Country Blue is a modern economy with a prime-minister leading a coalition cabinet of varying colours. It is the fifth largest country bordering the Sea of Colours, with a population of circa 6 million people. The dominant governance style is pragmatic, easy going and with a strong focus on retaining their leading position in niches. The country however also knows a strong lobby from both industry and green NGOs.
The Blue country has an interesting geography: it has both sand shores and rocky coastlines. The sandy shores will need extra sand suppletion to withstand sea level rise. Although the Blue sea area is a little over 81.500km2, the Blue country has one of the biggest commercial fishing fleets in the world and is a major player in exploration and innovative deep sea and offshore mining. The country is very dependent on world trade and economic developments.
Country Blue was the first country in the world with operating offshore wind turbines. It has currently two wind farms in operation but has not planned any additional wind farms yet and it is loosing their leading position. The renewable energy target is 20% (6000MW) of the national energy consumption by 2020. However, no offshore wind energy is supposed to take place within the 12 nautical mile zone, since it is deemed to have a negative impact on tourism.
The Blue commercial fleet is large, but the economic contribution of the sector to the national economy is decreasing. The number of private yachts and boats for leisure and recreational angling in country Blue are very high; almost all families in the country own at least one boat. The Blue country has one medium port, with major facilities for handling of goods and passengers, and many small ports which are used by private yachts and boats. It is expected that the number of yachts and boats will increase in the future due to an ageing population.
The shoreline of country Blue is important as resting ground for many bird species. Furthermore, the Blue country has important nursery and spawning areas and many harbour porpoises are present in the Blue EEZ. Country Blue has various Natura 2000 sites, but no MarineProtected Area yet. Some Natura 2000 sites are bird areas, while others are designated as habitat area for seabed protection. The government has a rough idea of areas that could be designated as additional MPAs, but the process is on-going. It has no formal regulatory MSP procedure. Flexibility is the key word.
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