Introduction: The blue economy is defined as the sustainable use of ocean, sea, and coastal resources to achieve economic growth, improve livelihoods, and provide jobs while preserving the health of marine ecosystems. This economy represents a fundamental pillar of sustainable development in many coastal countries around the world. For Yemen—which possesses a long coastline extending along the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean—the potential of the blue economy is vast and not fully utilized [1]. The Yemeni economy relies heavily on oil, and the blue economy can play a pivotal role in diversifying Yemen’s economic sources by providing new job opportunities, enhancing food security, and achieving comprehensive development in light of the current economic challenges facing the country [2]. Through this article, which consists of two parts, we seek to analyze the current Yemeni policies, laws, and legislation related to the blue economy, identify the challenges and legislative gaps in these laws and policies, in addition to presenting practical proposals to enhance and adopt comprehensive policies that draw an initial roadmap for developing the blue economy in Yemen. We will also focus on highlighting the legal and institutional framework that governs the main sectors of the blue economy in Yemen, such as: fisheries, maritime transport, marine tourism, marine renewable energy, and marine biotechnology. Existing Yemeni Policies and Laws Related to the Blue Economy: Despite the absence of a comprehensive and unified legal framework dedicated entirely to the blue economy in Yemen, there are a number of existing laws and legislation that address different aspects of marine and coastal activities, which can be considered as basic building blocks that can be built upon to develop more comprehensive policies for the blue economy. These laws include the following: 1. Maritime Law (Law No. 15 of 1994): The Yemeni Maritime Law issued by Presidential Decree No. (15) of 1994 is considered the main legislative framework that regulates maritime navigation and ships in Yemeni waters. This law addresses vital aspects such as the nationality of ships, their registration, and documentation, in addition to provisions related to ship ownership and legal transactions concerning them, leasing, and penalties imposed for violations [3]. The importance of this law for the blue economy in Yemen is as follows: ● The law provides the necessary framework to regulate ship movement, which supports the maritime transport sector, one of the main components of the blue economy. Maritime transport facilitates international trade and contributes to enhancing the movement of goods and people, thereby boosting overall economic activity. ● The law contributes to legitimizing maritime activities and facilitating their monitoring by defining mechanisms for ship registration, which is essential for developing an effective national maritime fleet. ● The law addresses some aspects related to the economic exploitation of ships such as leasing, which provides a legal basis for commercial utilization of maritime assets. However, the focus of the maritime law is mainly on the traditional aspects of maritime navigation and does not directly address modern concepts of the blue economy such as marine environmental sustainability, or the regulation of emerging sectors such as ocean energy, marine biotechnology, or sustainable marine tourism. 2. Environmental Protection Law (Law No. 26 of 1995): The Yemeni Environmental Protection Law was issued by Presidential Decree No. (26) of 1995 and aims to protect the environment and its natural components from pollution and degradation. The law defines the environment, pollutants, pollution, environmental impact, and environmental damage, and sets general principles for preserving natural resources and preventing pollution. It also addresses the importance of environmental impact assessment for activities and projects and includes provisions related to hazardous waste and its management [4]. The importance of this law for the blue economy in Yemen is as follows: ● The law provides a general framework for environmental protection, which can indirectly include the marine environment. Preserving the quality of marine waters and coastal ecosystems is vital to ensure the sustainability of marine economic activities. ● The law includes basic principles for preserving natural resources and preventing pollution, which are fundamental principles for a sustainable blue economy that seeks to achieve a balance between economic development and environmental conservation. ● The law contributes to supporting sustainable development efforts, as it imposes the obligation of environmental impact assessment for activities and projects, which is an important tool to ensure that new projects, especially those related to marine sectors, do not cause significant environmental damage. Despite this importance, the Environmental Protection Law does not specifically focus on the marine environment or marine activities in detail. It does not include specific provisions for regulating marine economic activities such as sustainable fishing, aquaculture, marine tourism, or the exploitation of marine renewable energy, nor does it define clear mechanisms for applying sustainability principles specifically to marine sectors. 3. Law Regulating, Exploiting and Protecting Aquatic Life (Law No. 2 of 2006): This law—issued by Presidential Decree No. (2) of 2006—is considered one of the most important pieces of legislation related to the blue economy in Yemen, as it directly focuses on regulating the fisheries sector. The law aims to protect aquatic life and its marine environment from random fishing and harmful practices and encourages and regulates investment in fishing, exploitation, and marketing of aquatic resources. It also sets controls and standards for regulating traditional, coastal, and industrial fishing and aims to develop a national fishing fleet [5]. The importance of this law for the blue economy in Yemen is as follows: ● This law is considered a fundamental pillar for regulating the fisheries sector and managing fish stocks, which are among the most important components of the blue economy in Yemen. Regulating fishing contributes to preserving fish stocks and ensuring their sustainability for future generations. ● The law focuses on protecting aquatic life and its environment, which supports efforts to preserve marine biodiversity, a vital element for the health of marine ecosystems and their ability to provide environmental and economic services. ● The law contributes to developing the fisheries sector by encouraging investment in this sector and increasing its contribution to the national economy, which creates job opportunities and increases national income. Despite the importance of this law, it mainly focuses on traditional and industrial fishing and does not sufficiently address other aspects of the blue economy such as sustainable aquaculture, marine biotechnology, marine tourism, or marine renewable energy. It also does not address specific mechanisms for managing marine waste or comprehensive marine spatial planning. Gaps in Yemeni Policies and Legislation Related to the Blue Economy: Despite the existence of some legislation addressing aspects of marine activities in Yemen, there are significant gaps in the current legal and policy framework, which hinder comprehensive and sustainable development of the blue economy. These gaps can be summarized as follows: First: Absence of a Comprehensive Strategic Vision for the Blue Economy in Yemen: Yemen lacks an integrated and clearly defined national strategy for the blue economy. The current laws—as mentioned earlier—are sectoral laws that focus on specific aspects (such as navigation, fishing, or general environmental protection) without a unified vision that connects these sectors and directs them towards achieving sustainable blue economy objectives. The absence of a comprehensive strategy leads to: ● Fragmented planning for each sector separately, leading to conflicts of interest, duplication of efforts, and lack of integration between different marine activities. For example, coastal development projects may conflict with fishing areas or environmentally protected areas due to the absence of comprehensive marine spatial planning [2]. ● Weak coordination between different government entities concerned with the marine sector (such as the Ministry of Fisheries, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Water and Environment, and Ministry of Tourism), which hinders effective decision-making and implementation of joint projects. ● Failure to fully benefit from Yemen’s vast and diverse marine potential and transform it into real economic opportunities [1]. Second: Deficiencies in Current Legislation and Lack of Alignment with Modern Concepts: The current laws and policies—despite their importance—have not been updated to include modern concepts of the blue economy and sustainable development requirements. This deficiency appears in several aspects: a- Marine environmental sustainability: Despite the existence of the Environmental Protection Law, it does not include detailed and specific provisions for protecting the marine environment and addressing various types of marine pollution (such as plastic pollution, pollution from ships, and pollution from land-based activities affecting the marine environment) effectively. Monitoring and enforcement mechanisms may also be weak [4]. Although the fisheries law regulates fishing, there is a need for more detailed legislation to ensure sustainable fishing practices, such as setting fishing quotas, regulating fishing seasons, protecting fish breeding areas, combating overfishing, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing [5]. In addition, there is a lack of sufficient legislation to protect marine biodiversity (including endangered marine species), and there are also insufficient laws for establishing and effectively managing marine protected areas and preserving sensitive marine habitats such as coral reefs and mangroves [4]. b- Emerging and promising sectors: There are no clear laws or policies to regulate and encourage investment in emerging sectors such as marine renewable energy projects (offshore wind farms, tidal energy, and wave energy). These sectors can provide clean energy sources that help address shortages, provide sustainable energy access, and diversify Yemen’s energy sources [1]. The legal framework also lacks provisions related to promoting research and development in marine biotechnology or regulating the exploitation of marine biological resources for medical, industrial, or food purposes [1]. Although aquaculture is mentioned in the fisheries law, there is a need for more detailed legislation to regulate and develop sustainable aquaculture, including quality standards, environmental safety, site selection, and investment promotion [5]. There are also no specific laws or policies to regulate and develop marine tourism sustainably or to protect coastal and island areas with environmental tourism potential, or to regulate marine tourism activities to ensure they do not negatively impact the marine environment [1]. c- Integrated management of coastal and marine areas: There is no legal or institutional framework supporting marine spatial planning, which is a key tool for managing different uses of marine areas in an integrated and organized manner, avoiding conflicts and promoting sustainable development [2]. Yemen also lacks a comprehensive legal and policy framework for integrated coastal zone management, which aims to balance economic and social development with environmental protection in coastal areas [4]. d- Weak regional and international cooperation: Despite the importance of enhancing regional and international cooperation in managing shared marine resources and addressing transboundary challenges (such as illegal fishing and marine pollution), Yemeni laws and policies do not sufficiently emphasize strengthening such cooperation or activating relevant international and regional agreements [2]. Based on the gaps presented above, we conclude that there is an urgent need for a comprehensive review of the current legal and policy framework in Yemen, the development of new legislation, and the adoption of an integrated strategic vision to enable Yemen to maximize the benefits of its blue economy potential in a sustainable manner. References: · 1. https://hesj.org/ojs/index.php/hesj/article/view/1455 · 2. https://bhuth.ae/ar/publication/drawing-yemens-economic-future-highlighting-supportive-paths · 3. http://yemen-nic.info/db/laws_ye/detail.php?ID=6717 · 4. http://www.yemen-nic.info/db/laws_ye/detail.php?ID=11458 · 5. http://www.yemen-nic.info/contents/laws_ye/detail.php?ID=18819