The concept of the ‘Blue Economy’, though echoed profusely since the early years of this century, didn’t gain momentum in Bangladesh until 2012 when Bangladesh settled the maritime boundary delimitation with Myanmar. With technological development and innovations, countries across the world are exploring the benefits accrued from the blue economy beyond the traditional economy, leveraging the usage of sea resources to foster economic prosperity and livelihood while not harming the ocean’s ecosystem. The ocean economy, also known as the blue economy, has a global turnover estimated as high as $3 to $6 trillion, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Thus, countries that can explore maritime resources will fuel economic growth and job creation.
Naturally endowed, Bangladesh inherits a vast area of sea, which offers abundant resources in terms of fossil fuels and fish, among others. However, there are certain areas-minerals, marine renewable energy, marine biotechnology, and fishing-where Bangladesh has immense opportunities to capitalise on the blue economy concept efficiently. The economy of Bangladesh has experienced economic fallout in the last two years, largely fueled by an energy crisis that also exacerbated the paucity of dollar reserves. Extracting gas and oil from the sea will not only contribute to our GDP but also ensure energy security, which cannot be ensured by relying on imports, given the towering uncertainty in the global economy, thus helping the country move toward a sustainable economy in the future.
Despite the opportunity of the coastal area, Bangladesh has not yet picked up renewable energy generation using wind, wave, and tide. Against this backdrop, the government, with a foresighted policy, can benefit from the blue economy. Moreover, biotechnology appears to be a potential sector that may benefit the country on many fronts: creating a new sector that will add value to the GDP while creating jobs and increasing export earnings. Given the prospects of the blue economy, the government must act on extracting marine resources, making the blue economy pivotal to the mainstream economy in the country.