Bel©m: The East African Community (EAC) has developed a Regional Blue Economy Strategy and Action Plan (2025-2034). The plan outlines how the bloc intends to harness its aquatic resources to spur economic growth, strengthen climate resilience, and boost food security. The plan, crafted with technical and financial support from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) through its Sub-Regional Office for Eastern Africa, is awaiting approval by the EAC Council of Ministers.

According to Kenya News Agency, EAC Deputy Secretary-General in charge of Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors, Andrea Ariik, said the strategy offers a unified framework for sustainable utilization and conservation of oceans, lakes, and rivers across the region. Ariik noted that climate change has, over the past two decades, emerged as a cross-cutting crisis affecting agriculture, energy, infrastructure, natural resources, and health, underscoring the urgency for coordinated regional action.

The strategy prioritizes job creation, value addition, poverty reduction, and enhanced regional cooperation while safeguarding sensitive ecosystems. It also seeks to guide partner states in translating blue economy policies into practical interventions at national and regional levels. The framework is closely aligned with climate action, particularly through low-carbon development and ecosystem restoration. It emphasizes the protection of mangroves, coral reefs, and other blue carbon systems that serve as natural buffers against climate impacts.

Ariik added that the admission of Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had significantly expanded the EAC’s resource base. Somalia contributes over 3,000 kilometers of Indian Ocean coastline, complementing Kenya’s and Tanzania’s combined 2,000 kilometers, while the DRC provides access to the Congo River system and the Atlantic Ocean.

The EAC side event at the COP30, titled ‘Blue Horizons: Accelerating Climate Action through the Blue Economy,’ was attended by policymakers, technical experts, and representatives from partner states. Key sectors identified in the strategy include fisheries and aquaculture, maritime transport and ports, coastal and marine tourism, and inland waterway transport, each with economic, ecological, and social dimensions.

Ariik urged partner states, development partners, and the private sector to support the blueprint, saying the blue economy remains one of East Africa’s strongest frontiers for sustainable development.