In 2015, India’s Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan called on Indian scientists and officials to “grab” India’s due share of ocean wealth. Delivered at the National Institute of Oceanography in Goa, the speech is one of the most succinct articulations of India’s vision for the future of ocean exploitation. The ocean and its resources are increasingly seen as indispensable in addressing multiple challenges the planet is facing in decades to come. By 2050 enough food, jobs, energy, raw materials and economic growth will be required to sustain a world population of nine billion people.
The engine of economic growth of a nation runs on the track of natural resource base. Resources will increasingly be in short supply as more and more people demand economic, food and health security. The flag has already dropped on a race for resources and India —its institutions, its scientists, its politics — must make sure the nation does not lose out. In this discourse, the resources of the oceans, seas, bays and estuaries can be a logical and practical solution to support the national agenda of economic growth.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the present day world population demands food, employment and a healthy environment around to survive, but to achieve these targets, several dark chapters like unplanned industrialization, urbanization, deforestation will also open simultaneously. This will result in the deterioration of our resources and ethical values of life and already the countdowns have started. At this critical juncture, it is extremely important to cater information on various causes of environmental degradation and their proper conservation to people of all ranks of the society so that we can develop a sustainable Blue Economy for the betterment of the nation. We believe that such steps can trigger the sustainability of Blue Economy by integrating all the industrial sectors through a green belt with zero emission of GHGs.
Abhijit Mitra certainly this is a fundamental part of the solution, in combination with other measures.
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