Consultation workshop held on blue economy scenarios for Viet Nam

November 5, 2021

Photo: Tam Mai


Ha Noi, 5 November 2021 - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the General Administration of Seas and Islands of Viet Nam (VASI) held a consultation workshop based on a report on blue economy scenarios for Viet Nam.

Developed by UNDP and VASI, the report on blue economies scenarios envisions the potential of the blue economy in Viet Nam by assessing the contribution of marine economic sectors to Viet Nam's sustainable development, and will be launched at the International Conference on "Sustainable Ocean Economy And Climate Change Adaption" chaired by Viet Nam and Norway with UNDP’s technical support on 13 and 14 December 2021 in Ha Noi.

Online and offline participants of the consultation workshop included representatives of different ministries, provinces, embassy of Norway in Viet Nam, institutes, and international organizations such as World Bank, ADB, KOICA, IUCN and WWF.

Attending the workshop, Mr. Dao Xuan Lai of the UNDP Climate Change and Environment Unit in Viet Nam said, "blue economy is a combination of different economic sectors closely linked with the marine environment without clear boundaries. The development of one industry can have positive or negative impacts on others. Therefore, a multi-sectoral approach and coordination are required to optimize the development of Viet Nam's blue economy. It is the first marine economic synthesis report in Viet Nam. We hope that this report will be an important contribution, having a scientific and practical basis, contributing to policymaking, determining priority, green recovery to promote a sustainable marine economy in Viet Nam.”

"Ensuring that environment quality is not traded for economic growth is fundamental to securing a resilient blue economy in Viet Nam,” he added.

At the workshop, the experts presented a summary of thematic research on marine economic sectors of renewable energy, oil and gas, aquaculture, maritime transport, tourism, and the environment, including the current situation, challenges and opportunities, SDG linkages and development scenarios.

Several future scenarios up to 2030 were developed for each of these sectors based on sector-based reforms and interventions. Scenarios included a “business-as-usual” and “sustainable” — or “blue” — scenario closely aligned to the blue economy concept.

The “blue” scenario developed for ecosystems demonstrated that the ecosystem value, and in some cases the total area, of crucial habitats such as mangroves, seagrass, coral reefs, and lagoons could be increased. Thus, the marine economic expansion should be accompanied by a focus on maintaining or enhancing environment quality.

Viet Nam has a long coastline of 3,260 km (excluding islands) running from Mong Cai in the north to Ha Tien in the southwest and a population of 98 million people (2019). The population of 28 coastal provinces and cities accounts for nearly 50 percent of the country's total. The economy of the sea and coastal areas of Viet Nam accounts for approximately 47-48% of the country's GDP, while the GDP of pure marine economy accounts for about 20-22% of the country's total GDP. Key marine economic sectors in Viet Nam include marine renewable energy, oil and gas marine resources, aquaculture and fisheries, coastal and marine tourism, marine transportation and environment, biodiversity and ecosystem services.

For more information, please contact:

Phan Huong Giang,
CCE Media and Communications Analyst, UNDP Viet Nam
Email: phan.huong.giang@undp.org; Mobile: 0948466688

Hoang Thanh Vinh,
UNDP Programme Analyst
Email: hoang.thanh.vinh@undp.org