Business Report :
To harness the resources of the Bay of Bengal in terms of money or survival value; social equity or adding value to national economy, a locally empowered bottom-up approach of management and coastal areas ecosystem are essential which will hopefully serve blue economy in best of the interest of our national economy, experts say at a Symposium.
On the occasion of World Oceans Day 2015, Save Our Sea in cooperation with Mangroves for the Future (MFF), IUCN Bangladesh, USAID and WorldFish; and with the support of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) and Riverine People organized ‘Marine Conservation and Blue Economy Symposium’ at Krishibid Institution of Bangladesh in the city on Monday.
Inaugurated by Director General of the Department of the Fisheries Syed Arif Azad; the symposium was participated by leading scientists, experts, researchers, oceanographers, conservationists, NGO and CSO leaders, representatives of international development organizations and the young professionals working in the conservation arena.
Through 12 research papers on marine conservation science and practices along with 4 presentations on conservation works around the world, the participants urged for integrated approach for knowledge based management of the marine resources including the fish, sea weeds, sea grasses, turtles and marine mammals.
The experts opined that, to harness the capital of the Bay of Bengal in terms of money or survival value; social equity or adding value to national economy, a locally empowered bottom-up approach of management is essential which will hopefully serve blue economy in best of the interest of our national economy. Using examples from global fisheries, USAID’s Environment Officer, Nathan Sage specifically draw attention to the fact that without sustainable practices, ‘Blue Economy’ may become ‘Brown’.
Elizabeth Mansur from WCS Bangladesh shared the background research and work that made the declaration of Bangladesh’s first ‘Marine Protected Area’ possible.
In a special session on locally led marine conservation, examples from Madagaskar was presented by Dr Alasdiar Harris, Executive Director, Blue Ventures shared how local management led by communities helped triple income from the marine aquaculture and fisheries. ‘Mangroves for the Future initiative’ pitched examples of locally governed mangroves in Bangladesh and Vietnam for letting the local communities to get benefit of ecosystem conservation.
The symposium noted that, Bangladesh has a long coastline of 710 km. Natural systems of our coastline is largely influenced by Estuaries and coastal shallow area of the Bay of Bengal. Ecosystems of coastal areas include Mangroves, Coral Colonies Wetlands, Mudflats, Sand Dunes, Coral Colonies and Sea-grass Beds.
Throughout this long coastline, the bay is vital to coastal people, their economies and culture. The coastal areas cover 23 percent of the country and 30 million people who depends on these ecosystem services and benefits. Estuarine, Mangroves and Marine bio-resources play vital role for local livelihoods. But in recent years the communities are facing shrinking supplies of marine resources because of climate change impacts and unsustainable practices for natural resource extraction for decades now. As the state of ecosystem integrity is declining, population safety is at enormous risk
To harness the resources of the Bay of Bengal in terms of money or survival value; social equity or adding value to national economy, a locally empowered bottom-up approach of management and coastal areas ecosystem are essential which will hopefully serve blue economy in best of the interest of our national economy, experts say at a Symposium.
On the occasion of World Oceans Day 2015, Save Our Sea in cooperation with Mangroves for the Future (MFF), IUCN Bangladesh, USAID and WorldFish; and with the support of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) and Riverine People organized ‘Marine Conservation and Blue Economy Symposium’ at Krishibid Institution of Bangladesh in the city on Monday.
Inaugurated by Director General of the Department of the Fisheries Syed Arif Azad; the symposium was participated by leading scientists, experts, researchers, oceanographers, conservationists, NGO and CSO leaders, representatives of international development organizations and the young professionals working in the conservation arena.
Through 12 research papers on marine conservation science and practices along with 4 presentations on conservation works around the world, the participants urged for integrated approach for knowledge based management of the marine resources including the fish, sea weeds, sea grasses, turtles and marine mammals.
The experts opined that, to harness the capital of the Bay of Bengal in terms of money or survival value; social equity or adding value to national economy, a locally empowered bottom-up approach of management is essential which will hopefully serve blue economy in best of the interest of our national economy. Using examples from global fisheries, USAID’s Environment Officer, Nathan Sage specifically draw attention to the fact that without sustainable practices, ‘Blue Economy’ may become ‘Brown’.
Elizabeth Mansur from WCS Bangladesh shared the background research and work that made the declaration of Bangladesh’s first ‘Marine Protected Area’ possible.
In a special session on locally led marine conservation, examples from Madagaskar was presented by Dr Alasdiar Harris, Executive Director, Blue Ventures shared how local management led by communities helped triple income from the marine aquaculture and fisheries. ‘Mangroves for the Future initiative’ pitched examples of locally governed mangroves in Bangladesh and Vietnam for letting the local communities to get benefit of ecosystem conservation.
The symposium noted that, Bangladesh has a long coastline of 710 km. Natural systems of our coastline is largely influenced by Estuaries and coastal shallow area of the Bay of Bengal. Ecosystems of coastal areas include Mangroves, Coral Colonies Wetlands, Mudflats, Sand Dunes, Coral Colonies and Sea-grass Beds.
Throughout this long coastline, the bay is vital to coastal people, their economies and culture. The coastal areas cover 23 percent of the country and 30 million people who depends on these ecosystem services and benefits. Estuarine, Mangroves and Marine bio-resources play vital role for local livelihoods. But in recent years the communities are facing shrinking supplies of marine resources because of climate change impacts and unsustainable practices for natural resource extraction for decades now. As the state of ecosystem integrity is declining, population safety is at enormous risk
