Sustainable Exploitation of Marine Resources

The topic is sustainable exploitation and harnessing of marine resources, we have to redefine human values of ethics for the distinction of sustainability and especially in the context of the post-COVID situation globally. I think many countries are diluting their laws to improve their economies, in this current context, especially when we are starting afresh with an AREA of about 50% of the earth and we want to exploit it. Definitely, there is a need for new thinking and thought, especially involving the younger generations. So here is the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14: CONSERVE AND SUSTAINABLY USE THE OCEANS, SEAS AND MARINE RESOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. And United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has provided a legal framework.

The International Seabed Authority (ISA), it is existing but I’m not sure what role it is going to play. Especially when private companies or corporate’s are involved, maybe in the future three or four very large companies will take over. Because technology exchange may not be there. It will be patented and will be held by a few and they may dominate taking the advantage of some small countries. Also, those possibilities are there. I think the role of ISA and the equitable sharing criteria that they have, and how they are going to address it. These are very big challenges. I think we should be very cautious about the developments.

We have India’s Blue Economy. It’s very good the draft policy, says ‘no waste and no emissions’ and all the aspects that are given in this blue economy draft are very good per se as of now. But once we start adopting and implementing, then we have to see how we can be the best example to the whole world in doing so - sustainably.

Deep Ocean Mission - the expert speakers have also mentioned that there are so many technologies and interdisciplinary things happening. But here what we are dealing with are the three spheres lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere together. And that too we are dealing with something like a 3D model when it comes to oceans. This is very unique. On land, it is more like an X-Y plane. But here the challenges will be completely different. Unknown things, even the disasters that would happen which are climate-induced or through our operations. What will be the new things for adaptation, for the people? Or maybe lots of human resources will be replaced by artificial intelligence, robotics and many other technologies, which would come. The human involvement will be very low. But again here we need to use lots of energy when it comes to `harnessing and other things.

Probably within this 3D model of the ocean, below the wave action or some other depth where the sunlight can reach. Maybe those comfort zones can be some areas for harnessing some resources such as biomass and living underwater cities etc. And also floating cities, floating islands or floating biomass generation and many things are possibilities in calm areas. Of course in fisheries some things are already explored, so they might exist. And the laws and the compliance when we have so many constitutions of governments with their own laws, for the same mistake committed by a person in one country, the punishment is different in another country. And when we are commonly dealing with these common resources beyond the exclusive economic zone also then how do we deal?

So this is where I think, that people have gone beyond nationalism, they are not restricted, by their energy and many resources they are global now.

But here how do we develop especially fisheries, we know the challenges of sustainability. We have not addressed many things, like whaling, it is still happening and we are losing them.

So mining is a new thing because of a particular demand that we want to have green energy, we are going to the sea to find all those minerals such as Lithium, Cobalt, Manganese, Copper etc. But here again, responsible mining, how do we do the Poly metallic nodules and all that, this is a very big important issue to be dealt with. Already mining on land, we are going so deep - 5 to 6 kms below the surface. As a geologist, I am telling. In the oceans for petroleum and other things, they are already going deeper. But even this kind of mining can go below the bed of the sea or ocean floor, that’s the possibility. It’s not just related to the subsurface of the oceans, but it might go far below the bed.

And renewable energy as we have very huge potential. Because the area is untapped - like wave, tidal, thermal, solar, bioenergy, and geothermal many things are there. That energy we can always harness. But pollution is a very big issue that already we have acidification of seas and bleaching of corals. And also how do we reduce the sedimentation, especially with the sediment plumes that would be generated as we do mining. Because the ocean currents at depths are very slow and it may take some hundreds of years to take the pollutants away. But that sediment plume pollution will be localized maybe. Then again the local fauna and other life, how do they survive, these are dependent on the local ecosystem. So these are some big issues. And you know, the transportation and other things, already we have challenges such as oil spills and other things.

And tourism - the carrying capacity of an area for tourism, this is a very big area. Maybe it would become a residential area also for some people, for communities getting into the sea would be safer than being in the coastal areas. Maybe some adaptations might come, and again this needs to be done based on the carrying of each area.

Transportation, the Indian government is working on ports and shipping management - Sagarmala project. Biotechnology and bio-prospecting, this is a very big area, there are unexplored and unidentified species and their applications like antibiotics and many areas are there which I think is an important aspect to be looked into.

That’s why even before exploitation we need to do enough research. Because once we start exploiting, we don’t know what we lost also, and this is very critical.

Climate change, carbon sequestration and other things, have huge potential. The corals and all the shells doing carbon sequestration. But again we have to find other ways and means to do this carbon sequestration. Disaster Risk Reduction can play an important role once we develop, the losses are very huge otherwise currently too.

Monitoring is a very critical issue and without monitoring, we cannot manage. Monitoring is not for exploitation alone - that is for understanding the health of the ocean. Maybe we should leave at least 70% of the area of the ocean, and only 30% can be allowed to be exploited. If our practices are sustainable, then think after 200 years to exploit other remaining areas. Why not? Because the debt of the nations is so much, even are exploiting everything without considering our future generations. Even if we exploit this, the nations will be poorer only. That is the biggest challenge we have. Our economic models are not sustainable. We are using the resources from the future generations to which they are entitled. As trustees what can do for the sustainable exploitation of marine resources?