The Blue Economy can help India revive its overall economy.

The low hanging fruit is focusing on our ports, harbours and infrastructure.

At this stage, most pivotal is greater synergies between the user ministries within the government of India.

The biggest challenge lay in making the world to be more equitable – Sunil Shastri.

Below are the excerpts from the third #IndiaPowerTalk by Nitin Potdar with guest speaker Sunil Shastri, Director, OceanGovernance Limited. The full interview has been uploaded on the India Power Talk channel on Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar41WvBJ26k). If you wish to use anything, please attribute to India Power Talk and Nitin Potdar.

Intro

The Blue Economy in India which consists of economic activities dependent on marine resources comprises 4.1 per cent of India’s economy. Its growth potential is so high, it can help the country revive its overall economy. In conversation with Nitin Potdar in India Power Talk, Sunil elaborates on ways and means to tap this untapped coastline.

Summary

• The Blue Economy has some significant components. The few tangible ones are shipping, navigation, ports, harbors, various resources.
• The seven pillars of ocean governance are Science & Technology, Geopolitical Economy, Institutions & Organizations, Legislation & Implementation, Role of Civil Society, Financial Initiatives, and Education & Awareness.
• We have the same areas in water as we have of land.
• The key is to focus on enhancing coastal and ocean resource efficiency.
• Get regional cooperation.

Did you know?

• 70 percent of the Earth’s surface area comprises of water – predominantly the oceans.
• 99 percent of it is its living space.
• 90 percent of all trade is done by sea.
• The world produces a hundred million tons of fish (capture fishery) and 50 million tons of mariculture.
• Oceans absorb 50 percent of carbon.
• It also absorbs all our waste. That’s why oceans are called the global dust bin.
• 90 percent of the pollution ends up in the sea.
• The oceans keep our planet livable. Without them, the temperatures would be extreme (like it is on Moon). Extremely hot during the day, and chilling cold in the night.

Sunil Murlidhar Shastri has dedicated his life to studying and understanding the impact and influence of this aspect of Mother Earth. Settled in the UK since 1988, he has been a consultant, expert and speaker on the ocean and environmental governance for over three decades. He starts our conversation by explaining the term ‘Blue Economy’.

“It is defined by the World Bank as sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth and improved livelihoods. It’s where people work while preserving the health of the ocean ecosystem,” he explains and continues, “The governance features of this economy comprise the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These two guide the Blue Economy. Other organizations such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) look after safe shipping. The Commonwealth Secretariat is a global organisation of all the former Commonwealth countries. Closer home, India has the Indian Ocean Rim Association.”

The global economy is $90 trillion. The Blue Economy is $3 trillion. Our economy is $2.7 trillion. Our Blue Economy is $110 billion. This is huge fingers. There have to be ample opportunities here. Sunil replies in the affirmative. “The Blue Economy has some significant components. The few tangible ones are shipping, navigation, ports, harbours, various resources like living and non-living, energy, mineral, and so on. There’s waste disposal. There are strategic uses like the Navy, tourism, pipelines, cables, etc. The intangible ones comprise of marine scientific research, biodiversity, conservation, habitat management, climate control, etc. A crucial aspect is that of Education and Training. Amidst all this, there’s also something called the illegal uses of the ocean.”

Sunil found his passion in Pacem in Maribus in 1982 under the tutelage of Elizabeth Mann Borgese. He also attended the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur), International Ocean Institute, Aachen Technical Institute, Dalhousie University, London School of Economics and Harvard Kennedy School, supported throughout by prestigious scholarships. With such rich knowledge to back him, the expert throws light on the vastness of the untapped potential on the marine world.

“Technically, our coastline is 7,517 kilometers whereas our land frontier is around 15,200 square kilometers. If you go 200 nautical miles out from our coast (2.37 million square kilometers), it becomes India’s exclusive economic zone. The land area of India is 3.27 million square kilometers, signifying, we have almost two-thirds of our land area as an exclusive economic zone. We have full economic sovereignty in this area. To top it, the Law of the Sea also gives us the continental shelf which can be extended beyond the exclusive economic zone (depending on how far the rocks have progressed into the shelf). From the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal (called the Western and Eastern continental shelves of India), we have another 700,000 square kilometers. If we take these areas into consideration, we have the same area as the land,” he clarifies.

Sunil has been an academic and researcher in marine and mining engineering, mining engineering, and environmental policy. Talking about opportunities, the maverick shares, “I call it the seven pillars of ocean governance – Science & Technology, Geopolitical Economy, Institutions & Organizations, Legislation & Implementation, Role of Civil Society, Financial Initiatives, and Education & Awareness.”

Emphasizing on the need for advocacy, Sunil says, “Talk about things that are important. I talk about universal basic income and about getting lawless to lawful. I do not mean it in the legal sense. I use the word ‘law’ as an acronym for land, air and water. In India, our lands are becoming less productive, the air and water are getting increasingly polluted. We have a shortage of everything. This is what I mean by lawlessness. It’s time to reverse the situation. For this, each one of us has to be an agent of change.”

The biggest challenge lay in making the world to be more equitable. Sunil clarifies, “We want more justice in the world, thereby hoping to achieve peace. Balancing people, planet and profit is the way out. Once that’s done well, we’ll get a dividend, something we already have in our country – we have democracy. Demographically too we are blessed as 65 percent of India’s people are under 35. Lastly, we have the demand.”

Sunil sketches out a few basic steps that can be immediately taken.”The first thing is getting regional cooperation. A few focus areas comprise – maritime safety and security, trade and investment facilitation, tourism and cultural exchanges, academic, science and technology exchanges, and disaster and risk management. Another key aspect is women’s economic empowerment,” specifies Sunil.

Within the Blue Economy, the top focus areas are fisheries and aquaculture. “India is the third-largest producer of fish and seafood in the world,” updates Sunil. Discussing other options, this expert shares, “We have renewable energy, seaports, and shipping, offshore hydrocarbons. Given we want to reduce fossil fuels, we can make use of them in a more sustainable manner. At this stage, most pivotal is greater synergies between the user ministries within the government of India.”

Sunil is hopeful of what the Blue Economy can do in India. “It contributes to 4 percent of India’s total economy. We are the third-largest producer (12 million tons of fish). The key is to focus on enhancing coastal and ocean resource efficiency.”

Discussing the Sagarmala project (the counterpart of the Bharatmala project on land), he shares, “The two can be complementary to each other. We need infrastructure, transportation to transfer the goods coming by sea to land destinations, and vice versa. Then there’s the deep ocean mission.”

He’s confident if the right steps are taken, FDI will increase proportionately. He’s keen to bring about improvement in the given scenario. “The low hanging fruit is focusing on our ports, harbours, and infrastructure. Perhaps I can impart the knowledge I have and work with like-minded individuals to create the Indian National Centre for Ocean Governance,” he states.