THE Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev) is pushing for a unified national framework for the blue economy as the government moves to coordinate policies governing the sustainable use of the country’s marine resources.
To advance the initiative, the agency convened a two-day Blue Economy Inter-Agency Roundtable Dialogue on July 20 and 21, bringing together more than 100 representatives from government, academia, civil society and development partners to discuss the proposed Philippine Blue Economy Framework.
DepDev Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs Glenda Rumohr said the initiative aims to improve coordination among agencies with overlapping mandates in the management and development of marine resources.
‘The harder part is that we’ve each been stewarding pieces of it-a mandate here, covering a jurisdiction there-without necessarily agreeing on how those pieces are supposed to fit together,’ Rumohr said during the dialogue.
‘We think it’s time to stop working around that, and start working through it, together, in the same room,’ she added.
The proposed framework is expected to serve as a guide for government policies on sustainable ocean-based development by establishing common governance mechanisms, strategic priorities, and institutional responsibilities.
DepDev said discussions during the roundtable focused on governance, resource stewardship, and institutional coordination. Participants also identified gaps in existing policies and explored ways to improve coordination across agencies.
The initiative also supports the proposed Blue Economy Act, one of the priority measures under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council’s common legislative agenda.
According to the agency, the framework is anchored on existing laws and policies, including the Archipelagic Doctrine, the National Marine Policy, the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act, the Fisheries Code and the Clean Water Act.
It is likewise aligned with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, which identifies sustainable ocean-based development as part of the country’s long-term growth strategy.
The department said recommendations from the dialogue will be used in refining the Philippine Blue Economy Framework, which is intended to guide future policies on the sustainable use of the country’s marine and coastal resources.