The global rush to develop the ‘blue economy’ risks harming both the marine environment and human wellbeing. Bold policies and actions are urgently needed. We identify five priorities to chart a course towards an environmentally sustainable and socially equitable blue economy.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
The Ocean Equity Index
Nature Open Access 28 January 2026
-
Ocean renewable energy for equitable energy access in a Blue Economy
Scientific Reports Open Access 16 January 2026
-
The new wave of ocean industrialization and the challenges for biodiversity conservation in the Mediterranean Sea: the case of the Costa Brava
Scientific Reports Open Access 28 August 2025
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Nash, K. L. et al. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 1, 1625–1634 (2017).
Halpern, B. S. et al. Nat. Commun. 6, 7615 (2015).
The Ocean Economy in 2030 (OECD, 2016).
Campbell, L. M. et al. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 41, 517–543 (2016).
Silver, J. J., Gray, N. J., Campbell, L. M., Fairbanks, L. W. & Gruby, R. L. J. Environ. Dev. 24, 135–160 (2015).
World Bank and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs The Potential of the Blue Economy: Increasing Long-Term Benefits of the Sustainable Use of Marine Resources for Small Island Developing States and Coastal Least Developed Countries (World Bank, 2017).
Michel, J. A. Rethinking the Oceans: Towards the Blue Economy (Paragon House, 2017).
Blue Economy Concept Paper: Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UN, 2012).
Golden, J. S. et al. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 1, 0017 (2017).
Klinger, D. H., Maria Eikeset, A., Davíðsdóttir, B., Winter, A.-M. & Watson, J. R. Mar. Policy 87, 356–362 (2018).
Kittinger, J. N. et al. Science 356, 912–913 (2017).
Bennett, N. J., Govan, H. & Satterfield, T. Mar. Policy 57, 61–68 (2015).
Cohen, P. J. et al. Front. Mar. Sci. 6, 171 (2019).
Kerr, S., Colton, J., Johnson, K. & Wright, G. Mar. Policy 52, 108–115 (2015).
Suárez-de Vivero, J. L. & Rodríguez Mateos, J. C. Mar. Policy 75, 19–28 (2017).
Lemos, M. C. & Agrawal, A. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 31, 297–325 (2006).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bennett, N.J., Cisneros-Montemayor, A.M., Blythe, J. et al. Towards a sustainable and equitable blue economy. Nat Sustain 2, 991–993 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0404-1
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0404-1
This article is cited by
-
Ocean renewable energy for equitable energy access in a Blue Economy
Scientific Reports (2026)
-
The Ocean Equity Index
Nature (2026)
-
Rethinking maritime security from the bottom up: Four principles to broaden perspectives and centre humans and ecosystems
npj Ocean Sustainability (2025)
-
The new wave of ocean industrialization and the challenges for biodiversity conservation in the Mediterranean Sea: the case of the Costa Brava
Scientific Reports (2025)
