Developing blue economy through better methodology for assessment on local and regional level

Blue economy is an essential driver of development. Its importance has been broadly measured and acknowledged in economic, social, and environmental terms. However, its impact at the regional and local level has not been measured to its full extent so far, as a system of indicators based on reliable data measuring the precise effect of activities directly or indirectly relying on the sea, has yet to be developed. Several attempts to estimate the size of blue economy have been made. Specifically, the following initiatives provide an overview of approaches measuring the size, nature and dynamics of blue economy at the European Union (EU) and Member State (MS) level: the DG MARE's initiative, still on-going, which is using data reported by Member States (MS) to Eurostat; Eurostat's work on maritime policy indicators and on maritime economy statistics; the French marine economic data report; the Ecorys (2012) study on Blue Growth; and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) study on the development of a consistent set of data on the maritime economy in Europe (under evaluation). The review of these recent initiatives aimed at measuring blue economy's impact indicated a high complexity of the exercise, as well as the lack of adequate indicators at the sub-national level. As a consequence, the design of a systematic and comprehensive impact assessment methodology for blue economy at the regional and local level is deemed a particularly demanding task, requiring significantly high resources. More pragmatically, this study provides an outline of the key elements to be considered by local and regional authorities (LRAs) when defining the scope of an impact assessment methodology, and identifies a limited set of indicators deemed most appropriate for use in the impact exercise.