Algeria among the top 10 service exporters

Maritime and coastal tourism is the main source of ocean exports for many African countries.  With its strategic position in the Mediterranean, more than 1,200 km of coastline, and significant port infrastructure, Algeria is among the top 10 African countries in ocean-related service exports in 2024, according to data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

An amount of around $420 million

With an amount of around $420 million, Algeria's performance is based mainly on port services, maritime tourism, and passenger transport, according to a presentation given on Wednesday by Arnaud Ludovic, Deputy Administrator for Economic Affairs in UNCTAD's Trade, Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development Section, and an expert on data and analysis relating to the ocean economy.

Speaking at the second meeting of Africa 21, a network of African journalists specializing in sustainable development and climate change, organized as a webinar on the theme “Seas and Oceans, Challenges for Africa,” the representative of this UN institution emphasized that international trade can be a lever for the development of a sustainable blue economy. According to him,  the blue economy is worth $60 to $70 billion. “This is very low compared to the potential of the blue economy in Africa,” he said.

The blue economy represents between $300 and $400 billion in Africa

Invited to this round table discussion, which aims to address the roles played by African states during 2025 concerning the maritime agenda and the benefits expected from these states in the short, medium, and long term, Nassim Oulmane also emphasizes the importance of developing the blue economy, a subject that Africa has long neglected. “It was in 2016 that we began working on strategic documents to understand the importance of the blue economy for the African continent efficiently. We have always had a fairly cautious approach to the sea and oceans on the continent,” he said.

For this senior economist and head of the Green and Blue Economy Section at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the blue economy offers strong development potential for the continent, representing between $300 billion and $400 billion in economic activity. According to him, the blue economy generates around 50 million jobs across the continent in 38 coastal countries. He emphasizes that efforts have been made at the continental level to implement a blue economy strategy for Africa within the framework of the African Union, which has gradually been translated into subregional and national strategies.

Beyond this potential, the great challenge in the eyes of this Algerian expert is to achieve a convergence between economic activity and the protection and regeneration of the oceans, “which are deteriorating quite rapidly, particularly on the continent,” he laments, while pointing out that African countries have “very few resources to manage the health of the seas.”

Sustainable development, environmental protection, and ecosystem regeneration must be interconnected, and integrated development plans, he notes, emphasizing that sustainable aquaculture is a link in the process of preserving marine resources, which, he insists, is part of food security. Along the same lines, Oulmane highlights Algeria's progress in this area, pointing out that aquaculture accounts for 8 to 10% of fishery resources.

Regional cooperation is essential

Oulmane also notes that 80% of fishing in Africa is unregulated. This, he says, explains overfishing, pollution, and other problems. “Regional cooperation is essential, involving the standardization of regulations and the control of marine protected areas, as well as taxation of the harmful impact of pollution,” he explains. According to him, the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) provides a framework for developing a regional value chain.

For his part, Robin Degron, former director of Plan Bleu (UN Environment in the Mediterranean), focused his speech on biodiversity protection, emphasizing that the marine ecosystem is becoming increasingly vulnerable. With population growth and the effects of climate change, exposure to risks is, in his view, increasing. Hence, his call for multilateralism and unified action, and above all, for the preservation of resources, particularly the high seas.

“African countries are selling off their resources at bargain prices,” he lamented. Finally, he points out that 2025 was a very fruitful year internationally in terms of protecting the seas and oceans, citing in particular the ratification of the Treaty on the Protection and Sustainable Use of the High Seas (BBNJ) and emphasizing that Africa can sign up to the Aarhus Convention on access to environmental information. Finally, he hopes that the next COP31, scheduled for November 2026 in Turkey on climate change adaptation, will provide adequate answers to vital questions such as the protection of marine ecosystems.