Blue Economy (Bangladesh Perspective)

Most of us have heard of Green Economy but Blue economy is a new emerging concept without which Green Economy cannot succeed. Like a coastal country like Bangladesh, practicing Blue Economy can cause social and economic development. Bangladesh has recently settled its dispute regarding the maritime boundary with Myanmar and India in 2012 and 2014. So the economic territory of Bangladesh is 200 nautical miles. The Bay of Bengal is filled with immense natural resources. According to the experts, there are almost 50 varieties of fishes along with snails, shell-fish, crabs, sharks, octopuses, and others. Every year Bangladesh can collect almost 8 million tons of fishes which is available in the Bay of Bengal. The sea area of Bangladesh also has natural gas fields and various minerals. The country can be profited by extract minerals and gas. As Bangladesh is a densely populated country, we can focus on seafood for fulfilling the need of protein of the people of the coastal area. Besides as seafood is becoming a popular cuisine in large cities, collecting and selling them can also be a profitable monetary activity. Many people of coastal area earn their livings by catching fishes. Fishing is an important feature of the blue economy. After fulfilling the local demand, we can also export fish abroad at a competitive price. Shipbuilding is a growing economy for Bangladesh. Bangladesh has a long history with shipbuilding and for maintaining a sustainable blue economy the country should focus more on it by creating a safe environment and facilitating modern equipment. The country can also lease its ports for earning duty fees from foreign countries. Marine tourism or blue tourism is becoming very popular all over the world. Bangladesh has the longest sea beach in the world. Our CoxsBazar is one of the nicest sea beaches in the world. We also have Kuakata sea beach which is known as the 'daughter of the sea'. If we can provide proper infrastructure facilities, necessary security, adequate living place and build a tourist-friendly environment than our economy can be growing through blue tourism. Government and private concerns should take necessary steps and do proper research regarding this issue. In the modern world, no country can sustain without economic development. As a developing country, we should focus more on boosting our economy. Blue economy can be a major part of our entire economic development if we can encash it in the right ways.