Communication for Sustainable Development and Blue Growth: Towards New Theoretical and Empirical Directions

Sustainable development is one of the most prominent development paradigms. The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reflect the need for strategies that achieve development and economic growth, tackling the environmental change and preserving our oceans and forests. Blue Growth is one of the priorities of the UN’s SDGs agenda and of the Europe 2030 strategy to support innovation and sustainable growth in the marine and maritime sectors (aquaculture, coastal tourism, marine biotechnology, ocean energy, seabed mining), improve maritime safety and security and preserve ecosystems and biodiversity. Despite the emergence of new strategies and policy initiatives to support Blue Growth at a global and national level, there is a noticeable tendency for policymakers and institutions to follow neoliberal strategies that focus on market-based mechanisms at the detriment of the social dimension of sustainable development and broader social change. The chapter argues that the social change aspect in Blue Growth initiatives can be brought to the forefront through a communication perspective to social change and with the aid of the Communication for Development and Social Change (CDSC) scholarship and practice. Drawing on the principles of communication and social change, the chapter offers a mapping of key Blue Growth initiatives in Europe through selected European Union (EU)-funded projects. It reveals the prevalence of a narrow market-orientated approach and one-directional communication strategies that fail to consider the needs and social life of the coastal communities that are most affected. We conclude with recommendations for a communication framework that is based on a local, small and dialogic approach to communication and Blue Growth.