The Blue Economy generated nearly US$300 billion for the African continent in 2018, creating 49 million jobs. The health and productivity of coastal and marine areas are crucial for benefits like food security, livelihoods, biodiversity, and resilience to climate change. Marine spatial planning (MSP) is a powerful tool for effective, participatory coastal and marine management, safeguarding productive coastal landscapes to leverage future Blue Economy opportunities, such as sustainable blue energy, aquaculture, and blue carbon. Given climate change's role in amplifying risks to coastal environments, climate-informed MSP considers current and future climate risks and opportunities during program design, planning, and implementation. The World Bank’s Blue Economy for Resilient Africa Program will provide multisectoral analytical, financial, and policy support to Africa’s coastal countries and island states to help them scale up their Blue Economies, managing risks inherent in growth. MSP can design coordinated coastal resilience programs at scale, identify low-carbon development and growth pathways, integrate measures in nationally determined contributions, budget for those measures, and monitor progress. It helps balance competing demands for coastal and ocean resources, reduces investment risk, and improves investor confidence, which is vital for Africa’s Blue Economy requiring substantial private sector investment. The process involves formulating a spatial plan, creating enabling conditions, implementing the plan, and ensuring it accounts for climate change and safeguards public goods and ecosystem services. The World Bank supports MSP efforts through financial instruments, convening power, and technical expertise, including helping identify trade-offs and synergies, sharing data, building capacity, and strengthening institutions. The World Bank Group contributes to MSP by coordinating efforts to increase private sector investment, providing a solid enabling environment. Blue bonds can mobilize private sector investment to foster a sustainable Blue Economy, and MSP could provide the confidence needed as capital flows grow. The World Bank Group recently produced a toolkit for Marine Spatial Planning for a Resilient and Inclusive Blue Economy, including economic tools and addressing cross-cutting themes like gender, marginalized people, climate change, and biodiversity. Several African governments are developing or implementing MSPs with World Bank support, including Mozambique’s first national marine spatial plan, Tanzania’s mapping of Dar es Salaam, and Morocco’s National Integrated Coastal Management Plan. Regional efforts like the West Africa Coastal Observatory and the draft regional West Africa coastal masterplan are also underway, supporting MSP development in the region and protecting ecosystems like mangrove forests.
