Development Assistance and Beyond Financing Southeast Asia’sBlue Economy DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE AND BEYOND This work is issued under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD, and does not necessarily reflect theofficial views of OECD Member countries. This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty overany territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. ISBN 978-92-64-72029-9 (print)ISBN 978-92-64-83104-9 (PDF)ISBN 978-92-64-93203-6 (HTML) Photo credits:Cover © Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. By using this work, you accept to be bound by the terms of this licence(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Attribution– you must cite the work.Translations– you must cite the original work, identify changes to the original and add the following text:In the event of any discrepancy between the original work and thetranslation, only the text of the original work should be considered valid.Adaptations– you must cite the original work and add the following text:This is an adaptation of an original work by the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed inthis adaptation should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its Member countries.Third-party material– the licence does not apply to third-party material in the work. If using such material, you are responsible for obtaining permission from the third party and forany claims of infringement.You must not use the OECD logo, visual identity or cover image without express permission or suggest the OECD endorses your use of the work.Any dispute arising under this licence shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Arbitration Rules 2012. The seat of arbitration shallbe Paris (France). The number of arbitrators shall be one. Foreword Comprisingeleven countries(Brunei Darussalam,Cambodia,Indonesia,Lao People’s DemocraticRepublic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam), theSoutheast Asia region has experienced rapid economic growth, emerging as the world's fourth-largesteconomic bloc in 2024. Important to this trajectory is the region's blue economy – the economic activitiestied to coastal, marine and freshwater resources. Even as it presents opportunities, the region's blueeconomy faces mounting pressures and transitional risks. A range of stressors - including overfishing,marine pollution, habitat destruction and climate change - has undermined the resilience of SoutheastAsia’s blue ecosystems. At the same time, the global shift toward low-carbon economies poses transitionrisks, as stricter climate policies and changing market preferences may reduce demand for carbon-intensive marine activities and expose certain sectors to economic disruption. Addressing these threatsand transition risks is, therefore, essential for the near and long-term outlook of Southeast Asia’s blueeconomy. Effective financial capital allocation is needed to navigate these opportunities and challenges, but theregion faces a financing gap of nearly USD 2.1 trillion through 2030. Cognisant of this, the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – which brings together all eleven Southeast Asian countries, withTimor-Leste joining in 2025 – has elevated the blue economy on the regional policy agenda, with memberstates pursuing a co-ordinated approach since the 2021 ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on the BlueEconomy. A key milestone was the adoption of theASEAN Blue Economy Frameworkin 2023. Anoverarching policy blueprint, the Framework provides a structured articulation of the region’s blue economypriorities and elaborates on key considerations for operationalising them. In particular, the Framework identifies “sustainable investment and finance” as an enabler of blue economydevelopment in Southeast Asia, acknowledging that adequate and well-targeted financial resources arenecessary for the implementation of the Framework’s strategic priorities. Overall, there is a strong focuson the need to reduce reliance on development assistance and instead shift towards a longer-termapproach to blue economy finance and investment. This report – a landscape study of finance andinvestment for the blue economy in Southeast Asia – aims to support ASEAN and its member states inthis endeavour, helping illustrate opportunities and challenges in diversifying away from developmentassistance as a source of blue economy finance. This report starts with a review of key trends in the blue economy in Southeast Asia (Chapter 1). It thendelves into the current landscape of official development assistance (Chapter 2) – the rationale being thatunpacking the precise nature of finance diversification