National governments, international organizations, and businesses have committed to the search for new ways to derive value from ocean and coastal resources and to do so in ways that assure future sustainability of oceans resources and ecosystems. This presentation will introduce the ideas behind the blue economy, assess current efforts to create it, and explore the problem of how we will know if we have been successful in creating a blue economy.

Charles S. Colgan is director of research for the Center for the Blue Economy of The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. He is also professor emeritus of public policy and planning at the University of Southern Maine.