Africa's Maritime Economy: A Key to Sustainable Development
As maritime issues take center stage in international negotiations, Africa still struggles to transform its oceanic resources into a true driver of sustainable development. At the 2nd Africa 21 Environmental Meeting, recently held, experts analyzed the progress made in 2025, the persistent challenges, and the prospects offered by the blue economy to strengthen the continent's economic sovereignty.
The Importance of Maritime Economy for Africa
The seas and oceans have become an essential vector for African economies. In 2025, the multiplication of international agreements and multilateral negotiations on marine biodiversity, fishing, and plastic pollution has put the maritime agenda at the heart of global economic issues. For Africa, where the potential of the blue economy remains largely underexploited, these dynamics raise a central question: how to transform oceanic resources into a driver of sustainable growth, job creation, and economic sovereignty, while preserving fragile ecosystems?
The Africa 21 Association's Webinar
The Africa 21 Association, in partnership with the H. Dudley Wright Foundation, organized a webinar entitled "Rendez-vous de l'environnement" (Environmental Meeting), a program dedicated to African journalists, which took place on Zoom on February 4, 2026. The theme of this new episode was: "Seas and Oceans: What Challenges for Africa?" The year 2025 marked significant progress internationally in protecting the seas and oceans, including the results of the United Nations Conference on the Oceans (UNOC 3), the ratification of the treaty on biodiversity in the high seas (BBNJ), the WTO agreement on fishing subsidies, and the implementation of the global framework for biodiversity (target 30/30, aiming to protect 30% of the seas and lands). These negotiations aim to analyze the role played by African states in this maritime agenda in 2025, the expected benefits in the short, medium, and long term, and the potential for developing the blue economy on the continent.
The Structuring of Africa's Blue Economy
In this context, Nassim Oulmane, Chief Economist and Head of the Green and Blue Economy Section at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), discussed the growing importance of the blue economy concept in Africa. Long neglected, this theme has been structured since 2016 through the development of strategic documents at the continental level. According to him, the blue economy represents between $300 and $400 billion in economic activity, concerns nearly 50 million jobs, and affects 38 coastal countries. Strategic frameworks have been gradually put in place, notably at the level of the African Union, with a continental blue economy strategy, which is then broken down into sub-regional and national strategies. The challenge now lies in the ability to reconcile economic development, protection, and regeneration of the oceans, whose degradation is accelerating, while African countries have limited means to ensure their sustainable management. This dynamic is now integrated into development plans, the African Union's Agenda 2063, and aspirations for inclusive and sustainable growth. The blue economy allows for a direct link between sustainable development, environmental protection, and ecosystem regeneration, the degradation of which has an immediate and negative impact on economic activity, particularly in sectors such as sustainable coastal tourism.
The Role of International Trade in the Blue Economy
Ludovic Arnaud, Deputy Administrator of Economic Affairs at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and expert on ocean economy data, highlighted the role of international trade in the transition to a sustainable blue economy. He recalled that the African blue economy generates around $300 billion in value added per year, while international trade related to the oceans represents only $60 to $70 billion, a level far below the continent's potential. UNCTAD provides several databases, accessible in French and English, allowing for a detailed analysis of oceanic goods and services trade at the continental, sub-regional, and national levels. The analyzed oceanic goods primarily concern fishing and processed fish products, minerals (including salt and sand), boats and port equipment, as well as blue high technologies. In 2024, African exports of oceanic goods reached around $25 billion, with significant regional differentiation: Sub-Saharan Africa is more specialized in goods exports, while North Africa stands out for oceanic services, particularly tourism and maritime transport. The data also show a strong specialization in coastal and maritime tourism, as well as a greater diversification of exported goods according to countries. Morocco is the leading African exporter, both for goods and oceanic services. Finally, Ludovic Arnaud highlighted a major structural challenge: if 80% of global trade is done by sea, this rate reaches 90% in Africa, but 95% of ships operating on the continent fly foreign flags, raising the question of maritime sovereignty and the capture of value added by African economies.
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