National State of Ocean and Coasts 2018: Blue Economy Growth, Philippines

This National State of the Oceans and Coasts (NSOC) 2018: Blue Economy Growth Report of the Philippines aims to contribute to the over-all assessment and monitoring, not only of the SDS-SEA implementation, but also the SDGs and other related international agreements and national policies. As expressed in the Changwon Declaration 2012, PEMSEA and the EAS countries believe that blue economy offers a useful framework and organizing principle for the sustainable development of coastal and marine areas. With a growing global population, mounting pressures on the environment and existing resource base, and increasing access to coastal and marine areas through technological advances, the accelerated development and exploitation of coasts and oceans is a certainty. Hence, a developmental framework that will put a premium on balancing economic development with environmental protection, habitat and biodiversity conservation, and social welfare is of utmost importance.