DOES BLUE ECONOMY WORK IN AFRICA?
DOES BLUE ECONOMY WORK IN AFRICA?
Chege Priscilla Ruguru - PhD (Project Management) Student, School of Business, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Dr. Paul Sang - Senior Lecturer, Department of Management Science, Kenyatta University, Kenya, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Globalization, economic development, human development, and the free access to marine, lake and river resources has exerted pressure on these ecosystems through increased resource exploitation, alterations of ocean zones, and overfishing. Comprehensive essential blue economy sustainable targets and indicators would aid on examining the risk management trends and provide way forward for sustainable development and utilization of marine resources in developing countries. Despite the potential of the blue economy to contribute to the economic development of countries, Kenya’s blue economy is poorly developed in regard to marine research activities, aquaculture and fishing. The general objective of the study is to investigate the relationship between risk and sustainability of blue economy projects. The study’s specific objectives were to determine the influence of political risk, economic risk, social risk, technological risk, environmental risk and legal risk on sustainability of Blue Economy projects. The study was based on the resource dependency theory, stakeholder theory, project risk management process theory and contingency theory. This study was a descriptive desktop review. This study applied a critical review of research through the desk research method. This involved collecting information from earlier studies, publications and online materials. The study established that sustainability of blue economy projects in Kenya was affected by weak legal, policy, regulatory and institutional framework and poorly planned and unregulated coastal development. Other critical; risks included militarization of oceans, marine insecurity, lack of political support for the projects, poor funding, and inadequate research and development. The study recommends that Kenya should focus on developing marine fishery, marine transportation, tourism, energy and material production industries based on the blue economy concept. Further, the country should improve and coordinate marine and land economy national policies, develop blue economy demonstration zone, strengthen connections between trade and infrastructure and promote the development of technology and human resources. In addition, Kenya should set up blue economy demonstration zones in the coastal regions, for exploring the blue economy model featured with marine industry, fishery, breeding, seaside tourism industries, small island collective, regional and bay development.
