COUNTRIES ENGAGED
The Blue Recovery Hubs have been working with Fiji since 2021 to support their COVID-19 recovery through providing the evidence base required to prioritize sustainable ocean economic development.
After engaging with nearly 100 stakeholders from across the ocean economy, Stage 1 was completed in Fiji in April 2022. The appraisal confirmed the reliance of the country on tourism, which contributed 39.8% of the country’s GDP in 2019. It highlighted the vulnerable state that this created with COVID-19 wiping out more than 80% of tourism revenue, leading to an employment crisis with more than 100,000 out of work.
Stage 2 focused on understanding the roadblocks to the flow of finance into the aquaculture sector. The Sustainable Investment Pathway was drafted in March 2023 after engaging 80 stakeholders representing many parts of the supply chain. The process found that key opportunities to catalyse sector growth included policy harmonization, strategic development planning, enhancing stakeholder coordination for capacity-building, and mobilizing development partners in overcoming specific aquaculture roadblocks.
The roundtable was held at the end of March 2023 bringing together 40 critical partners in the development of the aquaculture industry.
“Reform does not mean starting over or scrapping ambitions for sustainable and equitable development in Fiji. On the contrary, Fiji is on its way to developing brand recognition as a leader in sustainability and high-quality products.”
— Blue Recovery Hubs Aquaculture Sustainable Investment Pathway: Fiji, March 2023
The Blue Recovery Hubs team engaged with Samoa at the United Nations Ocean Conference 2022. Samoa was chosen to increase the coverage of the project in the Pacific region where COVID-19 impacts were the greatest, and climate change pressures are growing quickly.
In March 2023, the Blue Recovery Hubs team engaged 75 stakeholders representing all active ocean economy sectors in Samoa. The economic appraisal will be subsequently available and will be followed up by further engagement in September 2023.