ADB pledges $6b to strengthen ASEAN blue economy

The programme will also support coastal resilience and port-linked value chains.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will mobilise up to $6b through 2030 to strengthen Southeast Asia’s blue economy.

Masato Kanda, President of ADB, announced the ASEAN Blue Economy Initiative at the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers’ Meeting in Metro Manila.

“The ocean is not just an environmental priority; it is the economic foundation of Southeast Asia,” Kanda said.

The initiative supports the ASEAN Blue Economy Framework and its Implementation Plan (2026–2030), which focuses on strengthening the policy, institutional, and data foundations needed to support investment.

It will also scale investment in ASEAN’s priority blue sectors, including fisheries, aquaculture, coastal resilience, and port-linked value chains.

The initiative also aims to reduce marine pollution through circular economy solutions and innovative financing, including improvements to water and solid-waste systems upstream.

Southeast Asia produces about one-fifth of the world’s fisheries and aquaculture output, whilst its ports, coastal logistics, and tourism sustain trade, jobs, and local income.

However, marine ecosystems are being degraded as plastic waste accumulates and fishing pressure mounts.

ADB said modelled estimates put expected coastal flood damage across the region at about $11.5b a year.

The initiative runs from 2026 to 2030 and forms part of the $30b ADB pledged in May to mobilise for ASEAN priorities by 2030.