essential tion of its natural resources. Currently, we
for the development and the prosperity of have human beings working, in different
humanity. Source of food, energy, minerals, types of activities, in oceanic areas far from
health, leisure and transport of goods and land and even, which was impossible not
people[...]”. And it continues: “[...]New long ago, submerged for long periods.
technologies are making energy from sea From Grotius to the III United Nations
currents, tides and wind viable, new sourc- Convention on the Law of the Sea, we ob-
es of proteins and indicate, with absolute served a continuous growth of the Mar-
clarity, the fundamental link between envi- itime Mentality, both in the breadth of
ronmental preservation of the oceans and subjects and in the depth and complexity
climate change[...]”. of the knowledge achieved. In the Phoe-
The Sea That Surrounds Us, by the dis- nicians, we find the same foundations of
tinguished marine biologist Rachel Carson the Maritime Mentality that continue to
(2010), points out the importance of rivers drive the studies of Oceanpolitics and en-
formed from water in a gaseous state, re- able the activities of the Blue Economy and
sulting from the evaporation of the oceans. national development.
312 BLUE ECONOMY
The breadth of topics covered corresponds Oceanpolitics, the Maritime Mentality must
to the immensity of ocean spaces and the be strengthened, so that, according to Fer-
magnitude of interests of all kinds that are nando Pessoa, we “navigate beyond pain”
involved with maritime activities. Thus, in or- and be able to achieve the desired national
der to be prepared to adopt the guidelines of development of maritime powers.
3. Conclusion
increase the dynamics of studies on oceanic of land areas.
In Brazil, we must, as soon as possible, failed to reach the same relevance as that
spaces. To this end, initiatives related to the This reality was basically due to the need
Maritime Mentality are a priority and with for a list of knowledge about maritime ac-
the conviction that many miles still need to tivities that, in the 19th and early 20th cen-
be navigated, in order to reach an adequate turies, were still incipient. In this context, it
breadth and depth of knowledge on diverse was up to Admiral Mahan to formulate the
and highly complex subjects. Oceanpolitics, concepts that attributed to oceanic spaces a
which employs the knowledge, traditions, greater capacity to influence the destinies of
and beliefs of the Maritime Mentality, States; and the set of these concepts came
therefore, depends on this support base to to be called the Theory of Maritime Power.
effectively influence national development. The evolution of this Theory has allowed
Also, we can understand that the Mari- a set of concepts, partially derived from
time Mentality and Oceanpolitics guide the studies of Geopolitics, to integrate and
elaboration of thoughts and actions, which improve Oceanpolitics; the science that
formulate guidelines and procedures, in- formulates guidelines for national develop-
duce activities on land, for the benefit of ment, giving priority to maritime activities.
those carried out at sea and activities at Still favoring the development of the
sea, by involving references to overcome Maritime Mentality and of the Oceanpol-
the challenges of oceans, rivers, and lakes. itics we have the possibility of scarcity of
The analysis of the concepts present- the existing natural resources in the conti-
ed by Geopolitics allow, based on factors nental territories, the difficulties related to
observed – mainly – in terrestrial spaces, the preservation of the environment in the
to establish the necessary foundations for terrestrial environment, the legal system
activities at sea. and the political-strategic consequences re-
The predominance of the influence of sulting from the enactment of the III Con-
continental territories in Geopolitics may vention of the United Nations on the Law
have reached its apogee with Mackinder, of the Sea and the magnitude of maritime
who came to be considered as the formula- trade caused by Globalization and the de-
tor of the Theory of Land Power. However, pendence on the continuity of life due to
the influence of oceanic spaces, despite be- the environmental preservation of oceans,
ing analyzed in several geopolitical studies, rivers and lakes.
Maritime Mentality and National Development 313