practices and IUU fishing by national and foreign vessels with high technology,
which disrespects environmental standards and inflicts economic social damages to
the country.
The economic potential of the Blue Amazon is not restricted to living resources.
Analyses of shipping industry data and the transportation of goods through the seas
shows that only 3% of maritime trade in Brazil is operated by the Brazilian merchant
shipping. Such a low number suggests the need for investments in this sector, so as to
reduce a dependency on foreign ship owners that exercises a negative weight on
Brazil’s trade balance. Substantial investments are also needed in the modernization
of Brazilian ports. For the national economy, dependency on the South Atlantic
Ocean is enormous and growing, in light of the expected exploitation of natural
resources lying on the adjacent ocean floor.
In fact, Brazil is currently exploiting hydrocarbon reserves of the pre-salt area, in
order to meet the demand of the domestic market and guarantee the export of
surpluses. That is an undeniable reality, despite traditional skepticism inside Brazil
as to the ability of the state-owned petroleum company, Petrobras, to lead the most
challenging exploitation of oil in ultra-deep waters. Apart from that, Petrobras
developed activities in Africa, including offshore reserves in Namibia.
139 The
expansion of the Brazilian continental shelf requires the carrying out of researches
capable of endorsing the prospect, exploration and commercialization of these
natural resources, which are economically relevant, but also ecological, for the
world.
Some publications on Brazilian geopolitical and strategical calculations see the
Blue Amazon as the prospect of achieving economic development through technological advancements and innovation.
140 In other words, the Brazilian maritime
zones would form a “Brazilian oceanic complex” with the following main axes:
(a) security and defense; (b) aquaculture and fisheries; (c) recreational and leisure
activities; (d) renewable energies and offshore exploration; (e) maritime transport;
and (f) marine sciences.
141 In order to achieve socioeconomic development, Brazil
would thus need specific public policies, especially the industrialization of the ocean
technology sector, capable of providing long-lasting ground for a developmental
standard based on investments on marine sciences and the sustainable use of marine
139 Information available at Petrobras’ website. Available at: http://201.77.217.135/en/countries/
namibia/namibia.htm. Accessed 12 April 2020.
140 In Brazilian strategic studies, one can find references to the need to overcome the
oil-dependency, via materialization of a “Brazilian Oceanic State” (Estado Oceânico Brasileiro).
That multi-faceted objective is grounded on the belief that Brazil should not repeat the same
mistakes from the past and, thus, take the oceans into account when drafting development plans
for the future. That Brazilian Ocean State ought to be aware of the risks of turning to the East (i.e. to
the ocean) with the same mindset that inspired the occupation of the Green Amazon—illegal
granting of lands and lack of monitoring, which nowadays is responsible for alarming rates of
deforestation. The occupation of Brazil last economic frontier, the Blue Amazon, must be, above
all, sustainable in the traditional sense of the word. See More (2012), p. 248.
141 Cruz Júnior (2012), p. 115.
9.2 The Brazilian Extended Continental Shelf: A Larger Blue Amazon
285
which disrespects environmental standards and inflicts economic social damages to
the country.
The economic potential of the Blue Amazon is not restricted to living resources.
Analyses of shipping industry data and the transportation of goods through the seas
shows that only 3% of maritime trade in Brazil is operated by the Brazilian merchant
shipping. Such a low number suggests the need for investments in this sector, so as to
reduce a dependency on foreign ship owners that exercises a negative weight on
Brazil’s trade balance. Substantial investments are also needed in the modernization
of Brazilian ports. For the national economy, dependency on the South Atlantic
Ocean is enormous and growing, in light of the expected exploitation of natural
resources lying on the adjacent ocean floor.
In fact, Brazil is currently exploiting hydrocarbon reserves of the pre-salt area, in
order to meet the demand of the domestic market and guarantee the export of
surpluses. That is an undeniable reality, despite traditional skepticism inside Brazil
as to the ability of the state-owned petroleum company, Petrobras, to lead the most
challenging exploitation of oil in ultra-deep waters. Apart from that, Petrobras
developed activities in Africa, including offshore reserves in Namibia.
139 The
expansion of the Brazilian continental shelf requires the carrying out of researches
capable of endorsing the prospect, exploration and commercialization of these
natural resources, which are economically relevant, but also ecological, for the
world.
Some publications on Brazilian geopolitical and strategical calculations see the
Blue Amazon as the prospect of achieving economic development through technological advancements and innovation.
140 In other words, the Brazilian maritime
zones would form a “Brazilian oceanic complex” with the following main axes:
(a) security and defense; (b) aquaculture and fisheries; (c) recreational and leisure
activities; (d) renewable energies and offshore exploration; (e) maritime transport;
and (f) marine sciences.
141 In order to achieve socioeconomic development, Brazil
would thus need specific public policies, especially the industrialization of the ocean
technology sector, capable of providing long-lasting ground for a developmental
standard based on investments on marine sciences and the sustainable use of marine
139 Information available at Petrobras’ website. Available at: http://201.77.217.135/en/countries/
namibia/namibia.htm. Accessed 12 April 2020.
140 In Brazilian strategic studies, one can find references to the need to overcome the
oil-dependency, via materialization of a “Brazilian Oceanic State” (Estado Oceânico Brasileiro).
That multi-faceted objective is grounded on the belief that Brazil should not repeat the same
mistakes from the past and, thus, take the oceans into account when drafting development plans
for the future. That Brazilian Ocean State ought to be aware of the risks of turning to the East (i.e. to
the ocean) with the same mindset that inspired the occupation of the Green Amazon—illegal
granting of lands and lack of monitoring, which nowadays is responsible for alarming rates of
deforestation. The occupation of Brazil last economic frontier, the Blue Amazon, must be, above
all, sustainable in the traditional sense of the word. See More (2012), p. 248.
141 Cruz Júnior (2012), p. 115.
9.2 The Brazilian Extended Continental Shelf: A Larger Blue Amazon
285