Africa Integrated Maritime Policy, blue growth and a new ocean governance: case studies from the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean

Integrated maritime and blue economy policies are changing ocean governance by introducing new policy drivers, reshaping institutional frameworks, as well as demanding new management instruments (e.g., Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP)). This started in 2007 though the European Union Integrated Maritime Policy approach, and in 2009 the Africa Union initiated a similar process, leading both to the Africa integrated maritime strategy as well as a blue economy strategy. Several countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, began to look to blue economy as a booster to socioeconomic welfare and initiated the development of national strategies, together with the necessary adaptation of institutional and legal networks. Case studies address those processes at the transition from the Atlantic to the Indian Oceans, focusing on Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, as well as several African Small Islands Developing States (SIDS), particularly Cape Verde, S. Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius. Findings show that all countries covered in the case studies are developing national ocean and/or blue economy strategies and adapting their governmental, institutional, and legal frameworks, although there is a deeper political impact in SIDS. Overall, these new policy drivers are leading to a new model of ocean governance by addressing integrated maritime policies and blue growth strategies, as well as introducing MSP as a new EEZ governance tool.


Introduction
The United Nations Convention on the Law These new uses triggered a new ocean blue economy 1 , "Blue Growth" 2 and a demand for maritime spatial planning, leading to a new challenge to ocean governance (Guerreiro, 2021). There was a need for new rules and instruments as social and political ideas about ocean resources and governance processes changed (Campbell et al., 2016).
The globalization of the concept and debate surrounding the Blue Economy became institutionalized at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 (Rio +20), in which the themes of the oceans, its governance and the blue economy were formally discussed and were the subject of several side events (Campbell et al., 2013;Silver et al., 2015). At the 2nd preparatory meeting in March 2011 the issue of the blue economy was formally debated (IOC -UNESCO, 2011) and, at that same 1 There is no concrete and global definition for "Blue Economy", nor for "Ocean Economy" or "Maritime Economy", and these three concepts have been used in a wide range of situations (Lee et al., 2020). The Blue Economy concept was formally defined at the UN in 2014, aiming at: "improving human well-being and social equity, significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological fragilities" (United Nations, 2014a). Also, the World Bank (2014) defined Blue Economy "... a sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean." Ocean economy was also defined by the Economist Intelligence Unit (2015) as: "… a sustainable ocean economy, where economic activity is in balance with the long-term capacity of ocean ecosystems to support this activity and remain resilient and healthy". In 2019 the African Union Blue Economy Strategy considers that the concept of the Blue Economy (BE) integrates into a new approach the economic exploitation of the resources of oceans, lakes, rivers and other bodies of water and the conservation of aquatic ecosystems. It represents a basis for rational and sustainable use and conservation of natural resources (both renewable and non-renewable) and their natural habitats (AU, 2019). In 2012 the EU considered Maritime Economy as a part of the economy composed of different interdependent sectors, such as maritime transport, tourism, energy and fishing, which are based on common skills and shared infrastructures (such as ports and electricity distribution networks) and depend on the sustainable use of the sea (EC, 2012a) 2 On SD, Rio + 20 held in Rio in 2012, a group of small island nation states (SIDs) emphasized the importance of the blue economy -that is the multifaceted economic and social importance of the ocean and inland waters and the importance of "blue growth". At the Rio + 20 conference, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) supported these views and sent a very strong message to the international community that a healthy ocean ecosystem ensured by sustainable farming and fishing operations was a prerequisite for a blue growth. Since the Rio + 20 conference, the blue growth concept has been widely used and has become important in aquatic development in many nation states, regionally as well as internationally (Eikeset et al., 2017). Also in 2012 the EU, following the approval of its Integrated Maritime Policy / Blue Book (EC, 2007), approved the Marine and Maritime Agenda for Growth (EC, 2012a), which introduced the Blue Growth Strategy and concept, emphasizing the importance of marine areas for innovation and growth in five sectors (aquaculture, coastal tourism, marine biotechnology, energy from the oceans and deep sea mining), together with the need to support it in three main axes: i) Knowledge of the marine environment; ii) Maritime spatial planning; and iii) Integrated maritime surveillance. meeting, where the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) suggested that their development interests would be better served by blue economy, rather than green economy 3 . This idea would later be consolidated at the third SIDS conference in Apia, Samoa, on September 3, 2014, concluding that "… Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, coastal tourism, the possible use of seabed resources and renewable energy are among the main sectors of a sustainable ocean economy in small island developing states" (UN, 2014b). In 2014, a UNECA report identified the key strategic areas for blue growth in SIDS to be: i) Fisheries, ii) Aquaculture, iii) Shipping and transport, iv) Tourism, v) Marine (blue) energy (fossil and renewable), vi) Pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, genetic resources and general sea-based products, and vii) Blue carbon market (UNECA, 2014 SD, Rio + 20 held in Rio in 2012, a new concept took center stage at the backdrop of the international financial crisis. The concept was "green growth". According to the OECD "green growth means fostering economic growth and development while ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which our well-being relies (Eikeset, 2017 Blue/Ocean Economy is defined as: sustainable economic development of oceans using such techniques such as regional development to integrate the use of seas and oceans, coasts, lakes, rivers, and underground water for economic purposes, including, but without being limited to fisheries, mining, energy, aquaculture and maritime transport, while protecting the sea to improve social weilbeing, 8 http://www.blueeconomyconference.go.ke/ New policies soon triggered a more profound political change at the higher level, leading several governments to create dedicated Sea/Ocean Ministries from Maritime Economy to Ocean Affairs . Following this, the need for new legal and institutional frameworks, including but not limited to maritime spatial planning (MSP) became clear, as well as agencies with a clear mandate and know-how to implement policies (Ehler and Douvere, 2009).
The need to improve management authorities, management capacity and resources, together with the commitment of officials and intergovernmental coordination/collaboration, was considered critical to the successful implementation of MSP (Liu et al., 2011).
Accordingly, more and more actors stand for the need to create an authority for MSP as a guarantee of the success of the process and interface among agencies and stakeholders (Albotoush and Shau-Hwai, 2021).
The holistic approach to cross cutting sectoral policies and a new universe of stakeholders, demanded both horizontal and vertical coordination to facilitate governance, but in reality it was revealed that there is an increased difficulty in coordinating policies at the horizontal level, compared with the vertical level. Martino (2016), addressing this issue, found that some regions have developed institutions based on an inter-sectoral coordination committee or an advisory body, while others have chosen an internal proactive collaboration to resolve conflicting interests between directorates. Moreover, these regions are also extending coastal management into maritime spatial planning, trying to tackle conflicts emerging from land/ sea interactions based on two different spatial planning systems and instruments (Casimiro and Guerreiro, 2019). A wide range of authorities, from fisheries to environment and ecology, maritime authorities,

Results
The mapping of policies, institutional and legal frameworks is summarized in

Cape Verde
Cape Verde is an archipelago situated in the Macaronesian Region of the central Atlantic and its economy depends mainly on fisheries, tourism (25 % of GDP) and services 9 , these accounting for an over- Blue economy continues to be one of the priority policies with strong support from EU cooperation. Areas such as fisheries, nautical tourism and shipping, aquaculture and blue biotechnology are the core of ocean economy, on which the country depends. Ocean science is also one of the new political drivers supported by the recently created Technical University of the Atlantic, focused on ocean sciences. The legal framework on spatial planning addresses integrated coastal zone management plans, some recently approved . However, specific legislation for MSP covering the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is still under development as well as a National Maritime Spatial Plan. 9 Services correspond to ISIC divisions 50-99 and they include value added in wholesale and retail trade (including hotels and restaurants), transport, and government, financial, professional, and personal services such as education, health care, and real estate services. Also included are imputed bank service charges, import duties, and any statistical discrepancies noted by national compilers as well as discrepancies arising from rescaling.

Namibia
Namibia is the middle state of the Benguela Current Convention (BCC). Namibia's economy is strongly dependent on mining, but also on tourism and fisheries. Fisheries, benefiting from the effect of the Benguela current, is the fastest growing economic sector and the coast of Namibia is considered to be home to some of the richest fishing grounds in the world. it was expected that these estimates will produce at least 4 % annual growth in both GDP contribution and job creation. (Odeku, 2021

Tanzania
Tanzania has a coastline of 1 450 km, and its territorial water includes 64 000 km2 thus making the country a significant player in regional fisheries, contributing about 2.6 % of the GDP. Following two decades of sustained growth, Tanzania reached an important milestone in July 2020, when it formally changed from low-income country to lower-middle-income country status 22 . However, Tanzania's economy strongly depends on tourism accounting for 10,9 % of the GDP in 2019 23 , before the COVID 19 pandemic.
Although there is potential for blue economy development in Tanzania, a specific blue growth or Ocean Strategy has not been developed yet. The Government of the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar

Madagascar
Madagascar is the fifth largest island in the world and has a coastline of 5 600 km and an EEZ of 1 200 000 km 2 . Its economy depends on agriculture, tourism, textile and mining industries and before the pandemic it was one of the fastest-growing economies.  Marine mining; iii) Offshore oil and gas; iv) Shipping and ports; v) Marine leisure and tourism; and iv) Digital blue economy (Llewellyn et al., 2016). Like South Africa, Mozambique embraced an Ocean Policy and Strategy and is betting on blue growth, supported also by an MSP legal framework. Tanzania has a recognized potential for blue growth, but seems to be behind as a result of insufficient capacity for management of marine resources and delays in marine aquaculture development hinders blue economy growth in Tanzania economy (Lyimo, 2021). Although no specific agency was created nor specific legislation on MSP developed, pilot projects are in progress and the political coordination is assured at the Vice-Presidents office level, supported by the NEMC. Kenya seems to be more committed to blue growth, with strong political support for the development of Kenya's Blue Economy with flag projects being carried out, such as the expansion of the Mombasa Port reinforcing Kenya's importance as a regional transport node.  (Rasowo et al., 2020). In the countries which did not develop governmental departments or agencies dedicated to Ocean Governance/Economy, the ministry of fisheries and a specific agency for fisheries and blue economy lead the processes, supported by multisectoral interagency working groups.
The ecosystem approach to MSP at the sub-regional level highlights the importance of transboundary cooperation within LME's. Although transboundary cooperation at Agulhas and Somalia Current Large Marine Ecosystems (ASCLME) level is less strong and binding than is the case with the Benguela Current Convention, the existing institutional arrangements within the ASCLME system facilitate transboundary cooperation among countries, enhancing regional projects and institutions, such as the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP); the UNEP WIO-Lab Project (Western Indian Ocean Land-Based Sources and Activities); the Seamounts Project (Applying an Ecosystem-Based Approach to Fisheries Management), among others (Satia, 2016 (Anon, 2014). Exploration and exploitation of these resources is a priority for all three countries of Benguela Current Convention (BCC), all pursuing blue growth to boost their economies. This exploration also leads to intense shipping, particularly from oil tankers which, together with fisheries and mariculture, contributes to increased pressure on maritime space.
Angola, Namibia and South Africa developed strong cooperation aiming at an integrated approach to the governance and management of this LME, which became stronger with the entry into force of BCC in 2015 (Hamukuaya et al., 2016). According to Finke et al.  In Seychelles and Madagascar, specific Departments and General Directorates for blue economy were created and in Mauritius it was announced that an Ocean Economy Unit will be set up (Bolaky, 2020). MSP has also received attention from African SIDS and some legal initiatives or Pilot Projects are going on, but it has not received the same political priority, as no legal specific framework for MSP is yet in force in the stud- The SIDS studied clearly adapted their governmental structure to the new drivers of AIMS 50 and Blue Growth, by creating specific ministries dedicated to the Sea/Blue Economy, together with specific agencies.
The continental countries, with the recent exception of Mozambique, maintained the "old" governmental structure, linked to fisheries and marine resources.
However, the continental countries within SADC did develop specific agencies dedicated to maritime policy and blue growth, while putting in place inter-ministerial commissions to develop national ocean/blue economy strategies as well as MSP processes. There is direct inclusion of blue economy in the ocean governance models and institutional framework in all studied countries.

Conclusions
It is clear that Africa is moving towards development of a Blue Economy and since 2009, has not only addressed this through an Integrated Maritime Strategy but also by developing specific policies and guidelines to improve the Blue Economy, and integrate the main goals in the long-term vision for Africa in the Africa Agenda 2063, aiming at a coherent approach. Blue economy has been described as the "new frontier of African Renaissance" (Bolaky, 2020) and its potential to boost economic growth, generating employment and increasing social welfare has become clear for governments in the SADC region. Even in countries where the oil and gas sector are the major contributor to GDP, such as Angola and, lately, Mozambique and S. Tomé and Principe, the need for economic diversification and the importance of the Blue Economy is clear. These policies are more developed in the Indian Ocean, with South Africa and Mozambique and SIDS in the lead. Moreover, this policy driver is also supported by regional organizations, such as the Indian Ocean Commission 41 which launched a Regional Plan for Blue Economy in 2021 42 (CEA, 2021). However, Africa's coastal states lack financial and technologi-41 The Indian Ocean Commission is an intergovernmental organisation that links African Indian Ocean nations: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion (an overseas region of France), and Seychelles. There are also seven observers: China, the European Union, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the Sovereign Order of Malta, India, Japan and the United Nations 42 See https://www.commissionoceanindien.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2021/07/COI-PAREB-FINAL_29avril21.pdf cal capacity to fully harvest ocean assets (Akpomera, 2020). The lack of skilled human resources, limited maritime security against piracy and illegal activities, and political issues, including corruption, limit the strategic use of the states' advantageous maritime resources for more locally beneficial development.
African SIDS emphasize the blue economy as a booster for their economy, mainly following FAO and World Bank guidelines (FAO, 2014;Cervigni and Scandizzo, 2017). The impact on the governmental and institutional structures and networks is greater in the SIDS, with the creation of dedicated ministries and agencies, while the "continental states" mostly opted for intersectoral commissions/working groups, with a specific ministry and agency that leads the process, both for Ocean/Blue Strategies as well as for MSP.
MSP is seen as a tool to facilitate Blue Growth and the process is supported politically. There are several encouraging signs towards the use of an ecosystem approach to MSP, with several initiatives going on at the LME level, both in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean, favouring transboundary approaches (Sacko, 2020).
Africa's vison for an Integrated Maritime Policy, which introduced the Blue Economy as the "new frontier for Africa Renaissance", has the potential to change the socio-economic approach to the maritime economy, contributing to human welfare, but this process has also triggered new horizons for ocean governance models and frameworks, at national and regional levels.