India’s Blue Economy Potential

Context

India is focusing on the ocean’s enormous potential as demand for resources based on land increases. Samudrayaan, also known as the Deep Ocean Mission, represents a multifaceted strategy to leverage the Blue Economy. This entails investigating and sustainably using both living (biodiversity) and non-living (minerals) resources. Important topics covered by the mission include creating instruments for predicting climate change, investigating potential sources of renewable energy, and setting up underwater research facilities to learn about and ethically use marine life. But diving into the deep blue has its own set of difficulties. Caution is necessary due to the delicate ocean ecology, which includes large areas that are still unexplored.

Opportunities with Blue Economy for India

• Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture – India offers enormous potential for the development of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture due to its long coastline and abundant inland water resources.
• Ocean Energy – The coastline of India presents a wealth of opportunities for the utilization of ocean energy, encompassing offshore wind, wave, and tidal power. The installation of a wave energy generator off the coast of Tamil Nadu by IIT Madras is a big step forward.
• Marine Biotechnology – India offers a vastly promising frontier for the biotechnological research of its marine biodiversity. There are chances in this industry to produce biofuels, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and innovative medications.
• Seabed Mining – Currently, the Indian government is in possession of two contracts for ocean exploration. Securing vital minerals like copper, nickel, cobalt, and manganese – which are necessary for developing technology and renewable energy systems – presents a substantial potential in this regard.
• Shipbuilding and Ship Recycling – Opportunities exist for both the development of ecologically friendly ship recycling techniques and the construction of new ships under India’s ₹4,000 crore shipbuilding subsidy package. This industry has the potential to increase exports, create a large number of jobs, and foster the growth of related businesses.
• Deep Sea Exploration and Research – Launched in 2021, the Deep Ocean Mission is India’s ambitious endeavor into deep-sea exploration. The creation of the MATSYA 6000 manned submersible vehicle, which can descend to 6,000 meters, will greatly advance India’s capacity for deep-sea research.

Major Challenges related To Blue Economy

• Environment Degradation – India’s maritime habitats are severely strained as a result of unsustainable development and pollution. Local hazards are stressing more than 65% of the coral reefs in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean.
• Unsustainable Fishing Practices – Despite being vital to employment and food security in India, overfishing is a problem for the fisheries industry. 8.2% of India’s 135 examined fish populations were overfished, whereas 4.4% were overfished, according to a 2022 research by the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).
• Climate-Change and Sea-Level Rise – Significant risks to India’s coastal regions come from rising sea levels and an increase in the frequency of extreme weather occurrences. According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the sea might encroach on land by roughly 17 meters for every 3 centimeter rise in sea level.
• Marine Debris – Plastic garbage in particular is a major source of marine pollution. Every year, India produces 9.46 million tonnes of plastic garbage, much of which ends up in the ocean.
• Balancing Economic Development with Conservation – It can be difficult to strike a balance between protecting marine ecosystems and using marine resources for financial gain.
• Maritime Security and Finances – The blue economy in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) depends on maintaining marine security. Transnational crimes and piracy provide serious obstacles to this. The IMB annual report for 2023 noted 120 instances of armed robbery and maritime piracy against ships, underscoring the ongoing security threats.
• Limited R&D – India has a number of oceanographic research institutes, although its investment in marine R&D is still small when measured against other maritime countries. This has an impact on the nation’s capacity for innovation in fields like ocean energy and marine biotechnology. 

Measures to Foster a Sustainable Blue Economy

• Integrated Coastal Zone Management – Coastal management requires a comprehensive strategy that strikes a balance between the need for growth and environmental preservation. This entails enforcing stringent laws against pollution and coastal construction, supporting environmentally friendly methods of protecting the coast etc.
• Marine Pollution Control and Waste Management – To tackle marine pollution, a multifaceted approach that emphasizes both prevention and cleanup is necessary. Encouraging circular economy programs to deal with marine plastic trash, like the Plastics Disclosure Project of the Ocean Recovery Alliance, may both lower pollution and generate revenue.
• Skill Development and Capacity Building – India needs to close the talent gap in the maritime industry if it hopes to achieve its blue economy goals. It is imperative to initiate a comprehensive skill development program that targets many blue economy industries, such as marine biotechnology, offshore energy, and sustainable fisheries.
• R&D in Marine Technology – India must increase maritime technology research and innovation if it hopes to compete internationally in the blue economy. Increasing funding for oceanographic research institutes, encouraging industry-academia cooperation, and creating innovation clusters in coastal cities are all necessary to achieve this.
• Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction – Protecting lives and livelihoods in coastal areas requires strengthening the resilience of coastal communities to natural catastrophes and the effects of climate change. This entails creating thorough maps of coastal hazards, putting into practice naturally occurring methods of protecting the shore, such restoring mangroves, and bolstering early warning systems for severe weather.

Way Forward

To harness the full potential of the Blue Economy, India must adopt a balanced approach that prioritizes sustainable practices and technological innovation. Strengthening marine research and development, enhancing coastal disaster resilience, and promoting eco-friendly shipbuilding and recycling are crucial steps. Additionally, integrated coastal zone management and effective marine pollution control will ensure the protection of marine ecosystems. By fostering skill development and capacity building in maritime industries, India can create job opportunities and drive economic growth. Collaborative efforts and stringent regulations will be essential to mitigate environmental degradation and ensure the sustainable use of ocean resources.

SOURCE: Economic Times

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