SAI India holds international webinar on Blue Economy

Blue Economy is one of the priority themes of SAI20, an engaging group created by SAIs of the G20, which gathers the world’s twenty largest economies. Blue Economy may be described as the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs, while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem.

 

At the webinar, representatives of the European Court of Auditors and of SAIs India, China, Egypt, Oman, and Brazil presented their work and shared audit experiences on Blue Economy themes.

 

Rafael Encinas, advisor at the Audit Department for Agriculture, Environment and Economic Development (AudAgroAmbiental), of the Department of External Control for Sustainable Development (SecexDesenvolvimento), presented three audits carried out by the TCU regarding Blue Economy.

 

The first one, appraised by Court Decision 1.404/2012 – Full Court, aimed to assess the incorporation of commitments taken by the Brazilian government during the Rio–92 Conference, through a case study on the sustainable management of fishery resources.  Although the country relied on a modern legislation, many of its provisions had not been implemented, which is the case of social participation in decision-making, use of technical and scientific information, and adoption of the precautionary principle.

 

The second audit, appraised by Court Decision 1.638/2021- Full Court, aimed to assess the national fishery regulations, analyzing the main measures taken and the existing control for fishery management in Brazil. The audit identified a lack of critical information on fishery. While the available information in data collection and monitoring tools was seldom used, most of the closed season regulations were outdated and there was no periodic or structured assessment of the efficiency of such a measure. In addition, there were few environmental management plans to regulate fishery, not to mention little transparency in governmental management of the activity.

The last work presented was a coordinated audit on protected areas carried out within the Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS). The audit had two editions, the first in 2014, gathering twelve countries, and the second in 2021, which comprised seventeen countries, including Spain and Portugal. The INDIMAPA methodology, which is an index developed to assess the implementation and management level of protected areas, both terrestrial and marine, was also presented.

 

TCU’s participation in SAI20 is relevant given that, as of December 2023, the Brazilian government will preside over the G20, which means that the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts will be the next SAI20 president.