New Publication: Blue SIA: the case for social impact assessment in the blue economy

“Blue SIA: the case for social impact assessment in the blue economy,” is published in npj Ocean Sustainability, a Nature Portfolio journal

The article argues for Blue Social Impact Assessment (Blue SIA) as a practical way of bringing blue justice and social considerations more firmly into Blue Economy governance—from ports and coastal tourism to fisheries, offshore renewables and maritime spatial planning.

Read the open-access article here:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-026-00235-9

New Publication: Rethinking the Blue Economy: Integrating social science for sustainability and justice

The following open access article has just been published in Nature journal NPJ Ocean Sustainability:

Penca, J., Ertör, I., Ballesteros, M., Briguglio, M., Kowalewski, M., Pauksztat, B.,Cepić, D., Piñeiro-Corbeira, C., Vaidianu, N.,  Villasante,S. & Pascual-Fernández, JJ. (2025) Rethinking the Blue Economy: Integrating social science for sustainability and justice. npj Ocean Sustain 4, 40. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-025-00138-1

The article argues that to fulfill the Blue Economy’s promise of sustainable and just ocean use, its scientific foundation must more fully integrate the social sciences. Drawing on insights from real-world scientific networking initiatives, we identify three key contributions of the social sciences and propose a strategy to redefine the Blue Economy. This strategy anchors knowledge in societal challenges and emphasizes co-creation, the science-policy interface, knowledge integration, and the values of accountability and care.

This article is based upon work from COST Action CA22122 “Rethinking the Blue Economy: Socio-Ecological Impacts and Opportunities” (RethinkBlue), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).