GNV News December 22, 2025

In 2025, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) reported that, in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region, annual economic losses are estimated at approximately USD 1.14 billion, equivalent to about 5.7% of annual gross marine product.

The natural capital of the Western Indian Ocean region is valued at USD 333.8 billion. On the industrial side, 90% of Africa’s trade moves by sea, including the Western Indian Ocean region; fisheries provide employment for about 4 million people in East Africa; and cruises and coastal tourism, ocean renewable energy, and undersea communications networks generate an annual gross marine product of USD 20 billion. Accordingly, alongside expectations for a Blue Economy (*) that seeks economic growth through the sustainable use of marine resources, the importance of maritime security is being emphasized.

The specific breakdown of the economic losses mainly includes the following, as listed.

Illicit trafficking of drugs, wildlife products, and weapons — government spending on prevention and victim support, tax revenue losses, enforcement and seizure costs, etc.: USD 0.33 billion per year.

Mixed maritime migration arising from multiple drivers such as conflict, poverty, and climate change — government spending on search and rescue, victim support, and judicial processing; loss of life and productivity, etc.: USD 0.3 billion per year.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing — revenue losses, resource depletion, damage to marine ecosystems, enforcement and monitoring costs, etc.: USD 0.246 billion per year.

Piracy and armed robbery — high insurance premiums, risk and high-speed allowances, ship protection measures, private security, naval deployments, etc.: USD 0.164 billion per year.

Oil and chemical spills — cleanup costs, remediation equipment, health costs, loss of livelihoods, marine environmental damage, and lost fisheries and tourism revenues: USD 0.1 billion per year.

In addition, climate change, illegal dumping, maritime terrorism, coastal conflicts, and crude oil theft are emerging threats to the Blue Economy and maritime security.

In response to these threats, UNECA recommends integrating maritime security into the Blue Economy plans of the states with jurisdiction over the Western Indian Ocean; securing long-term funding for the maritime security centers established under the intergovernmental Indian Ocean Commission; strengthening coordination between the maritime security centers — the Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC) based in Seychelles and the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Center (RMIFC) based in Madagascar; and enhancing IUU fisheries monitoring at national and regional levels.

(*) The “Blue Economy” refers to an approach that pursues economic development while sustainably using marine resources and maintaining the health of marine ecosystems.

Learn more about global developments and reporting on the oceans → “‘Ocean Decade’: Are the media capturing global developments?”

Boutre, a coastal area in southwestern Madagascar (Photo: krishna naudin / Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 2.0])