Md. Zillur Rahaman: The Maritime boundaries of Bangladesh are equal to 81% of the mainland. But the marine resources of Bangladesh are still almost undiscovered and unused. Although a limited amount of oil, gas and fishery resources have been extracted, but its amount is negligible compared to the inexhaustible resources of the Bay of Bengal. Not even modern ships are suitable for surveying marine resources. We know very little about the immense potential of the Bay of Bengal, despite the small amount of foreign-funded survey work carried out from time to time, including Bapex.
After settling 60,000 sq km from Myanmar in 2012 and 19,467 sq km from India in July 2014, Bangladesh succeeded in gaining more than 1,18,813 sq km interritorial sea. Sovereign rights to all kinds of animals and other resources at the bottom of the continent up to 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone and 354 nautical miles from the coast of Chittagong. However, we have no clear idea about the amount of fish and mineral resources in this vast region.
Blue Economy is basically a deep sea based economy. Contribute to the economic development of the country by utilizing the vast blue waters of the deep sea and the existing resources of the seabed. Two-thirds of the world is water and therefore the sea is said to be an inexhaustible source of resources. Oil, gas, algae, uranium, zircon, snails, 475 species of fish, including endless mineral resources. Billions of dollar in foreign exchange can be earned by extracting these resources from the sea. Blue Economy can be a huge potential for Bangladesh. There are now treasures of valuable resources in almost the sea area of the country. There are 26 blocks in the maritime boundary acquired from India and Myanmar. Marine experts believe that it is possible to get about 40 trillion cubic feet of gas from these blocks through lease.
Recently, a workshop on “Blue Economy and the Course of Actions” organized by the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) in Dhaka stated that the maritime boundaries of Bangladesh are equal to 81% of the mainland. There are one and a half lakh ships plying the international seas all over the world, there are only 70 ships in Bangladesh. But the size of the economy of transporting goods in this way is 9 billion dollars. Bangladesh also has the potential to build containers. In Asia, 74 percent of containers are used. Trade is growing at a rate of 15 percent every year.
| ব্যাংক, ব্যাংকার, ব্যাংকিং, অর্থনীতি ও ফাইন্যান্স বিষয়ক গুরুত্বপূর্ণ খবর, প্রতিবেদন, বিশেষ কলাম, বিনিয়োগ/ লোন, ডেবিট কার্ড, ক্রেডিট কার্ড, ফিনটেক, ব্যাংকের নিয়োগ বিজ্ঞপ্তি ও বাংলাদেশ ব্যাংকের সার্কুলারগুলোর আপডেট পেতে আমাদের অফিসিয়াল ফেসবুক পেজ 'ব্যাংকিং নিউজ', ফেসবুক গ্রুপ 'ব্যাংকিং ইনফরমেশন', 'লিংকডইন', 'টেলিগ্রাম চ্যানেল', 'ইন্সটাগ্রাম', 'টুইটার', 'ইউটিউব', 'হোয়াটসঅ্যাপ চ্যানেল' এবং 'গুগল নিউজ'-এ যুক্ত হয়ে সাথে থাকুন। |
In other words, the demand for containers will increase in the future. Although there are several ports in Bangladesh, they are not suitable for mother vessels at all. In such a situation, if Matarbari deep sea port is built, it will help to exploit the potential of Blue economy. Blue economy is a new potential investment sector in Bangladesh. It is possible to export 100 billion dollars from this sector in the next few years. Therefore, along with the plan to utilize the marine economy, the policy of conserving these resources must also be adopted.
The total sea area of Bangladesh is 664 km, but fish is caught in only 60 km and so Bangladesh’s share in global fish production is only 2.6 percent. But China alone supplies 61 percent of the world’s fish. Similarly, despite the establishment of ownership along the sea border, huge amounts of oil and gas are still out of reach. Not only fish or mineral resources, the image of the whole economy of Bangladesh can be changed by using the sea of their own borders.
Apart from this, there are various marine resources scattered in the middle of the blue water. In addition to oil, gas, precious sand, uranium, monazite, zircon, snails, oysters, fish, octopus, sharks, the Blue Sea has a variety of marine and mineral resources. Besides 475 species of fish, 20 species of crabs, 36 species of shrimps and 360 species of snails and oysters have been found there. There are expensive and delicious fish like tuna, which are in great demand in the international market.
With the verdict of the International Arbitration Court with Myanmar on 14 March 2012 and with India on 8 July 2014, Bangladesh got possession of more than 1,18,813 sq km of sea area. After that Bangladesh started working for the ultimate achievement of Blue Economy. Then in 2017 the government formed the ‘Blue Economy Cell’ under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. At the same time, the government has enacted the Maritime Zone Act in 2019 to protect marine resources. In addition, in 2013, the government established Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University, Bangladesh as the first and only specialized Government University for marine and maritime related higher education and its educational activities started on 3 January 2017. It is the second maritime university in South Asia and the 12th in the world. Marine cadets will be awarded the international standard ‘Bachelor of Maritime Science’ degree from this university with the aim of achieving blue economy.
As a result of Bangladesh’s conquest of the blue sea, Bangladesh has gained the ability to acquire two types of resources in the field of Blue Economy. One is animal and the other is non-animal. Animals include fisheries, marine animals, weeds, etc. Non-animal resources include minerals and mineral resources such as oil, gas, limestone, etc. There are also 17 types of valuable mineral sand, such as zircon, rotil, selenium, ilmenite, magnetite, gannet, kyanite, monazite, liclosin etc, out of these monazite is extremely important. Bangladesh now owns 1,18,813 sq km of land while the land area is about 1,44,000 sq km.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Bangladesh is at the top of the list of four countries in the world that will have huge success in fish farming by 2022. At present, an average of 6 lakh tonnes of fish is extracted from the sea. Only 4-5 percent of Bangladesh’s GDP comes from the Blue Economy. At present our fishermen catch fish from 35-40 nautical miles, but our economic zone in the sea extends up to 200 nautical miles. If we can go deep sea and procure fish, new milestones will be created in the fish export of Bangladesh, new horizons of possibilities will be created. The Bay of Bengal is called the treasure trove and various valuable substances including oil and gas have been found in the Bay of Bengal. Despite having so many resources in the seas of Bangladesh, these resources are not being used properly due to various limitations. There is not enough public-private investment in the Blue Economy. Apart from fishing trawlers, sea voyages, freight transport, there is not much investment. This sector needs to be made attractive to investors, especially to foreign investors.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Power and Mineral Resources, Shipping, Fisheries and Livestock, Water Resources and Aviation and Tourism of Bangladesh are involved in the maritime economy. Maritime experts say these ministries should work together. Some have felt the urge to set up a separate ministry called the ‘Ministry of Marine Resources’ to harness this maritime economy. About 81 percent of the country’s land resources are under the sea. The resources at the bottom of the sea must be used properly for sustainable development. If planned activities like extraction of oil and gas and other valuable resources, extraction of fishery resources, expansion of port facilities and tourism can be carried out as planned, it is possible to earn 2.5 billion dollars every year by 2030. It is important to utilize this potential sector in order to extract what kind of resources are under the sea floor, it is necessary to determine the type of technology and expert manpower required to ensure maximum utilization.
The maritime economy can play an effective role in attracting foreign investment and creating employment to meet the post-LDC challenges. Discussions on blue economy have been going on in our country for a long time. There is no disagreement among the concerned people about the huge potential of this sector. The Bangladesh government has already taken several steps with emphasis on the blue economy. Marine research, mineral exploration, accurate statistics, investment environment, mega projects, naval and port access facilities, etc. Although Bangladesh is lagging behind in the blue economy, if proper investment can be made to create an investment environment, the blue economy can be another significant sector of the Bangladesh economy. Blue Economy can be the driving force of Bangladesh’s economy if it can make maximum use of this huge sea area of Bangladesh. It is time to use the sector in this blue sea potential with due importance and planning.
Md. Zillur Rahaman: is a Banker and Freelance Columnist.
