Planning Minister MA Mannan has said that more research on maritime economy is needed to properly utilise the resources in the Bay of Bengal.
He said, ‘We can’t use our resources in the Bay of Bengal properly due to lack of skilled manpower, coordinated efforts and proper initiatives. More research on the blue economy as well as the marine resources are needed to resolve the problems. A separate ministry is needed in this regard.’
MA Mannan said this while speaking as the chief guest at a roundtable discussion titled “Blue Economy: Possibility and Challenge” at the National Press Club in the capital on Thursday.
‘Save Our Sea’, a platform working on the marine environment in Bangladesh, arranged the event. Muhammad Anowarul Hoque, Secretary General of the organisation, moderated the programme.
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Mohammad Moslem Uddin Munna, chairman of Oceanography Department of Chattogram University, presented the keynote paper at the roundtable, while it was addressed, among others, by Dr Jasim Uddin, a professor at Botany Department of Dhaka University, Santosh Kumar Dev, chairman of the Tourism and Hospitality Department of the university, and KM Azam Chowdhury, an associate professor of Oceanography Department of the university,
MA Mannan said, “Sundarbans once extended to Cox's Bazar. It has become too small now due to lack of planning. The government wants to develop everything in the country and wants to do more. The current government has done much more than others have done in the past.”
We will do a lot of work on the maritime economy, he said, adding that the government wants to cooperate with the non-governmental organizations that are working in the sea.
In the main article, Mohammad Moslem Uddin Munna, said the future economy of Bangladesh could be a maritime economy.
“Due to the crisis of proper initiative, the country is still behind to get benefits from the sea due to lack of proper knowledge about rules and regulations of the sea.”
Prof Jasim Uddin said we have a lot more potential from the sea as there are many resources including tidal energy, minerals and fish.
“The sea is not only a lot of possibilities, but also terrifying for us. Disasters from the sea bring huge economic losses to us. In that case, only the mangrove forest can protect us,” he mentioned.