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Editorial

Fresh law to boost Blue Economy

Take necessary steps to utilise offshore resources properly


Bangladeshpost
Published : 29 Nov 2021 08:36 PM

It is good to note that ‘The Territorial Waters and Maritime Zones (Amendment) Bill, 2021’ was passed in the Parliament on Sunday to make it a more time-befitting one so that the evolving issues can be dealt with properly.

The step to amend the law was taken aiming to ensure proper reflection of the international laws and the judgments in the cases involving the delimitation of maritime boundaries of Bangladesh. The fresh law will help establish sovereign right of the coastal state.


The fresh law will help establish 

sovereign right of the 

coastal state


The law will bring the emerging economy under a legal structure that will boost  blue economy, ocean governance, maritime cooperation, and the matters relating to the methods and discipline of marine scientific research, and to utilize the plethora of oceanic resources across the Bay of Bengal.

This law will ensure the security of marine energy and marine resources from any threat. According to the proposed law, maximum three years’ imprisonment or a fine of minimum Tk two crore and maximum Tk five crore will be imposed for marine pollution. 

Only a few numbers of blue economy sectors with the likes of fisheries and aquaculture, port facilities, ship breaking and breaking has been explored in the country. Also, most of these sectors are still following traditional means. So, there still remains a large number of openings as well as challenges for exploring a large number of blue economy sectors, which will safeguard mangrove and ocean grass, address environmental changes, manage carbon discharge, and introduce innovative technology for further growth to contribute to achieving sustainable development goals. The new laws will help to increase the capacity in all the areas of the blue economy. It can also be increased by inviting foreign direct investment (FDI). Hence, the government needs to facilitate the inflow of FDI to exploit the full potential of the country's blue economy.