Governing the blue economy in arid coastal regions: opportunities, constraints, and stakeholder perspectives from the Eastern Province coast of Saudi Arabia

Introduction The blue economy has emerged as a strategic framework for aligning marine-based economic development with environmental sustainability and social equity. Empirical evidence from arid and industrialized coastal regions, however, remains limited. Methods This study employs a convergent mixed-methods design using a structured questionnaire administered to 404 stakeholders across the Eastern Province coastline of Saudi Arabia, complemented by qualitative open-ended responses. Quantitative analyses included descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and regression modeling, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. Results Results indicate strong stakeholder support for blue economy…

• IA
  Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University