Amerissa Giannouli

Blue Growth and Economics

Oceans and seas represent over 70% of the earths surface. Furthermore, living aquatic resources can provide a significant contribution to food, energy and bio-based products. However, marine ecosystems are subject to increasing pressures and competing usages, resulting from resources over-exploitation and pollution. In order to produce efficient marine management plans, it is essential to consider the total economic value provided by the marine ecosystems. In this review, we are focusing on the Marine Framework Strategy Directive and the European Marine Spatial Planning that are established for the protection and efficient use of the marine area. We present the ecosystem services approach with regards to the marine ecosystem and propose economic methods that capture the marine ecosystem’s total economic value in relation to the opportunity cost of marine space. Values should be used to guide policy makers following the European directives and initiatives.

Introduction to the MERMAID Project

This chapter provides an introduction to the MERMAID project. MERMAID focused on developing concepts for offshore platforms which can be used for multiple purposes, such as energy and aquaculture production. These concepts were developed with input from experts as well as societal stakeholders. MERMAID consortium comprised of 28 partner institutes, including Universities, Research institutes, Industries and Small and Medium Enterprises from several EU countries. Consortium members brought a range of expertise in hydraulics, wind engineering, aquaculture, renewable energy, marine environment, project management, as well as socioeconomics and governance. Within the scope of MERMAID it has been developed and applied an Integrated Socio-Economic Assessment of the sustainability of Multi-Use Offshore Platforms, using the results from the natural and engineering sciences as inputs, boundaries and constraints to the analysis.

Risk Analysis for the Selected MERMAID Final Designs

This chapter presents the risk analysis results of the application of the Methodology for Integrated Socio-Economic Assessment (MISEA) which was developed in the MERMAID Project with regards to the different proposed designs of novel Multi-Use Offshore Platforms (MUOPs). For this purpose, sensitivity analysis of critical variables based on values given by experts and Monte Carlo simulation were undertaken to analyze the risk of developing these platforms. The approach integrates the results of the assessment discussed in the previous chapters. Both sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo simulations approaches are compared.

Socio-economic Assessment of a Selected Multi-use Offshore Site in the Atlantic

This chapter presents the results obtained from the analysis of the multi-use design for the Cantabria Offshore site in the Atlantic coast. The analysis shows that the technology exists. Nevertheless at the present the profitability of potential business is still uncertain. The reliability of the activity as a self-sustained business relies on the existence of a stable regulatory framework, on the availability of financial support from the state and on the relaxation of the regulatory barriers existing in the industry. Likewise ocean energy industry is far from been socially accepted in the region. The socio-economic analysis suggests that the multi-use scenario can be profitable.

Socio-economic Analysis of a Selected Multi-use Offshore Site in the Mediterranean Sea

The area off-shore Venice is characterized by a relatively mild climate that allows in principle a safe installation of an off-shore platform, but at the same time strongly limits the benefits of a single–purpose installation, both because of the limited available energy and because of the high distance from the shore due to the flat sea-bottom. Therefore the site appeared to be suited for multi-purpose designs with fish farming and wind energy as potential activities. An Ecosystem Services Approach (ESA) is adopted to identify possible environmental effects and conflicts with other relevant uses. We deal with these potential impacts by choosing a suitable location of the platform. Limited financial data on wind energy suggested a negative Net Present Value (NPV), whereas proper financial data on fish farming produced a slightly positive NPV. A Life Cycle Assessment applied to wind energy and fish farming estimated a significantly positive effect from reduced CO2-eq emissions expressed in euros. A Social Cost-Benefit Analysis (SCBA) applied only to fish farming (i.e., including financial and CO2 results) due to lack of data and resulted on a positive NPV. However, a MUP is not recommended by SCBA, and more explicitly it is not supported by stakeholders in the short-run. Whereas, it might be suggested in the long-run, when, in a crowded sea, both economic and environmental reasons could suggest to move some activities off-shore.

A Socio-Economic Framework for Integrating Multi-Use Offshore Platforms in Sustainable Blue Growth Management: Theory and Applications

More than 70 percent of the earthAƒÂ¢A¯Â?½A¯Â?½s surface is covered by oceans and seas, much of which is either underexplored or unexplored for the time being. Our seas and oceans offer a vast renewable energy resource and production possibilities with great potential for innovation and growth contributing to the welfare of the human beings. The European Union (EU) supports the implementation of Blue Growth Strategy1 and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD; Directive 2008/56/EU, European Commission 2008), which aim to boost growth in marine-related socio-economic activities ensuring the good environmental status of marine waters and applies the Directive for Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP; Directive 2014/89/EU, European Commission 2014),2 which requires its member states to develop plans to better coordinate the various marine activities, with regard to environmental efficiency and sustainable development. The Multi-Use Offshore Platforms (MUOPs) are proposed as the means to accomplish efficient use of marine space and they are supported from the EU through marine initiatives and directives. In this chapter we present a tool for assessing the implementation feasibility of MUOPs.