LocationsASEAN Blue Economy Initiatives
Shaping ASEAN's Sustainable Blue Future
Revisit our workshop at Expo 2025, OsakaProject Area
Brunei Darussalam 🇧🇳
Brunei’s coastal ecosystems play a vital role for local livelihoods and biodiversity. Country stakeholders are increasingly exploring nature-based approaches to strengthen coastal resilience and the potential of blue carbon. Partnerships between community actors, government, and the private sector are being fostered to pilot restoration activities and explore feasible financing models for long-term stewardship.
Connect with local blue initiatives in your area: https://s.id/BlueInitiatives_BruneiDarussalam
Timor-Leste 🇹🇱
Timor-Leste’s coastal and nearshore habitats are important for local livelihoods and biodiversity. The country is building technical and policy foundations to assess blue carbon potential and design future financing strategies for community-based restoration and climate resilience.
Connect with local blue initiatives in your area: https://s.id/BlueInitiatives_TimorLeste
Cambodia 🇰🇭
Cambodia’s coastal wetlands and nearshore habitats underpin fisheries and community livelihoods along the Gulf of Thailand. National efforts are growing to better map and protect these ecosystems, while exploring financing approaches that link conservation outcomes with sustainable development and community benefits.
Connect with local blue initiatives in your area: https://s.id/BlueInitiatives_Cambodia
Indonesia 🇮🇩
Indonesia hosts extensive coastal and inland blue carbon systems that are central to national climate and coastal resilience strategies. The government is increasingly integrating blue carbon into planning and exploring finance pathways to support restoration at scale, while communities play a key role in stewardship and implementation.
Connect with local blue initiatives in your area: https://s.id/BlueInitiatives_Indonesia
Singapore 🇸🇬
Although highly urbanized, Singapore invests heavily in coastal research, restoration pilots, and digital monitoring to inform ecosystem-based solutions. Its focus on innovation, private–public partnerships, and applied science contributes to regional knowledge on quantifying and financing coastal restoration.
Connect with local blue initiatives in your area: https://s.id/BlueInitiatives_Singapore
Malaysia 🇲🇾
Malaysia’s coastal and peatland ecosystems support diverse marine life and local economies. The country is advancing habitat protection and restoration pilots while assessing mechanisms to mobilize finance, including public–private collaboration, to scale up conservation and enhance climate resilience in coastal communities.
Connect with local blue initiatives in your area: https://s.id/BlueInitiatives_Malaysia
Thailand 🇹🇭
Thailand’s extensive coastal provinces harbor important blue carbon ecosystems that support local livelihoods and tourism. The country is strengthening policy alignment and piloting finance mechanisms aimed at integrating restoration with community benefits and private sector engagement.
Connect with local blue initiatives in your area: https://s.id/BlueInitiatives_Thailand
Thailand 🇹🇭
As a landlocked country, Lao PDR’s blue carbon focus lies on freshwater wetlands and riparian ecosystems rather than marine systems. These inland blue–green habitats contribute to carbon storage, biodiversity, and local livelihoods; the country is strengthening watershed and wetland management as part of nature-based climate solutions.
Connect with local blue initiatives in your area: https://s.id/BlueInitiatives_LaoPDR
Myanmar 🇲🇲
Myanmar’s coastal wetlands and peat-rich areas are critical for biodiversity and coastal livelihoods. Restoration and protection efforts are being strengthened amid capacity building and policy development, with emerging discussions on sustainable financing to support long-term conservation and community resilience.
Connect with local blue initiatives in your area: https://s.id/BlueInitiatives_Myanmar
The Philippines 🇵🇭
The Philippines’ archipelagic coasts host diverse coastal ecosystems that underpin fisheries, tourism, and disaster risk reduction. National strategies increasingly recognise blue carbon’s role for climate mitigation and adaptation, and stakeholders are piloting finance instruments and community-led restoration models to scale impact.
Connect with local blue initiatives in your area: https://s.id/BlueInitiatives_ThePhilippines
Vietnam 🇻🇳
Vietnam’s long coastline and wetland networks host significant blue carbon potential. National efforts emphasize coastal adaptation and habitat restoration while exploring finance models to leverage public and private capital for scaling community-centered conservation.
Connect with local blue initiatives in your area: https://s.id/BlueInitiatives_Vietnam
- The designations employed and the presentation of material on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations or UNDP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
- References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).
Stories from the Field
Learn how people build a resilient blue future
2025 - Present
ASEAN Blue Carbon and Finance Profiling
To meet global climate targets, ASEAN countries must reach net-zero emissions by mid-century. Blue carbon ecosystems—such as mangroves, seagrasses, and peatlands—offer powerful nature-based solutions by storing carbon, supporting biodiversity, and sustaining coastal livelihoods. Despite their critical role, these ecosystems remain underutilized due to limited data, technical capacity, and financing. The “Amplifying Blue Economy Growth through Enhanced Blue Carbon and Financing Profiling” project addresses the critical challenge of mitigating climate change and fostering sustainable development through the conservation and utilization of blue carbon ecosystems in ASEAN countries.
This project supports SDGs number:
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Our Contributors
2024 - 2025
ASEAN Blue Innovation Challenge
The ASEAN Blue Innovation Challenge represents a unique initiative aimed at fostering the development of the blue economy in ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste. It seeks to identify, finance, and support innovative solutions geared towards the conservation and sustainable management of marine ecosystems, coastal areas, and freshwater resources. In addition to providing financial support, it facilitates connections between innovators and potential stakeholders, including investors and business entities.
This project supports SDGs number:
Milestones
Accelerating Impact Through Sustainable Action
Commitment to GESI
Under the ASEAN Blue Economy Initiatives, which encompass the ASEAN Blue Innovation Challenge (ABIC), the ASEAN Blue Carbon Finance (ABCF) project, and future regional collaborations, UNDP and ASEAN remain strongly committed to advancing Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) as a cross-cutting priority. The initiatives recognize that building a sustainable and resilient blue economy requires the meaningful participation and leadership of women, youth, Indigenous peoples, and marginalized communities across all levels of engagement.
By ensuring meaningful participation of women, youth, Indigenous peoples, and marginalized communities, we promote equitable access to innovation, finance, and knowledge within the blue economy. Through initiatives such as supporting 45% women-led innovators under ABIC and ensuring at least 30% women representation in the upcoming ASEAN Network of Blue Economy Experts, we reaffirm that a sustainable blue economy must be inclusive by design—driven by diverse voices and responsive to the needs of all communities across ASEAN and Timor-Leste.