The government is anchoring its Blue Economy Development PforR in a series of national and sectorial strategies, in support of the existing and the ongoing modernization of the legislative framework. The Blue Economy Development PforR will support the implementation of the Government Program’s strategies (Figure 1) and potential new legislative framework with a focus to further include investments for a sustainable blue economy in the country national resilience and recovery plans as well as their performance-based budgets. The scope of the strategies as well as their implementation period, and linkage to the government performance-based budget programs . The government program is aligned to the 2020 Coastal Law and the National Coastal Plan 18. This law promotes integrated and sustainable management of the coastline with a view to protecting and enhancing coastal infrastructure. The program will build on these achievements and advance their full operationalization.

A key aspect of the government program is to leverage the Blue Economy development and the integrated coastal/marine management in the performance-based budget process with a view to achieving better coordination, integration and efficiency among sectors. This dimension is essential in making trade-offs between sectors, for example between fisheries and tourism, but also to maintain the viability of the economy by preserving ecosystem services impacted by pollution, degradation or subject to climatic hazards. The environment and natural resources are the basis of the sustainable economic growth, and in the case of the coastal development, preserving and increasing environmental health are significant benefits for the long-term growth of sectors of this Program, with high potential for returns such as employment, foreign exchange, income and growth, particularly in fisheries and tourism. In addition, investments in infrastructure or the establishment of policies that improve the health of the coastal economy, including pollution control legislation, promote economic development by reducing the cost of human health effects and enhancing opportunities for growth through a wider range of sectors, including those dependent on the environment. While sectoral policies and investments are critical, looking at them in isolation can cause one to miss out on the connections and interplay among and between sectors. Thus, through this PforR, the government seeks to design and implement the framework to clarify the intra- and inter-sectoral trade-offs and co-benefits that are an essential part of creating a sustainable coastal development. The type of coastline in Morocco makes these trade-offs and co-benefits essential to strategically develop each sector while safeguarding the vulnerable coast.