“I see the blue chakra in our national flag as a symbol of the
blue revolution. Our destinies are linked by the currents of the Indian Ocean,”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the national assembly of Mauritius this year.
What is this Blue Economy ?
- Gunter
Pauli’s book, “The Blue Economy: 10 years, 100 innovations, 100 million
jobs” (2010) brought the Blue Economy concept into prominence.
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- The Blue Economy is envisaged as the integration of Ocean Economy development with the
principles of social inclusion, environmental sustainability and
innovative, dynamic business models.
- It is founded upon a systems approach, wherein renewable
and organic inputs are fed into sustainably designed systems to fuel “blue
growth”.
- Such “blue growth” addresses the problems of resource
scarcity and waste disposal, while delivering sustainable development that
enhances human welfare in a holistic manner.
"Blue Economy” has emerged as a term referring to a healthy ocean, supporting higher productivity.
- The current focus is confined to marine products, including
minerals, as if this is all it concerns. The concept of blue economy is
much broader and encompasses even
maritime activities, such as shipping services.
Roadmap for India !!
## Foreign Policy
‘Blue economy’, an idea is already in operation
in China.
- This is where India, with its unending
coastline and EEZ can team successfully with Seychelles and Mauritius (as
efforts in this regard have started), even Mozambique
and Tanzania for ‘blue development’.
- That is, sustainable harvesting of ocean
wealth, tourism, biotechnology etc. from Lakshadweep’s 36 islands to
Seychelles and Mozambique in a way that promotes mass employment in zero
carbon sectors. India hasn’t yet focused on the blue economy, but this
should be the future.
- Development of the marine economy on the
western seaboard not only links India’s economy to other oceanic
economies, it has big security implications. After 26/11, naval
authorities have accounted for fishermen and fishing villages on the
western seaboard. More tourism, more economic activity adds to security.
- India needs to build a blue economy plan
with Sri Lanka – the present Indian approach of bottom trawling fishermen is unsustainable both from the
environment and foreign policy points of view. Investment and corporate
interest will inevitably follow, because security and finance are
generally close bedfellows.
- If the first phase of the Indian Ocean
policy was the outreach to Australia and Japan, and the second phase was
that of Mauritius,Seychelles and Srilanka and later Bangladesh; the third phase should involve
another maritime friend – Oman.
A long-standing maritime power (remember Oman
used to own Zanzibar), Indian Ocean outreach will need this relationship. Oman is the only country
with whom India conducts tri-service exercises. While using Salalah port, India should look more
closely at making a place for itself in Oman’s new port of Duqm. Its location close to Gwadar makes it attractive to
India. Let’s not wake up after the US and other powers have carved it out for
themselves. For strategic interests and economic interests it’s an opportunity
not to be missed.
## Indian Ocean Rim Association
At kissing distance from the Indian shoreline,
21 diverse economies inked a pact earlier this month to promote the ‘Blue
Economy’ to strengthen ties. With global growth slowing down, these countries
realise the importance of the Indian Ocean for their well-being and want to
grab opportunities for higher growth.
Mauritius hosts the Indian Ocean Rim
Association (IORA), whose members include G20 nations such as India, Australia
and Indonesia, as well as small island countries. It is one grouping where India is a member and China
is an observer, at a
time when China is making strenous efforts to spread its regional influence.
It targets four sectors:
- fisheries and aqua culture to fight
poverty;
- renewable ocean energy to reduce the
stress on fossil fuels;
- seaport and shipping to promote trade and
investment;
- offshore hydrocarbons and seabed minerals
to attract foreign investment.
(Tourism was a surprising omission, and climate
change, from concerns.)
The timing of the declaration is significant.
The global economic environment is uncertain due to China’s economy facing
trouble. There is a growing perception now that the ocean is the last frontier
for economic development.
What must
India do in IORA ?
- As a founder member of the IORA set up in
1997, India should step up its multilateral engagement. Former Prime Minister IK Gujral had
pronounced IORA as one more dimension of South-South
cooperation. A Chatham
House report on India’s engagement with the African IORA states in 2008
concluded that it was simply not about commercial links, but also
underpinned India’s maritime doctrine.
- Countries such as South Africa and Kenya want India to support scientific research in a big way. India
has the IT prowess for big data mining. It should leverage this
opportunity.
- Maritime security remains
a major threat to this region. We have had to deal with the persistent
scourge of piracy off the coast of Somalia and the challenges it posed to
private sector development, regional and international trade, economic
integration and development. India helped, and the IORA also gained
stature.This trend must continue and must improve. IORA
members should address security issues themselves rather than relying on
international forces (something like taking help from China is undesirable
from India point of view).
- Conduct
MILAN regularly at Port Blair.
## Offshore
transloading infrastructure
- By
definition, blue economy infrastructure is environment-friendly because
larger cargo consignments can move directly from the mothership to the
hinterland through inland waterways, obviating the need for trucks or
railways. This agenda includes the creation of environment-friendly
infrastructure in the ocean. When
land acquisition is such a contentious issue, shifting some infrastructure
to the seas is a good economic and political strategy. It can be done in
India.
- Success Story ??? ----->>>Conforming to this spirit, an offshore
infrastructure (by creating an ocean-based transshipment mechanism)
project was successfully launched by the ministry of shipping last year
for transporting imported coal to the thermal power station at Farakka
in West Bengal. Such transshipment, out on the high seas yet
within India’s economic zone at the Sandheads in the Bay of
Bengal, worked out to be financially viable and
environmentally friendlier, compared to traditional handling of cargo at
ports.
- Geographical Advantage --- >> As ship sizes become bigger, transshipment/ lighterage operations on the high seas are becoming more viable. What makes it especially attractive, and therefore possible, in Indian waters is the vast coastline of almost 7,500 kilometres, with no immediate coastal neighbours except for some stretches around the southern tip. This is not possible, for example, in the Persian Gulf region because of the proximity to trade routes and contiguous countries. The Strait of Hormuz has several overlapping maritime jurisdictions. In some sense, India has the advantage of a latecomer, helped by natural geography.
- Bottleneck ? ---->> For an offshore transloading zone, the availability of calm waters during the monsoons is a problem. But this can be overcome by conducting such operations closer to the coast and seasonally, in calmer waters.
- Potential Benefits --->>
1.
All ports do not need
expensive dredging of long approach channels.
2.
Ports can multiply
operations because each cargo shipment is of small parcel size, with no extra
capital expenditure for dredging or for large berths and associated equipment,
or for creating port reception infrastructure for large ships.
3.
As larger surpluses are
generated, some parts can be utilised for better and more environment-friendly
“smart ports”.
4.
Less physical congestion
unclogs bottlenecks at ports. This has several advantages.
- Faster
clearances mean less waiting time and savings on demurrage.
- A shorter
waiting time for ships also helps the environment by reducing fuel
burn.
- As transloading
takes place on the high seas, it creates an opportunity to spread the
cargo across more ports.
- It makes ample
sense to create a well-distributed network for handling bulk cargo along
the entire coastline.
- If we introduce
“smartness” to transloading zones, we can add value and reduce transaction
costs.
- A
major network of inland waterways has
historically developed on the east
coast. On the west
coast, it exists only in Goa and Kerala. The eastern waterways can be
easily connected to ports for transshipment traffic. The Ganga, Brahmani,
Godavari and the Mahanadi basin systems have dormant waterways, but they
all lie on the east coast. The proposed project to rejuvenate them will
bring cargo to their mouths.
- While relieving
infrastructure shortages and pressure on an overburdened rail and road network,
this will also bring immense benefits by reducing costs, delays and
pollution. A transloading zone is a green concept, rarely recognised by
stakeholders, including the government.
## Blue
Economy – Legal Dimensions
§
It is the version 2.0 of
the Green Economy.
§
National Policy on Blue
Economy must be clear.
