Emerging Sectors and New Technologies

Key Takeaways 

• Blue Economy is a holistic paradigm in the development discourse which gives equal weightage to economic growth and environmental sustainability. The Blue Economy of India is inextricably linked to the global Blue Economy. 
• Coastal community development is the cornerstone of the strategy by Government of India. The development of India’s Blue Economy requires strong domestic synergy and integration with the wider international ocean community. 
• Blue Economy and innovation and technology need to go hand in hand as new technologies can help to amplify the scope of Blue Economy across the various sectors.
• There is a confluence in ecology and economy and it is important to ensure coexistence and co-habitation of species, make oceans healthy.
• There is a need to map the blue resources and assess the challenges associated with it and learn from the best practices around the world.
• There is a need to make businesses more resilient to market changes and global challenges like climate change.
• Collaboration between countries like Norway and India for the development of Blue Economy is the need of the hour, especially through the India Norway Marine Pollution Initiative and India-Norway Task Force on Blue Economy for Sustainable Development. The countries should cooperate in integrated ocean planning, marine spatial planning and combatting marine pollution.
• Digitisation and the use of high- tech mechanism in the ocean industries is crucial where new technologies such as AI, machine learning can help to deepen the scope of Blue Economy.
• India should develop ocean clusters based on the Canadian model such as the Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, which is an industry- led cluster responsible for devising solutions for global ocean challenges.
• European Union has created the strategy for a sustainable Blue Economy through the development of emerging sectors and adoption of new Industry 4.0 technologies.
• TMA BlueTech USA is an industry association and a cluster organiser which brings policy and technology resources under one umbrella to promote innovation and economic development in Blue Economy.
• National Institute of Ocean Technology India, through its activities and innovative technologies developed indigenously, has contributed to the development of Blue Economy in India.
• The Cochin Shipyard has adopted and developed new and innovative technologies to ensure port-led development and promote Blue Economy in India.
• The role of technology as an enabler to trade and promotion of Blue Economy is crucial. Development of new technologies can help to create strong partnerships to promote Blue Economy in India.
• Cluster technology can help in detection, classification, clean-up and disposal of marine pollution.
• The challenges associated with technological advancement in Blue Economy is that technological commercial viability is difficult to assess on small devices and funding is difficult for large devices.
• No ocean strategy or Blue Economy can exist without considering the aspect of healthy oceans. There is a need to ensure that ports operate in an environment friendly manner.
• The Blue Pledge for Sustainable Pearls is a pledge to bring together pearl farmers who seek to actionably contribute to the health of the oceans. The private sector’s involvement in the Blue Pledge can help to promote sustainable development. 
• Fiji has come up with the Blue Town concept which is a model for developing circular Blue Economy. It is an initiative which involves public-private partnership to empower the local communities.
• The Economist Group through their World Ocean Initiative, fosters a global conversation on the challenges facing the seas as well as new partnerships and build upon effective actions to build a sustainable ocean economy.
• Plastic waste generation per year is 9 million tonnes in India and as per Indian legal framework, the production of single use plastic products is to be phased out by 2022.
• There is a need to promote sustainable ocean economy. The private and the public sector should work together to deal with degradation of marine ecosystem.
• There is an opportunity to leverage the informal waste supply chain in the Global South and develop decentralised Integrated Solid Waste Management Systems that galvanises the Circular Economy.
• The UNEP Marine Litter Tracker which helps to track plastic debris, process cleaning of beaches as well as the collection mechanism for marine litter.
• A four-pronged approach is needed to deal with the issue of marine litter and marine pollution especially in the South Asia countries- measuring the coastal and ocean economy and assessing the valuation of ecosystems at the national level; facilitating interactions between the ocean economy and ecosystems and between Sectors through proper policy framework; investing in the transition to Blue Economy to ensure sustainable growth; and monitoring the progress towards agreed targets for the country’s Blue Economy policy objectives.