Blue Economy: From scarcity to abundance

Many countries have benefited from exploiting sea resources; Bangladesh is a new entrant to this sector. The settlement of maritime disputes with India and Myanmar has opened a new horizon for the country. The potential of sea economy or Blue Economy has been discussed on many occasions with emphasis on framing strategies. Researchers, academicians and economists have suggested several options for exploiting maritime resources. A planned and coordinated effort, along with sustained political will, is required for exploiting these resources.
The ultimate aim of the business model of Blue Economy is to transform the country from scarcity to abundance by tackling issues that cause environmental and related problems in new ways (Gunter Pauli 2010). The potential benefit of Blue Economy is to address economic problems with innovative solutions that are environmentally beneficial and which have financial and wider social benefits. Blue Growth is the long-term strategy to support sustainable growth in the marine and maritime sectors as a whole. Seas and oceans are drivers for the Blue Economy while technology and knowledge are the twin resources to take control over these resources. The 'blue' economy has created roughly 5.4 million jobs in EU alone and generates a gross added value of almost €500 billion a year. Blue sectors are numerous, consisting of aquaculture, coastal tourism, marine biotechnology, ocean energy, seabed mining, etc.
Strategies of various countries and shared experiences of experts were discussed at a seminar organised by the Bureau of Investment (BoI) titled, "Blue Economy of Bangladesh" and a subsequent international seminar organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Now, it is for the country to decide on its own strategy based on our geo-strategic advantages. Our strategic thinking should be aligned with the reality for which policy continuity is one of the priorities.
According to some experts, about 475 species of fishes available in the Bay. Annually 6.6 million tonnes of fish is caught, of which a very small portion has been exploited by our fishermen.
It is also worth mentioning that, according to FAO estimates (2012), protein demand of about 1.0 billion people of the world has been met by sea. Also, about 90 per cent of people from developing countries are engaged in fishing and the sea is providing employment to about 14 million people while contributing about $400bn to the world economy.
The contribution of fish and fisheries sector to our GDP (gross domestic product) is about 4.37 per cent (2012-13) which can be increased significantly if we can add sea resources. But for this, special training is required since fishing techniques need to be upgraded to exploit sea resources. Even though about 1.71 million people are engaged in this sector, human resources, infrastructure and institutions are still lacking because fishing industrial trawlers and skilled manpower are required to take care of long line fishing. The National Fisheries Policy (1998) covers policy for procurement, preservation and management of fisheries resources in open water bodies; fish culture and management in closed freshwater bodies; culture of shrimps in coastal regions; and exploitation, conservation and management of marine fisheries resources. The policy should be revisited and improved in order to better exploit the sea resources.
Besides fish resources, there are mineral resources in the seabed. Salt is one of the important resources that meet our daily needs. However, Bangladesh's salt production has remained stagnant at 350 TH MT since 2003, as per United States Geological Survey (USGS) Minerals Resources Program (2009). Salt industries have been set up in the coastal areas and there area about 300 refining units. Production of industrial salt can be done using advanced technologies and eventually it can become an export product. Other mineral resources beneficial to Bangladesh, as mentioned at the BoI seminar, are gas, copper, magnesium, nickel and precious metals, including cobalt. Like many developed countries, Bangladesh can also utilise the sea for producing renewable electricity. In addition, some industrial sectors such as ship-building and ship-breaking industries and pharmaceuticals can also benefit from the sea resources.
With regards to institutional capabilities of the Blue Economy, there are currently three national marine academies and 22 other public-private academies. These marine academies can train 600 skilled sailors and marine officers a year. Public and private universities should open separate units or departments to train and develop skilled manpower in the sector.
Given the increasing number of in-bound and outbound tourists in the Cox's Bazar and St. Martin's beaches, sea water recreational facilities can be increased to attract more tourists.
Coastal shipping should be developed. Backward and forward linkages like shipping agencies, agents, stevedoring, ship shendler, freight forwarder, banking and insurance business can also be expanded. Export diversification is possible if we can fully exploit our maritime resources. Pharmaceutical industry can also benefit from utilizing marine minerals.
Essential components to provide knowledge, legal certainty and security in the blue economy are: marine knowledge to improve access to information about the sea; maritime Spatial (space-related) planning, integrated maritime surveillance to give authorities a better picture of what is happening at sea and finally partnership with the strategic countries to foster cooperation between countries. We need to identify the sectors which have the most potential like aquaculture, coastal tourism, marine biotechnology, ocean energy (gas, oil etc.) and seabed mining.
No doubt the victory of gaining a vast maritime territory, that is more than 80 per cent   of the country's original size, is a great opportunity for us. The gain is about 118,813 square km. 200 nautical miles (nm) of exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and all kinds of animal and non-animal resources under the continental shelf up to 354 nm from the Chittagong coast. It is undoubtedly good news for us that our water territory has increased from 6.4 per cent   to 44.46 per cent. Bangladesh, India and Myanmar are the three strategic countries that can move further for tripartite economic benefits. Now we should be more concerned to harness the new maritime territory.  We do not have accurate information about the total stock of all resources we have in the Bay of Bengal.  In 1975, FAO Consultant Dr. W B West conducted a survey which found that the Bay of Bengal had around 264,000 to 3,74000 mt tons of fish and 9,000 mt of shrimps. We need to find out and update the figures from newer surveys. Last but not least, the BoI should open a new department for promotional activities, research and survey of resources in the Bay of Bengal to promote Blue Economy. This will help exploitation of the full potential of maritime resources.
The writer is Chief Executive Officer,  Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), established  in partnership with DCCI, MCCI and CCCI. ceo@buildbd.org