Blue Economy
Course Code: SOC 231
Manzur Ahmad
Lecturer
Cell: 01939365740
EXIM Bank Agricultural University Bangladesh
CONCEPT OF BLUE ECONOMY
• It was first prominently addressed during the Rio+20 UN Sustainable
Development Conference in 2012. In layman's term, BLUE
ECONOMY comprises all the activities of economy which takes
place directly or indirectly at seas and the oceans, as well as the
coastal waters.
• China's idea of a blue economy focuses on "sustainable development
and conservation", bringing coastal and ocean resources into a
broader integrated plan for national economic development and
encouraging the marine industry to play a greater role in the
economy."
• The objective of blue economy is to make the appropriate use of
marine assets containing all economic exercises which are related
with seas, ports, coastal zone and other ocean-based exercises to
entirely reduce ecological hazard and enhance human prosperity.
AREA OF BLUE ECONOMY
• The importance of Blue Economy in Bangladesh has rapidly started after
the achievement of maritime boundary delimitation dispute with Myanmar
(2012) and India (2014). Bangladesh possesses 710 km long coastlines
with 200 nautical miles of an ExclusiveEconomic Zone (EEZ) in the Bay
of Bengal. Bangladesh has earned a huge maritime area of 1,18,813
square km, after successful maritime boundary delimitation with our
neighbouring countries.
• According to a World Bank report, the gross value added to Bangladesh in
2014-15 from ocean economy was US$ 6,192.98 million which was
around 3.33 per cent of the Bangladesh economy.
SECTORS OF BLUE ECONOMY
• A total of 26 marine economic functions including Fisheries,
Marine Biotechnology, marine tourism, marine commerce,
shipping and navigations, salt productions, oil and gas mining,
bio fueling, and extraction of ocean energy etc. can be
recognized as the integral parts of Blue Economy.
SECTORS OF BLUE ECONOMY….
• Marine fisheries: Fish is the largest trading item of developing countries like
Bangladesh. About 475 species of fish are found in the Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) of Bangladesh compared to 250 sweet water species on land.
• Aquaculture: Integrated multi-tropic offshore aquaculture is the fastest
growing global food sector, now providing 47 percent of the fish for human
consumption.
• Marine biotechnology: Marine biotechnology has wide-ranging
applications in industrial sectors including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics,
nutritional supplements, molecular probes, enzymes and agrochemicals.
• Offshore energy and deep-sea mining: The largest chunk of developing
countries' ocean economy can be sourced from offshore energy exploration and
mining.
SECTORS OF BLUE ECONOMY….
• Marine tourism and leisure: Globally, coastal and marine tourism represents 5
percent of world GDP. Tourism is human-resource intensive. Increasing
involvement of local communities in the value chain can contribute to the
development of local economies and poverty reduction.
• Shipping, port and maritime logistics: About 80 percent of global trade by volume
and over 70 percent by value is seaborne. Smart and deep-water ports, efficient
shipping and logistics industries will be instrumental for the development of blue
economy.
• Shipbuilding, marine manufacturing and ship recycling: Marine manufacturing
consists of construction, repair and maintenance of boats, ships, fishing vessels,
yachts, floating structures and other marine technology which is an important
sector of blue economy. The ship breaking or ship recycling is also another growing
industry in the developing countries.
• Marine renewable energy: Renewable energy enjoys almost 22 percent share of
the global energy mix. There are various forms of marine renewable energy like
offshore solar energy, offshore wind energy, wave energy, tidal energy, ocean
thermal energy and energy from marine biomass.
CHALLENGES OF BLUE ECONOMY
• The progressive degradation of ocean health is caused by several human
drivers of change like illegal, unregistered and unregulated fishing or in
short, IUU fishing, land based and ship-borne marine pollution and
unplanned coastal development. The over exploitation of ocean resources
is leading to degradation of marine biodiversity and ecological integrity.
• Now GoB focused on proper management and protection of coastal marine
resources, preservation of bio-diversity, pollution control, coastal zone
management, marine protected areas, shipping, fisheries and every aspect
of maritime governance.
• Climate Change
STEPS FOR SUSTAINABLE MARITIME DEVELOPMENT
• As a major Blue Economy initiative, Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 for the
next century has been prepared by the government which would focus on
sustainable delta management, integrated water resources management
and adaptation to climate change. Meanwhile Vision 2041, a long-term
perspective plan for a developed Bangladesh, has identified blue
economy as one of the essential drivers for development. Moreover, the
goals of SDG 2030, especially SDG 14, i.e., Life Below Water, is being
implemented with various maritime development agenda in Bangladesh.
