Indian G-20 Presidency Can Shape Blue-actions
It is commonplace for us to understand and speak of trade that happens on Land. We understand it as a commodity and an economic driver. Guess what: 80 per cent of world trade happens using the seas, 40 per cent of the world’s population live near coastal areas, and more than 3 billion people access the oceans for their livelihood. The value of the “natural capital” of the Blue Economy is estimated at around USD 25 trillion, with the annual value of produced goods and services estimated to be USD 2.5 trillion per year, equivalent to the world’s seventh largest economy in gross domestic product (GDP) terms.
Yet, there is hardly a universally accepted definition of the Blue Economy. According to the World Bank, the blue economy is the "sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem." European Commission defines it as "All economic activities related to oceans, seas and coasts. It covers a wide range of interlinked established and emerging sectors." The Commonwealth of Nations considers it "an emerging concept which encourages better stewardship of our ocean or 'blue' resources."
Ocean holds the key
The importance of the oceans for the global south can be understood from the roles it plays in human livelihoods, through the provisioning of the various ecosystem services on which the coastal community is dependent.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment talks of the services provided by the blue economy through the organic functioning of its natural ecosystem. These can be classified as provisioning services (fisheries, building materials, food, etc), regulating services (carbon sink and carbon sequestration, erosion prevention, extreme event moderation, etc) cultural services (tourism, recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual benefits) and supporting services (life-cycle maintenance for both fauna and local, element and nutrient cycling). The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) termed these ecosystem services as “GDP of the poor” as the majority of the poor’s livelihoods and incomes are drawn from the ecosystem services.
South Asia has been a major contributor to the global food basket through its fisheries sector, with the artisanal fisheries in the Bay of Bengal region, contributing more than 80 per cent of marine fish production. Fishing sector employs 15 million people in India and ranks second (6.3 per cent) in the world’s fish produce (INR 10 billion in 2015–16). Coastal and Maritime Tourism that represents 5 per cent of the world GDP and is expected to generate job opportunities for approximately 8.5 million people by 2030, and has been a prominent sector providing large-scale employment and livelihoods in south Asia.
The Indian blue economy, accounting for 4 per cent of the GDP, is a subdivision of the national economy that includes the complete ocean resources system as well as human-made economic infrastructure in the country's legal jurisdiction marine, maritime, and onshore coastal zones. India has significant diplomatic interests in the Indo-Pacific, as well as global commitments in the region under the UNCLOS, such as Search and Rescue, seabed mining, and counter-piracy. The Blue Economy in the Indian Ocean region is an important global economic corridor, with it being world's third-largest body of water, covering 68.5 million square kms and rich in oil and mineral resources, and the countries in this region constitute one-third of humanity.
Blue action policy development
India’s taking over the G20 presidency from Indonesia is significant, that makes India the middle of the triad (Indonesia, India, and Brazil) from the global south to preside over the G20. The Blue Economy (BE) imperative for the Indian G20 Presidency gets reinforced by the fact that the Blue Economy has a separate connotation for the Global South, as compared to the Global North.
India’s engagement in the Blue Economy has been rising, with its active involvement in international and regional dialogues on the Blue Economy, maritime and marine cooperation. Ocean resources, physical infrastructure for maritime economic development, marine amenities, and coastal management services are all part of the plan to ensure economic growth and sustainability, as well as national security.
While an estimated USD 174.52 billion per year needed to fund SDG 14, barely USD 25.05 billion is spent annually indicating a funding gap of USD 149.02 billion per year. More innovative “blue financial products” like blue bonds and loans, and blue derivative products will have to be thought of, to finance SDG14. Nations have to come together, and to find collaborative solutions, more hastily than climate action. The global track record on climate actions have been poor, and we need better behaviour in blue-actions.
With unsolved climate crisis, issues of lack of finance for climate solutions, the exhaustion of marine resources and coastal deterioration alongside a volatile global economy, the G20 needs to shape convergence of global security (including food and energy), economic growth and integrate them with the blue economy. Blue actions need to cover economic actions, as well as sustainability commitment.
India’s G20 Presidency brings about the unique opportunity to prioritise the Blue Economy for the purpose for growth, green economy and social equity. With India’s track record of collaboration with global players for shared goals, it can bring a lot of its positive energies, policy-heft and blue-leadership to the G20. It can help raise the profile of the discussions, focus on the Blue Economy. It has the intent, content and context to use its G20 Presidency to push forward the agenda of ABCDE - Air, Blue-economy, Climate-action, Digital, and Equity.
