Please note: due to the completion of the project, this website is now in archive status. Visit the new Blue Communities legacy website here for final outputs and any future updates.

Responding to global challenges

Map showing SE Asia indicating the four case study sites
Blue Communities case study sites.
 

Creative Commons Blank world map (green color) by OSeveno, used under CC BY-SA 4.0 / cropped, changed colours and added case study sites.

Millions of people across the globe rely on marine and coastal ecosystems for their livelihoods: food, employment and their general well-being. However, the marine environment is under immense pressure from the multiple, and often conflicting, needs of the people that use it. In E/SE Asia, where marine activities are important contributors to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), marine spatial planning involving coordinated decision-making has been highlighted as a key requirement for a sustainable future.

Through academic-stakeholder collaborations, community co-creation and co-delivery, Blue Communities will support the development, implementation and ongoing management of initiatives that promote the sustainable use of marine resources by multiple users, whilst protecting the fragile marine ecosystems and supporting the livelihoods food security, health and well-being of the people in these coastal communities.

Blue Communities is funded from the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), the total value of which is £1.5 billion. The delivery partner for Blue Communities is UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).


Working towards a better world

Blue Communities responds to the UN Sustainable Development Goals of no poverty, zero hunger and good health and well-being for coastal communities through the sustainable use of marine resources.

Overarching Projects

Utilizing the knowledge and experience of a diverse team of scientists to cover twelve main research projects:
Evidence synthesis
Critical analysis of marine planning model applications
Icon showing a landscape of someone fishing with a mangrove tree and coral Impacts on ecosystem services and values
Marine renewable energy
Small-scale coastal tuna fisheries management
Well-being benefits and risks of coastal living
Earth observation approaches
Icon showing a computer screen with a landscape of someone fishing with a mangrove tree and coral Ecosystem service trade-offs
Principles and approaches to decision making
Future scenarios of changes in resources
Ecosystem level policy and management options
Icon showing two people with combined thought bubble with grain, fish and a heart Systematic scenario planning