Blue economy is a term introduced by Belgian economist Professor Gunter Pauli in 1994. It refers to economic activities related to the exploitation, preservation and regeneration of the marine environment.Experts call the blue economy a sustainable marine economic development model.
Actually, the blue economy aims at empowering ocean economy through the use of ocean-based resources. The World Bank defines the blue economy as "sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem."
In the same vein Secretary-General of the Ocean Conference, Wu Hongbo has stated that the blue economy is a long term strategy which aims at supporting sustainable economic growth through ocean-based activities contributing to improving human well-being and social equity and preserving the environment.
In the joint roadmap of the international community SDG-14 has been taken to unlock the potentials of blue economy. So, achieving SDG-14 countries are prioritizing the sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources.
It is undeniable that the oceans are giving us enormously for our survival in the world. The ocean-based economy plays a very significant role to the global economy. Apart from the traditional advantages of the ocean-based resources throughout the ages the turnover from this sector has increased significantly.
It is estimated that every year the ocean economy has the turnover between US$3 and 6 trillion.The contribution of fisheries and aquaculture estimate $US100 billion per year. On top of that it has created jobs for the 260 million people in the world which boosts up global economy. Many countries are found to use the ocean-based resources to drive economic development and create employment opportunities. They are taking steps to revitalize economy through marine industrial activities. The sustainable use of ocean based resources has opened up huge possibilities for some countries.
The blue economy is boosting the field of construction, mineral resources development, ship building, sustainable energy, tourism, fisheries and aquaculture and some other sectors.Studies show that oceans contribute to employment, revenues, technological development, food production, transport, energy and travel which boost up global GDP.
Despite all these more often we see that the contribution of blue economy goes unrecognized.But can we achieve the sustainable economic development by 2030 by overlooking the three-fourth proportion of the surface of earth?
In Bangladesh the concept of the blue economy is relatively new. The priority on blue economy has been more focused in our country after the adjustment of maritime boundary demarcation debate with Myanmar and India respectively in the rear of 2012 and 2014.
Undeniably, Bangladesh is one of the blessed countries in the world who has got 710 km long shorelines. Along with this it has 200 nautical miles of resourceful Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Bay of Bengal. The ocean-based resources may bring huge possibilities for the country which will contribute to ensuring sustainable economic growth.
Among many sea -based resources, fish production is contributing significantly to our economy. The Bay of Bengal is considered the potential ground to supply animal-based protein for the people. It is estimated that 52 percent of animal-based protein in Bangladesh comes from sea sources.
The contribution of marine fisheries is estimated 19.40 per cent of the fish production of the country. Not only that the government is focusing on sea-based tourism. Cox's bazar and other sea shore tourist's spots add a significant turnover which contributes to our GDP. Life and livelihoods of the people in the coastal zones are found to enjoy various benefits from the blue economy.
To ensure the sustainable use of marine resources, the government of the country has taken many initiatives with a view to ensuring inclusive development and goal related to SDG-14.
Apart from arranging consultations and workshops on blue economy,in the seventh-five year plan of the country twelve actions regarding ensuring a sustainable blue economy have been stated.
The sectors including fisheries, renewable energy, human resources, transshipment, tourism and climate change, etc. have been prioritized. On top of that, the "Blue Economy Cell" under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been established to implement the initiatives on priority basis.
However, experts opine that despite many initiatives the country has not been able to unlock the full potentials of blue economy yet. In many cases the undertaking initiatives have been able to address a few number of sectors of blue economy.
Besides, many sectors are following traditional methods which slow down the potentials of the ocean-based economy. Obviously we see a wide range of opportunities through ensuring ocean-based economy but we cannot deny the challenges to explore every opportunity out of our sea resources.
Pollution in the sea has been a constant threat over the years to bring full potentials from marine -based resources. In most cases man-made pollution is greatly threatening the health of oceans which not only affect biodiversity but also pose serious health hazards. It is evident that all the challenges are prolonging the benefits from blue economy in the country.
Experts have clearly stated that the existing Blue Economy Cell has many limitations to accelerate the coordination efforts in case of unlocking every possibility of the blue economy. They have emphasized on forming a separate ministry to ensure the sustainable blue economy. It is good to see that many universities and institutes are giving priority on marine-based researches in the country but research fund constraints and reluctance of the researchers are obvious.
To this end, there is no alternative to address a coordinated initiative to bring out the full potentials of blue economy in the country which will have enormous contribution to ensure sustainable development of the country. AlaulAlam teaches at Prime University& is also a research scholar at the IBS
