For instance, local fishermen in Wakatobi National Park in Southeast Sulawesi are benefiting from community-managed marine protected areas, leading to opportunities for income-generating activities through ecotourism and seaweed farming. At the same time, the careful approach to balance the use of marine resources while maintaining its sanctity has also helped to restore fish populations, safeguarding the vast potential of blue resources.

The blue economy's global impact is remarkable, with its contribution to the economy projected to double from US$1.5 trillion in 2010 to $3 trillion by 2030, creating 43 million jobs across sectors like fishing, aquaculture, tourism and research. This growth trajectory positions the blue economy as a key driver of sustainable economic development and global prosperity.

The ASEAN region includes countries with extensive territorial waters covering over 60 percent of the total area. Nine out of the 10 ASEAN countries border the sea and the region boasts a diverse array of marine resources that significantly contribute to the global economy.

Despite being landlocked, Laos, the current chair of ASEAN, enriches this tapestry with its abundant freshwater resources, further enhancing the region's diverse development potential.

Recognizing the vast promise of the blue economy, ASEAN leaders took a significant step in 2021 by adopting the ASEAN Leader’s Declaration on the Blue Economy in Brunei Darussalam. This landmark declaration aims to transform and diversify the region’s economies, envisioning the blue economy as a catalyst for more sustainable growth and development.

Subsequently, the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework was adopted under Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2023, serving as a comprehensive guide to harnessing and managing marine ecosystem sustainably for the benefit of the region’s people. They are also aligned with and contribute to mainstreaming the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) adopted in 2019.

Nevertheless, ASEAN member states face a multitude of challenges, which must be addressed to protect and optimally manage their blue resources for the benefit of their people and economies. And one country cannot do this alone.

Issues like overfishing, habitat degradation and marine pollution not only threaten the region's marine ecosystem but also impact freshwater resources. The deterioration of essential habitats, including coral reefs and mangroves, not only disrupts biodiversity but also undermines the long-term sustainability of both marine and freshwater resources.

Governance issues, such as the need for rules-based management of maritime and water resources as well as inadequate infrastructure, coupled with technological and human resource constraints, further compound these challenges, underscoring the urgent need for collaborative efforts to address them.

At the heart of addressing these persistent development challenges lies the transformative power of innovative solutions. To cultivate a thriving economy within the ASEAN region, an emphasis on innovation across science, technology and pragmatic business models for start-ups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has emerged as a cornerstone for progress.

Furthermore, concerted efforts and regional cooperation is indispensable for addressing such challenges and advancing the blue economy in the ASEAN region. An exemplary demonstration of this collaborative spirit is showcased through the project, Enabling Blue Innovation Solutions for ASEAN’s Blue Economic Growth, including through Nurturing Start-ups and MSMEs, or the ASEAN Blue Economy Innovation project for short.

This is being launched by ASEAN through the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME), with the support of the government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), working out of the UNDP office in Jakarta. This transformative endeavor is strategically designed to enhance marine and freshwater governance, optimize resource management and foster sustainable development across all 10 ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste.

This new ASEAN project also builds on Japan's unwavering dedication to ocean sustainability as underlined in its MARINE Initiative, a comprehensive program aimed at combatting marine plastic pollution on a global scale.

The initiative focuses on (1) management of wastes, (2) recovery of marine litter, (3) innovation and (4) empowerment, all contributing to the realization of the visionary Osaka Blue Ocean Vision, which targets eliminating pollution from marine plastic litter by 2050.

Likewise, over the past 25 years, UNDP has emerged as a leading advocate for ocean protection, restoration, climate change mitigation and sustainable economic growth on a global scale. Having mobilized more than $1 billion for ocean protection and restoration efforts in over 100 countries, UNDP is steadfast in its commitment to promoting a sustainable global blue economy that harnesses ocean and freshwater resources for inclusive development.

Through initiatives like Ocean Promise, UNDP envisions a future where a balanced and sustainable blue economy accelerates economic development, creates jobs and livelihoods, ensures food security, reduces poverty, promotes gender equality and fosters overall societal equality. In this context, for example, UNDP has helped realize the vision of the government of Indonesia to enhance multilateral cooperation to promote the blue economy and protect marine environments through the Archipelagic and Island States (AIS) Forum.

To propel these visions forward together, we have launched the ASEAN Blue Innovation Challenge as part of the new ASEAN Blue Economy Innovation project in all 10 ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste.

The ASEAN Blue Innovation Challenge stands as a conduit for private entrepreneurs, inventors, academics and researchers to collectively drive change through sustainable solutions. Designed to spark innovation, this initiative will offer each of the 60 winning innovators and entrepreneurs up to $40,000 of financial award as well as incubation support.

By empowering innovators to translate their visions into reality, the initiative seeks to instigate genuine and impactful transformation, with a specific emphasis on fostering the participation and success of female innovators and entrepreneurs within the ASEAN ecosystem.

Innovation in the blue economy used to be challenging, but successes are emerging. In Southeast Asia's coastal communities, stories of empowerment and innovation are converging to shape a brighter future.

For example, Maria da Gloria Mendes from Natarbora in Timor-Leste created the Tok-Derek Women’s Cooperative, a small enterprise that stands as a beacon for gender inclusion and economic sustainability in fisheries. Through training sessions and community engagement, women like Maria are forming cooperatives and building resilient networks that uplift entire communities.

Similarly, in Indonesia's Rote Ndao regency of East Nusa Tenggara province, the journey of Mama Metri epitomizes the spirit of resilience and ingenuity. Transitioning from fishing to soap production, she led Ita Esa, showcasing the transformative power of local knowledge and natural resources. Her dedication to mangrove preservation and sustainable practices reflects a broader ethos of environmental stewardship.

As we look to generate more success stories like these, we urge and invite all the brilliant and forward-thinking minds within ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste to heed the call to action for the ASEAN Blue Innovation Challenge. The deadline to respond to this call is May 31, 2024. More information can be found on the UNDP website.

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Satvinder Singh is ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community; Kiya Masahiko is Ambassador of Japan to ASEAN; and Kanni Wignaraja is United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.