Accounting for Economic Activities in Large Marine Ecosystems and Regional Seas

This report has been commissioned within the framework of the RS/LME partnership, which was developed to link the coastal and marine activities of the global Regional Seas Programmes (RS) coordinated by UNEP with the Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) approach.

The joint initiative contributes to one of the global Regional Seas Strategic Directions, which calls to "develop and promote a common vision and integrated management, based on ecosystem approaches, of priorities and concerns related to the coastal and marine environment and its resources in Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans, introducing amongst others proactive, creative and innovative partnerships and networks and effective communication strategies."

The report compiles estimates of activity levels of the relevant marine sectors (e.g fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, shipping, oil etc.) of countries bordering the world's LMEs and RSs. The authors develop an index approach to assess the extent of the human uses of regional ocean areas and regional socio-economic development. Two case studies have been included exploring the scale of economic rents (revenues minus costs) and direct output impacts (gross revenues) that could be a source of sustainable financing for conserving and managing regional marine environments. It is targeted towards government policy- and decision-makers with the aim of highlighting the potential value of goods and services provided by the marine and coastal environment.

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