Our mission at the Center for the Blue Economy is to promote ocean-based sustainability solutions through leadership in economic research, education, and policy analysis.
The “Blue Economy” comprises the economic activities that create sustainable wealth from the world’s oceans and coasts. The center examines ways that ocean and coastal resources can support economic development and enhance healthy, resilient oceans and well-managed coastlines.
Our research focuses on two areas—helping organizations understand how to measure the size and changing nature of economic relationships with the oceans and coasts in order to guide choices and monitor progress, and the economics of climate change adaptation in coastal regions.
The Center for the Blue Economy (CBE) supports students through funded fellowship opportunities, made possible by generous donors. Students in the International Environmental Policy master’s program who declare the Ocean and Coastal Resource Management specialization will have the opportunity to get real-world experience with a marine-focused organization of their choice. Being able to approach an organization with funding in hand opens many doors. Here is Molly Ryan’s fellowship story:
Student Name: Molly Ryan
Fellowship with the Permanent Mission of Vanuatu to the United Nations
June 13-September 5, 2022
New York, New York, USA
The Republic of Vanuatu announced its intentions to seek an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on the issue of climate change and human rights, specifically to seek clarification of the legal duties of large emitters of greenhouse gases with respect to present and future generations. The campaign seeks to put this as a resolution to the United Nations General Assembly where all countries will be asked to vote on the Vanuatu proposal. Molly assisted the Vanuatu legal and communications team on this campaign, helped to plan a conference on the legal implications of the Advisory Opinion, and she was flown out to New York to meet the team. “The date that the UN General Assembly will be voting got pushed to this March 2023, so we are all waiting in anxious anticipation to see if our efforts pay off! It was an incredible experience and an inspiring group of people to work with,” Molly reflected.
What is Molly up to now?
“This spring I began working with ESP Advisors, an all-female ocean policy consulting group based in Washington, D.C. for my IPSS (International Professional Service Semester). So far it has also been a wonderful experience, though very different from my work with Vanuatu!”
This video highlights a few graduates of the International Environmental Policy (IEP) master’s program who have the Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) specialization—a specialization that the Center for the Blue Economy helped to establish more than 10 years ago. The CBE and our generous donors continue to support IEP OCRM students, providing funded fellowships that offer real-world experience and key connections to launch successful careers. IEP OCRM alumni have done quite well in the job market, with approximately 94% currently employed in the ocean and coastal resource management field. Learn more on our Networking and Alumni Success page.
| by Stephen Diehl
The International Environmental Policy graduate spent her International Professional Service Semester at the Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center in Honduras.
| by Rachel Christopherson; MARCO
The Center for the Blue Economy has prepared a new report for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO), which calculates the contributions of oft-overlooked portions of the ocean economy, concluding that marine research and education, state expenditures related to the ocean, and coastal electricity production support 38,000 jobs and $25.5 billion in annual economic activity.
@CBE_MIIS (Twitter) @CenterForTheBlueEconomy (Facebook) @OceanClimateAction (Instagram)
