New prospects in Bangladesh blue economy
“Blue Economy” is marine-based economic development that leads to improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.
The recent visits of the USA-based international luxury cruise line Silversea with tourists to Bangladesh have ushered in a new era of sea tourism in the country.
Recently, the Silver sea made a couple of trips to Sundarbans and Maheshkhali island, which could be new prospects for the country’s blue economy, according to the sector people.
“Blue Economy” is marine-based economic development that leads to improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.
The recent Silversea visits helped local business earn a sum of Tk70 lakh while the government also earned a significant amount, the people familiar with the business said.
After fixing the maritime area at the Bay of Bengal, the policymakers started analysing the prospects of blue economy through sea resources and minerals while sea tourism has appeared as first output such specialised economy by the visits, experts said.
With the trips, sea tourism had unveiled another dimension of blue economy in the country’s maritime sector, said Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon, at a recent meeting in the Secretariat.
He said: “About Tk35 lakh revenue was deposited to the state treasurer by the first trip of Silver Discoverer. By this initiative, sea tourism prospect in Bangladesh will attract international companies which carry more earning for the country.”
National Oceanographic and Maritime Institute on February 7 organised a seminar on future planning of blue economy and environmental research where the research head Sirazur Rahman Khan said about 10,000 tourists visit Saint Martin’s island everyday where the number is only 3,000 in 2010.
In the seminar, he suggested making an appropriate survey on the sea to discover its all resources and prospects; initiating a well-informative database over the blue economy and introducing more international-class facilities for the tourists.
The international tourists were scared to visit Bangladesh after the Gulshan cafe attack last year.
But the trips of 162 foreign tourists by sea to Bangladesh without any untoward incident proved that Bangladesh is “safe and better place for tourists,” said sources in Bangladesh Tourism Board.
Amongst the 162 tourists, the highest 66 visitors were from the USA. Visitors from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and many European countries were in the trips, said Journey Plus, partner of Silversea in Bangladesh.
The cruise ships “Silver Expeditions” anchored in Maheshkhali island of Cox’s Bazar district and Sundarbans.
Tourists in small boats of the ship visited the places and expressed their joy after sight-seeing and interaction with local people, said the organiser of the trips.
Marveling at the natural beauty of Sundarbans and Maheskhali island, a sailor of the ship wrote letter to the tourism minister expressing his delighting experience.
The tourists did not disclose their names because of security concerns.
“Bangladesh is now on the world’s cruise map and this voyage will help boost future tourism of the country,” said Journey Plus Chief Executive Officer Taufiq Rahman.
Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ali Hossain said the tourists visit different historical places and pagoda.
Maheshkhali Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abul Kalam said such type of visits would help develop positive image of Bangladesh in tourism sector.
Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mahbubul Alam said the initiatives may inspire tourists from other countries to visit the world’s longest sea beach and the world’s biggest mangrove forest.
Silversea has started carrying tourists on two routes through Bay of Bengal. One is Colombo-Kolkata via Cox’s Bazar and another is Kolkata-Thailand via Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The government had announced 2016 year as the “Tourism Year” while the ruling party strongly tried to convince foreign tour companies to initiate operation in Bangladesh. The Silver Discoverer’s visit shows the signs of a new trend.
Tiger Tours Limited Chief Operating Officer Sumala Chowdhury said: “The sea tourism has a huge prospect for our economy. But we have to flourish and nurse the sector without doing any harm to our natures, heritage and tourist environment.”
Sohel Rana, member of traveler group Oronyopremi, said the government should take more tourism-friendly initiatives to inspire many more tourists to visit the world’s longest sea beach and the world’s largest mangrove forest.
Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh urges the government to bring all bureaucratic formalities under an umbrella for tour operators so that they can easily do any formality promptly.
Prospects and challenges of Blue Economy in Bangladesh
The concept of Blue Economy has opened a new horizon for economic development of the coastal countries through utilizing sea and marine resources at national and international level. The concept has become a buzzword for sustainable development particularly in drafting the post-2015 development goals. Estimates suggest some 30 million Bangladeshi directly depend on oceanic economic activities like fisheries and commercial transportation. Coastal and Island developing countries have remained at the forefront of this Blue Economy advocacy, recognizing that the oceans have a major role to play in humanity's future.
We consider Blue Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication as one of the important tools available for achieving sustainable development. We emphasize that it should contribute to eradicating poverty as well as sustained economic growth, enhancing social inclusion, improving human welfare and creating opportunities for employment and decent work for all while maintaining the healthy functioning of the earth's ecosystem (Para 56, The future we want, UNCSD 2012). Blue Economy conceptualizes oceans as 'Development Spaces' Where spatial planning integrates conservation, sustainable use, oil and mineral wealth extraction, bio-prospecting, sustainable energy production and marine transport.
Bangladesh's economy is sea borne to a good extent and with $130 billion GDP the country's economy stands the 44th. Sovereign rights have been established on more than 118,000 sq km of maritime territory, 200 nautical miles (NM) of exclusive economic zone, and 354 NM of continental shelf after positive verdicts in international courts. In the same way , the verdict with India declared on 7 July 2014 also allowed Bangladesh's sovereign rights on all the living and mineral resources of the Continental Shelf extending up to 354 nautical miles.
Fundamental principles of Blue Economy
1. Optimizing the benefits received from the development of their marine environments eg fishery agreements, bio prospecting, oil and mineral extraction.
2. Promoting national equity, including gender equality, and in particular the generation of inclusive growth and decent jobs for all.
3. Having their concerns and interests properly reflected in the development of seas beyond national jurisdiction, including the refinement of international governance mechanisms and their concerns as States proximate to seabed development.
Bay of Bengal partnership
The Bay of Bengal is the largest bay in the world that forms the north-eastern part of the Indian Ocean. The foreign minister last month gave an idea of the collaboration that could take place and said it must be based on certain universal principles of engagement-mutual trust, respect, mutual benefits, and equitable sharing of benefits. The collaboration will have to be research, observation, surveillance and in respect of sharing of analyses, outcomes, observations.
Challenges ahead of Bangladesh
The role of marine resources in poverty alleviation, acquiring autarky in food productions, protecting environmental balance, facing adverse impacts of climate change and other economic possibilities are unlimited. But with the potentialities and possibilities the challenges also accompany. The following may be the challenges: i. Ensuring the sovereignty over the total coastal area. ii. Maintaining the security over the economic area. iii. Establishing marine friendly infrastructure for marine tourist. iv. Protecting the area from the international smugglers and fish pirates. v. Maintaining investment friendly environment in the awarded area. vi. Sustainable use of biodiversity. vii. Maintaining marine and coastal ecosystems. viii. Preserving mangrove and sea grass. ix. Addressing climate change and managing carbon emission. x. Maintaining sea level rise and change in ecosystem and temperatures, from coral bleaching. xi. Addressing ocean acidification and blue carbon. xii. Keeping the sea area free from pollution and marine debris. And xiii. The growing human population, intensification of agriculture.
Potentialities of Blue Economy in Bangladesh
Food security
Food security is very closely related to the sustainable use of biodiversity particularly where it pertains to the exploitation of wild fisheries. One billion people in developing countries depend on seafood for their primary source of protein. Bangladesh can have it now.
Fisheries
Globally 350 million jobs are linked to marine fisheries, with 90 per cent of fishers living in developing countries. The value of fish traded by developing countries is estimated at $25 billion, making it their largest single trade item. Global catch rose from four million tonnes in 1900 to 86.7 million tonnes in 2000, but has stagnated subsequently.
Marine and coastal tourism
Marine and coastal tourism is of key importance to many developing countries. Despite the global economic crisis international tourism continued to grow. In 2012 international tourist arrivals increased by 4 per cent despite the global economic crisis and constituted 9 per cent of Global GDP (direct, indirect and induced impact). International tourism has grown from 25 million in 1950 to 1,035 million in 2012 and WTO forecasts of 1.8 billion further growth in 2030.
Harvesting power generation
Researchers have recently completed the first ocean tests of a system that uses a so called artificial muscle to generate power from the motion of a buoy riding up and down on the waves. Although the prototype produces very little electricity, the researchers say that wave farms based on the technology could eventually rival wind turbines in power output providing a significant source of clean energy which we can hugely benefit a power hungry nation.
Energy from waves
A new device being developed by the UK-based Checkmate SeaEnergy could help tap an important portion of this wave power. The device is a long, water-filled rubber tube closed at both ends. It will be capable of generating one megawatt of power at about 12 cents (BDT 9.30) a kilowatt-hour, which is competitive with electricity costs from other wave-power technologies.
Shipping and port facilities
Eighty per cent of global trade by volume, and over 70 per cent by value, is carried by sea and handled by ports worldwide. For developing countries these percentages are typically higher. World seaborne trade grew by 4 per cent in 2010 despite the economic recession. Coastal countries and SIDS need to position themselves in terms facilities and capacities to cater for this growing trade to optimize their benefits.
Available of crude oil
In 2009 offshore fields account for 32 per cent of worldwide crude oil production and this is projected to rise to 34 per cent in 2025 and higher subsequently, as almost half the remaining recoverable conventional oil is estimated to be in offshore fields a quarter of that in deep water.
Biotechnology
The global market for marine biotechnology products and processes is currently estimated at $2.8 billion by 2017. Marine biotech has the potential to address a suite of global challenges such as sustainable food supplies, human health, energy security and environmental remediation.
Submarine mining & exploration of oil and gas
The world is gearing up for the exploration and exploitation of mineral deposits on and beneath the seafloor. Industry, due to rising commodity prices, is turning its attention to the potential riches of poly-metallic nodules, cobalt crusts ND massive sulphides deposits the latter a source of rare earth elements, such as yttrium, dysprosium and terbium, important in new ICT hardware and renewable energy technologies.
There would be international bidding for the exploration of oil and gas. There will be a major breakthrough to enrich our economic growth in real terms. The primary assessment indicates few trillion gas in a few zones available within our premises.
Port tax or levy
At present, around 600 ships arrive in Bangladesh per year and anchor in the ports of Chittagong and Mongla. With this new opening of Blue Economy, obviously, a huge number of ships will anchor in the ports of Bangladesh, and earning from this sector is likely to increase tremendously. There will be many shipping agencies to operate and activate with freight forwarding resulting in huge growth in our banking and insurance sector as well.
Steps to be taken
1. The prime minister said steps have been taken to strengthen Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guards to resist illegal use of animal and mineral resources in the exclusive economic zone as well as to keep international sea line open and safeguard the free movement of commercial ships.
2. Coordination agency is to be established: However, in furtherance of ensuring effective maritime security, Bangladesh Navy must be able to coordinate with other maritime forces, which include coast guards and other government agencies charged with sovereignty, security, law enforcement and constabulary functions at sea. If require we should establish one for the sake of the national prosperity and security and sovereignty.
3. Given the current global and regional security environment comprehensive maritime security is required. It includes Bangladesh ports, shipping, fishing, off-shore oil and gas facilities and shipping lanes in Bangladesh water. This needs not only Bangladesh national measures but also at concerted effort among littoral states, landlocked states, flag states and maritime industry partners.
4. Maritime space belonging to Bangladesh has to be secured from military and non-military threats. The mechanisms often employed include physical security measures, naval operations, crisis management. Preventive and protective measures against infringement of maritime boundaries and security incidents affecting ships offshore resources, crews, cargoes, port facilities and the people who work in sea areas surely demand concerted efforts by many maritime authorities besides the navy.
5. Besides national efforts, regional or global cooperation is also necessary to ensure maritime security, in particular against transnational non-maritime security, in particular against transnational non-military threats. All nations demonstrate a clear awareness of the importance of maritime security in the 21st century.
Blue economy is a relatively new jargon in Bangladesh but very common in global economy even in Indonesia. This is a hope and means of development in the near future. Experts opine that Bangladesh can rise to a middle income country by using this Blue Economy concept. The international workshop on 1st and 2nd of September last also opined like this. Now all it depends on how efficiently we can utilize it.
Bangladesh is currently the 41th (nominal) world economy and three sectors are working as the moving tires of its economic growth. Apparel industries and Remittances with Agriculture are the main contributors of Bangladesh economy. However, Bangladesh is dreaming to upgrade its ranking on the list and is now aspiring to become a middle income country by 2021 as per the United Nations’ classification. In this context, it is very important to assess the capacity of the country’s economic infrastructure in achieving the desired level of economic growth rate and subsequently the targeted per capita income level. Without product diversification, Bangladesh will face difficulties to keep up its 6.5%+ annual GDP growth and fulfilling its dream of becoming a middle income country. Thus Bangladesh needs a new economic sector to gain financial leverage over its competitors. Blue Economy, a sustainable economic concept, in this context can unveil a wide horizon for the economic growth of Bangladesh. Bangladesh now has a total of 1, 21,110 square kilometers (sq km) of marine area including Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Bay of Bengal is the largest among 64 bays in the world and an estimated 1.4 billion people live along its coastline in Bangladesh, India, Thailand and Myanmar. Nearly 30 million people of Bangladesh are directly dependent on oceanic activities like fisheries and commercial transportation for their livelihood. So, promotion of blue economy will safeguard the interest of those coastal living inhabitants.Around 600 ships arrive in Bangladesh per year and anchor in the ports of Chittagong and Mongla. With this new opening of Blue Economy, a huge number of ships will anchor in the ports of Bangladesh, and earning from this sector is likely to increase rapidly.
Blue Economy as an idea was first introduced by Professor Gunter Pauli in 1994. It achieved large amount of attention only in recent 2012 Rio+20 Conference. Blue Economy in Bangladesh is often mistaken as only the economic activities which taken place on ocean. Certainly oceanic economic activities are integral parts of Blue Economy but not all kinds of oceanic activities and not only oceanic activities are Blue Economy. Twenty six maritime economic functions can be identified from among the fishery, maritime trade and shipping, energy, Tourism, coastal protection, maritime monitoring and surveillance as integral part of Blue Economy. Blue Economy as a philosophical economic movement acknowledges that some aspects of so-called “green living”, such as buying organic food and using certain forms of renewable energy, can be economically out of reach for large sections of the population. The primary goal of the Blue Economy is to identify examples in nature where organic recycling or up cycling occurs and mimic these processes to find out where and how the waste that we generate can be innovatively used again. In other words, Blue Economy can be equated with sustainable economy. Thus Blue Economy requires a balanced approach between conservation, development and utilization of marine and coastal eco-systems, all oceanic resources and services with a view to enhancing their value and decent employment, secure productive marine economy and healthy marine eco-systems. It is needless to say that for most developing States particularly for Bangladesh, making transition to Blue Economy would entail fundamental and systemic changes in their policy regulatory–management–governance framework(s) and identification of various maritime economic functions.
This systemic change in policy-regulatory –governance framework is justifiable for potential rapid economic growth. Transforming and accelerating economic activities in oceanic areas which are also known as “Development spaces”, Bangladesh can surely jump upward on the global economy list. Rear Admiral M. KhurshedAlam in one of his writings explained the whole potential. He wrote, “The objective of the Blue Economy initiative – the maritime pillar of the future strategy – is to promote smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and employment opportunities in Bangladesh’s maritime economic activities in the short, medium and long-term time frames. The Blue Economy initiative specifically aims to promote synergies and foster framework conditions that support specific maritime economic activities and their value chains. The extensive review and analysis of Blue Growth potential have confirmed the potential of the Blue Economy as an untapped resource.” Mr. Alam categorically mentioned 26 maritime activities to be recognized as the part of blue economy. This writer also agrees with this categorization. But explaining all those activities are beyond the capacity of this op-ed. However, few crucial ventures are discussed to project the prospect of Blue Economy in the context of Bangladesh.
Shipping and Port facilities are considered as the backbone of Blue Economy. 80 percent of global trade by volume, and over 70 per cent by value, is carried by sea and handled by ports worldwide. For developing countries, on a national basis, these percentages are typically higher. World seaborne trade grew by 4% in 2011, to 8.7 billion tons despite the global economic crisis and container traffic is projected to triple by 2030. Bangladesh as a coastal state needs to position itself in terms of facilities and capacities to cater for this growing trade and optimize their benefits. Shipping is the safest, most secure, most efficient and most environmentally sound means of bulk transportation – with declining rates of accidents, zero terrorist incidents, improving turnaround of ships and significant reductions in discharges to sea or emissions to air. More than 90% of the Bangladesh’s external freight trade is seaborne – and ongoing globalization has made this flow ever more important. Unfortunately there are only 74 registered (2014) Bangladeshi merchant ships which are not sufficient to carry even a fraction of our cargo. Considering the average import growth rate of 15.79% (last 10 years) and export growth rate of 15.43% (last 10 years), projected freight value for next ten years would be around USD 435 billion. In order to retain parts of the USD 400 billion in the country, over the ten years, Bangladesh must facilitate local shipping companies to add more ships to the existing fleet, freight operators to establish freight services including container liner services to carry goods to/from Bangladesh using our own as well as chartered ships and freighters. Statistics reveals that economy of Bangladesh is heavily dependent on international trade where maritime ports play the key role of transporting 94% of our foreign trade. Bangladesh must enhance the existing handling capacities of ports and develop deep sea ports with more capabilities and modern handling equipments in Sonadia, Matarbari and Payra to cater for increased trade and commerce. Establishment of seaports can significantly reduce export lead times and earn steady flow of revenue for the country.
Fish accounts for 15.7% of the animal protein consumed globally. The value of fish traded by developing countries is estimated at U$$ 25 billion making it their largest single trade item. In 2009 marine capture production was 79 million tons.There are about 475 species of fish found in Bangladeshi EEZ compared to 250 species on land. Fish still provides the much needed protein of Bangladeshi people. About 57,000 artisanal mechanized and non-mechanized wooden boats and 200 industrial steel body trawlers are engaged in fishing in the coastal waters up to 60 km (within 40m depth) from Bangladeshi coastline having very limited capability in catching pelagic fishing-shoals closer to surface. A considerable amount of fish are salted and dried, mainly for human consumption. Incidentally, the use of dried fish as a source of fishmeal is gradually increasing due to intensification of fish and poultry farming. However, there are hardly any capabilities of catching demersal fishes below 50m depth of water. Long lines fishing are totally absent in deep waters. There is tremendous scope for increasing marine catch introducing technology and long line, incentives for bigger ocean going trawler, huge scope for higher end industry in venturing beyond 60 km coastline.
Opportunities do not arrive without potential threats. Researcher Krishna KR Sharma, have identified five threats to the bio-diversity of the Bay of Bengal, namely overfishing, predator loss, pollution, climate change, and habitat destruction. Overfishing depletes the stocks of fish beyond their ability to recover. This disrupts the ecosystem and eliminates a valuable source of food and income. Predator’s removal can cause a potentially-irreversible cascade of complex knock-on effects, destabilizing marine ecosystems. Pollution can poison marine life and decimate entire marine environments. Vast quantities of solid and chemical waste from human activities are continually dumped and flow into the sea thus plastics, sewage, oil and toxins accumulate in food webs. Climate change will create vast dead zones as plankton and corals – the primary producers for nearly all marine life – struggle to survive under increasingly inhospitable conditions.Habitat destruction physically limits the suitable living space available to marine life. Coastal development, trawling, and aquaculture all destroy important marine habitats vital for supporting sea health, such estuaries and mangrove systems that function as nurseries.
The following may be the challenges for the Blue Economy of Bangladesh: i. ensuring the sovereignty over the total coastal area. ii. Maintaining the security over the economic area. iii. Establishing marine friendly infrastructure for marine tourist. iv. Protecting the area from the international smugglers and fish pirates. v. Maintaining investment friendly environment in the awarded area. vi. Sustainable use of biodiversity. vii. Maintaining marine and coastal ecosystems. viii. Preserving mangrove and sea grass. ix. Addressing climate change and managing carbon emission. x. Maintaining sea level rise and change in ecosystem and temperatures, from coral bleaching. xi. Addressing ocean acidification and blue carbon. xii. Keeping the sea area free from pollution and marine debris. xiii.Growing population and intensification of agriculture.
In final words, it is suggested that Bangladesh needs to generate more awareness and broaden the horizon towards utilizing maritime resources and bring about socio-economic changes in the lives of people of Bangladesh. Bangladesh must consider Blue Economy as inclusive and people-centric.Bangladesh Navy along with other coastal security agencies must be equipped with modern and adequate platform and equipment to undertake vested responsibilities of maintaining security and safe guarding economic resources of vast maritime areas. All maritime agencies must allocate and integrate their resources so that all maritime tasks can be performed synergistically, effectively and efficiently.
Bangladesh is currently one of the most emerging world economies and it is mainly developing based on three sectors. Readymade garment industries, agriculture and foreign remittances sent by the migrants have been contributing to shape the country’s economy.
The country of 160 million people can add another sector in the list if it can maximise the potentials of blue economy. After two verdicts of International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea regarding the settlement of maritime dispute initially with Myanmar in March 2012 and then with India in July 2014, Bangladesh obtained its complete maritime territory of 118,813 square kilometers with total control over a region of 200 nautical miles across sizeable area and sovereign rights in the seabed extending as far as 354 nautical miles from Chittagong coast. It is like that we have earned another Bangladesh at the deep sea as the whole area of the country has doubled through it. It has opened up a new window of possibilities for extracting resources and enhancing existing benefits in terms of natural resources and external trade. What types of potentials actually Bangladesh has regarding blue economy? Are we prepared enough to exploit this advantage? After 50 months of achieving our full maritime area what initiatives our government has taken to evaluate the prospects and challenges related to blue economy? Let’s try to find out the answers of these questions.
Bangladesh, a unique delta, has been blessed with the sea outlet but the potentials in the Bay of Bengal have never been exploited properly. Thus it remains as a covered mystery which has many things to offer. The Bay of Bengal and coastal areas can be a powerhouse of our national economy. A sustainable marine economy, extending close to the coast, can bridge the shore and off-shore divide. The Bay of Bengal itself is the largest one among 64 bays in the world and 1.4 billion people live along its coastline in Bangladesh, India, Thailand and Myanmar. So, in terms of vast sea area and huge people living in the adjacent region of the seabed of the Bay of Bengal, it can provide immense opportunities. Taking advantage of it, people living in the coastal area can contribute in molding our progress as a nation. At least twenty six maritime economic functions can be operated including fishery, shipping, maritime trade, energy and seabed tourism as integral part of blue economy.
Fishery is an essential sector of blue economy. Fish accounts for 15.7% of the animal protein consumed globally and the value of fish traded by developing countries is estimated at USD 25 billion. There are about 475 species of fish found in Bangladesh EEZ compared to 250 species on land. Marine fisheries contribute at least 20% of total fish production in the country and 500,000 people are directly dependent on this sector. About 57,000 artisanal mechanized and non-mechanized wooden boats and 200 industrial steel body trawlers are engaged in fishing in the coastal waters. While about 800 million metric ton of fishes are caught every year in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh fishermen can reap only 70 million tons and the rest are taken away by the fishermen of India, Myanmar, Thailand and other countries. That is why at present Bangladesh is not in the list of top twenty marine fish producers of the world where India, Myanmar and Thailand are advancing in the ranking every year. There is an international attempt to increase the harvest of genetically engineered (GE) fish. As GE fish would adversely affect water quality and surrounding ecosystems, government has to prevent such tendencies. Improved, faster and bigger fishing ships and techno friendly fishing facilities are the demands of the time to patronise our long lines marine fishing.
Shipping and port facilities are considered as the backbone of blue economy. 80 percent of global trade by volume, and over 70 percent by value, is carried by sea and handled by ports worldwide. World seaborne trade grew by 4% and is projected to triple by 2030. Bangladesh as a coastal state needs to position itself in terms of facilities and capacities to cater for this growing trade. Shipping is the most efficient and environmentally sound means of bulk transportation with declining rates of accidents. Statistics reveals that economy of Bangladesh is heavily dependent on international trade where maritime ports play the key role of transporting 94% of our foreign trade. Considering the average import growth rate of 15.79% (last ten years) and export growth rate of 15.43% (last ten years), projected freight value for next one decade would be around USD 435 billion. In order to retain parts of the USD 400 billion in the country in the following ten years, Bangladesh must facilitate local shipping companies to add more ships to the existing fleet, freight operators to establish freight services including container liner services to carry goods. Bangladesh must enhance the existing handling capacities of ports and develop deep sea ports with more capabilities and modern handling equipments to facilitate increased trade and commerce. Around 600 ships anchor in the ports of Chittagong and Mongla per year. Certainly the number can be increased and Bangladesh can earn more as port tax with the opening out of blue economy.
Bangladesh discovered 26-gas fields till date. We have 27.12 trillion cubic feet (tcf) proved reserve of gas, from where we already have expensed 12.96 tcf gas. So, now we have only 14.16 tcf gas as our reserve. There is no real probability of finding more gas fields in the land area. If the current rate of gas consumption continues, we will be able to use gas till 2031, which equals to next 14 years. But as the total use of gas increases 10% every year, our reserve will be finished within the next 8-10 years. Under such circumstances there is no choice other than exploring gas blocks in the Bay of Bengal. A survey conducted by Petrobangla and The United States Geological Survey (USGS) indicated that we may have a large amount of gas reserve there. Bangladesh government initially worked on centre located in 28 deep offshore blocks, invited bids and awarded 2 blocks to a US-based multinational company. Still the exploration in the Bangladesh’s maritime border area with Myanmar and India hasn’t started, though Myanmar began their exploration works in Bangladesh border three and a half years ago. Though the government knows that in case of any dilly dallying we may lose our deserved national asset, the whole process remains very slow and full of bureaucratic complications. Still there is no effective step taken to discover the oil blocks in the deep sea. Reserve of a handsome amount of oil as well as hydrocarbon is anticipated in the Bay of Bengal. Government has to take advanced scientific approach and be alert about the oil-related pollution while drilling. Besides, Bangladesh can work on developing renewable energy thorough wind, wave, tidal, biomass and thermal conversion and salinity gradients. There is scope for the production of industrial salt using advanced technologies and extraction of other mineral resources beneficial to Bangladesh, like gas, copper, magnesium, nickel and precious metals such as cobalt. There is a possibility of discovering rare earth elements including yttrium, dysprosium and terbium, which are important for new ICT hardware.
Again the extraordinary beauty of the world’s longest unbroken sea beach, another unique beach from where the visitors can watch both sunrise and sunset and great cultural diversity of our coastal areas, have made them the preferred destination for the holidaymakers. Bangladesh can think about cruise ship tourism at deep sea and develop a number of spectacular sea aquariums. The activities directed towards coastal area development and creation of Marine Protected Area (MPA) can open up new avenues of coastal tourism. People would be attracted to visit these special places to enjoy their favourite coastal activities including wildlife watching, surfing and diving. Besides, increasing recreational features, night life activities and establishing separate tourist zones for the foreign tourists in the coastal area can inspire vacationers to explore the beauty of the beaches of Bangladesh. Their visits will benefit the local economy.
The role of marine resources in alleviating poverty, acquiring autarky in food productions through marine fishing and aquaculture, protecting environmental balance, facing adverse impacts of climate change and exploring other economic possibilities is unlimited. But with the potentialities there are some challenges. Ensuring sovereignty over the total coastal area, maintaining security of the economic area, establishing marine friendly infrastructure for marine tourists, preventing international smugglers and pirates, conducting gas and oil exploration, securing state interest in the agreements with different companies, developing investment friendly environment in the awarded area, ensuring sustainable use of biodiversity, preserving mangrove and sea grass, protecting marine and coastal ecosystems from coral bleaching, bringing a control over sea level rise, addressing climate change and managing carbon emission, reducing ocean acidification and blue carbon and keeping the sea area free from pollution and marine debris will not be that much easy.
Bangladesh is in the middle of a prime strategic location from where the West enters Asia and it is in the centre of a region that is going to build an economy of USD 100 trillion by 2030. But being a South Asian country with such a blessing of the sea channel and prospects of the blue economy the country has to face some risks of geopolitics. Bangladesh needs to take geo-strategic advantages and the potentials of blue economy must not turn into strategic trap, where we may fall into a shaky position due to rivalry and competition between regional and global powers. Bangladesh has to handle everything very carefully to walk smartly so that the country can take required benefits without annoying any of its international friends. If we can handle the geopolitics in a matured way by using the resilience of our people, Bangladesh can rather emerge as a strategic bridge between the superpowers for collective benefits.
In order to boost the naval power in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh already has bought two diesel-electric submarines. Besides, government has to equip Bangladesh Navy along with other coastal security agencies with modern and adequate arms and tools to undertake vested responsibilities of maintaining security and safeguarding economic resources of vast maritime areas. All marine agencies must allocate and integrate their resources so that all maritime tasks can be performed effectively and efficiently.
Well, Bangladesh has lack of knowledge, skilled manpower and technology to take maximum benefits from blue economy, especially for exploiting deep-sea fishes and seabed resources. That’s why the government officially launched a Blue Economy Cell to coordinate among its agencies involved in exploring offshore resources and potentials in January this year. Chittagong University has the Department of Marine Fisheries for years. In the meantime introduction of the Department of Oceanography at the University of Dhaka and Department of Marine Biology and Oceanography at Chittagong University has initiated the process of creating skilled manpower on marine sciences, which will meet the requirements of human resources for the new sector. Besides, the first National Oceanographic Research Institute is going to be established in Ramu, Cox’s Bazar, with a view to creating a marine scientific community for research.
In today’s world there is nothing more significant than the economic development of a country. Blue economy has become a part and parcel of the post-2015 development agenda. The goal 14 of the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by United Nations says, “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.” Besides, the present Bangladesh government is also advancing with some prefixed development visions aiming to make Bangladesh a middle income country by 2021 and a developed country by 2041. If we want to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and materialize the visions, there is no alternative other than focusing on blue economy. We have to think about forming a master plan focusing on the entire coastal belt and targeting extra-regional players. We need a combination of visionary political leaderships, efficient bureaucracy, investors of real entrepreneurial attitude and innovative development thinkers to succeed in that plan. If we can do this, only then we can cash in on blue economy and change the fate of our people sustainably.
