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Strategy and policy
Reform Support

Improving Policy Coherence for Portugal’s Ocean Economy

Supporting reforms to transition to a green economy and fight climate change

Funding Programme
Year
  • 2022

Improving Policy Coherence for Portugal’s Ocean Economy

The European Commission supported Portugal’s Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services (DGRM) in the development of its Strategic Plan 2030, a key policy instrument aimed at advancing a sustainable ocean economy.

Context

The National Ocean Strategy 2021-2030 (NOS) defines Portugal’s public ocean policy for the decade, setting out strategic goals to promote a sustainable and competitive ocean economy. Among its strategic goals, three particularly challenging areas require the adoption of innovative approaches by the Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services (DGRM):

  1. Employment and the Circular and Sustainable Blue Economy;
  2. Decarbonisation of the economy, promotion of renewable energies, and energy autonomy; and
  3. Reindustrialisation, productive capacity, and ocean digitisation.

DGRM, acting as the national maritime administration, plays a central role in implementing Portugal’s maritime strategy, having a broad and intersecting mandate. However, it faces critical challenges related to limited resources, coordination, and governance, which must be addressed to fully achieve its strategic ambitions. Notably, a Strategic Plan for long-term management is needed to address existing challenges and capitalise on opportunities, allowing DGRM to effectively respond to the challenges set by the NOS.

Support Delivered

The support provided included an evaluation of DGRM’s current capacity and operations, guided by the analytical framework provided by the OECD Recommendation on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD). Building on the identification of key challenges and opportunities, the project formulated targeted recommendations to address systemic shortcomings. These recommendations focused on key actions, policy options and governance tools to align the three strategic objectives of Portugal’s National Ocean Strategy 2021-2030: employment and sustainable blue economy, decarbonisation and renewable energies, and ocean digitisation.

Results achieved

The recommendations provided by the project aim to guide DGRM in the development of its Strategic Plan 2030. Ultimately, the project is expected to contribute to strengthen policy coherence, governance, and resource allocation, and foster a resilient blue economy in Portugal.  

More about the project

You can read the documents related to the project here: