The blue economy has emerged as a vital pillar of sustainable development across ASEAN, offering a transformative pathway to economic resilience, environmental stewardship, and regional integration.
With the adoption of the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework (ABEF) in 2023, member states have collectively committed to a cross-sectoral and inclusive approach to harnessing ocean and coastal resources.
Bright spots in the ASEAN Blue Economy.
Yet the ASEAN Blue Economy is challenged by:
Fragmented Governance
Environmental Degradation
Climate Vulnerability
Limited Financing & Data
Socioeconomic Inequities
The University of Wollongong’s Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) and the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre have been selected to develop the ASEAN Blue Economy Implementation Plan (2026-2030), supported by the Government of Australia through the Australia for ASEAN Futures Initiative (Aus4ASEAN Futures).
This significant project will establish a comprehensive roadmap for sustainable ocean-based economic development across the ASEAN region over the next five years.
The ASEAN Blue Economy Framework (ABEF).
ASEAN defines the Blue Economy as an integrated, holistic, cross-sectoral, and cross-stakeholder approach that creates value-added and value-chain of resources from oceans, seas, and fresh water in an inclusive and sustainable way, making the blue economy the new engine for ASEAN’s future economic growth.
The ASEAN Blue Wealth Implementation Plan
The ASEAN Blue Wealth Implementation Plan aims to translate the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework Blue Strategies into 5 Blue Outcomes and 16 activities and supporting initiatives based on our blue capital lens with blue priority sectors identified for each capital.
The creation of an ASEAN Blue Economy Implementation Road Map will contain a detailed action plan to operationalise and enable the implementation plan. It will focus on identifying actions, defining performance measures and allocating implementation responsibilities.
The Implementation Plan & Roadmap.
Since the adoption of the ABEF, progress among ASEAN Member States (AMS) has varied significantly. Some countries have advanced initiatives in blue economy sectors, yet there remains a lack of a coherent and comprehensive action plan at the regional level. The Implementation Plan and Roadmap aims to effectively and collaboratively advance initiatives that promote prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable development at the local, national and regional level.
The use of this map is for illustrative purposes only.
Blue Builders
Building Capacity
& Building Momentum
Blue Risers
Building Capacity
& Accelerating Progress
Blue Ready
Implementation Ready
& Building Momentum
Blue Innovators
Implementation Ready
& Accelerating Progress