ADB lends $500M for PH ‘blue’ economy
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $500-million loan to the Philippine government to support the management of marine ecosystems so the country can both harness and protect its rich blue economy.
The new financing, called “Marine Ecosystems for Blue Economy Development Program (Subprogram 1),” seeks to strengthen the productivity and diversity of the country’s ocean-based economy. It also seeks to improve the health and adaptability of coastal areas and communities, the ADB said in a statement.
The loan also aims to enhance the plastic and solid waste management value chain while promoting investments in the archipelago’s natural capital.
These efforts, the Manila-based lender said, would ensure long-term ecological and economic resilience and protect millions of Filipinos from the worsening impacts of climate change.
While the new ADB loan will add to the government’s outstanding debt of P17.56 trillion as of October, it comes with concessional rates and more favorable terms than commercial borrowing.
The new financing is sourced from ADB’s ordinary capital resources, in regular terms, with interest to be determined in accordance with the lender’s flexible loan product. The loan is payable in 15 years, including a grace period of three years.
Agence Française de Développement and Germany’s KfW Development Bank will provide cofinancing of up to 200 million euros (about $235 million) each for Subprogram 1.
“This is ADB’s first extensive cross-sector program focused on fostering national blue economy development in the region,” said Andrew Jeffries, ADB’s country director for the Philippines. “We are committed to assisting our host country in achieving its climate resilience and low-carbon objectives.”
Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the local ocean economy had reached P1.01 trillion last year, representing an increase of 4.7 percent.
That accounted for 3.8 percent of gross domestic product, albeit down from 4 percent a year earlier.
The PSA also reported that jobs in ocean-based activities fell by 1 percent to 2.39 million. That accounted for 4.9 percent of the total employment in the country in 2024.
As the world’s second-largest archipelagic nation, the Philippines is well-placed to reap the benefits of a sustainable blue economy. The country, one of 18 recognized as mega-biodiverse, sits at the heart of the Coral Triangle and boasts of rich coastal, marine and island ecosystems.
But climate change threatens to undermine those advantages, compounding human-driven pressures such as overfishing and pollution. Rising sea temperatures and acidification endanger marine life and the communities that depend on it, while higher seas and stronger storms heighten risks of flooding and erosion along the coast.
“More than half of the Philippine population is dependent on the country’s oceans and rich marine biodiversity for food and livelihoods, with the blue economy having great potential to be central to attaining inclusive, resilient and low-carbon development,” Jeffries said.
