The resources of this globe are being exhausted or depleted more rapidly than it was anticipated earlier. Resource depletion is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished. Natural resources are commonly divided between renewable resources and non-renewable resources. Use of either of these forms of resources beyond their rate of replacement is considered to be resource depletion. The value of a resource is a direct result of its availability in nature and the cost of extracting the resource, the more a resource is depleted the more the value of the resource increases.
There are several types of resource depletion, the most known being: aquifer depletion, deforestation, mining for fossil fuels and minerals, pollution or contamination of resources, slash-and-burn agricultural practices, soil erosion, and overconsumption, excessive or unnecessary use of resources. Resource depletion is most commonly used in reference to farming, fishing, mining, water usage, and consumption of fossil fuels. Depletion of wildlife populations is called defaunation.
Unlimited consumption of natural resources and unscrupulous wastage of food and limitless expenditure for the unwarranted arms race, excessive luxury are the worst enemies of today’s economy. The costs of reducing mortality rates by two-thirds, improving maternal health as well as combating AIDS, malaria and other major diseases, are estimated to be US$60 billion a year. Meanwhile, $60 billion is approximately the cost of buying and operating two nuclear ballistic missile submarines. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur at the stages of production, processing, retailing and consumption. According to a report presented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), roughly one-third of the food produced across the world for human consumption every year, which amounts to approximately 1.3 billion tonnes, gets lost or wasted. Food losses and wastes amount to roughly $ 680 billion in industrialised countries and $310 billion in developing countries. By reducing wastages significantly, food safety could be ensured for millions of more people in the world.
The economic activities surrounding seas and oceans are called 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.”
The blue economy also challenges us to realize that the sustainable management of ocean resources will require collaboration across borders and sectors through a variety of partnerships, and on a scale that has not been previously achieved. This is a tall order, particularly for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) who face significant limitations.” The UN notes that the Blue Economy will aid in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, of which one goal, 14, is “Life Below Water” under a framework of Balancing Growth and Conservation, Balancing private sector growth and equitable benefits for communities and Uniting Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ).
Blue economic activities of any country are conducted under an EEZ which is a concept adopted at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (1982), whereby a coastal State assumes jurisdiction over the exploration and exploitation of marine resources in its adjacent section of the continental shelf, taken to be a band extending 200 nautical miles from the shore. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) comprises an area that extends either from the coast or in federal systems from the seaward boundaries of the constituent states (3 to 12 nautical miles or 22 kilometers, in most cases) to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) off the coast. Within this area, nations claim and exercise sovereign rights and exclusive fishery management authority overall fish and all Continental Shelf fishery resources.
There are huge opportunities in the Blue Economy, such as shipping and port facilities, fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, energy, biotechnology and marine genetic resources and submarine mining. Maritime trade and shipping include shipping, coastal shipping services, seaports, passenger ferry services, inland waterway transport, shipbuilding, ship recycling industries. Food and livelihood include fishery, mariculture, marine aquatic products, marine Biotechnology. Coastal protection includes artificial islands, greening coastal belts. Energy includes oil and gas, sea salt production, ocean renewable energy, blue energy (osmosis) and biomass, aggregates mining (sand, gravel, etc.) and marine genetic resource. Tourism includes recreational water sports, yachting and marinas, cruise tourism.
We know that oceans cover 72% of the surface of our blue planet and constitute more than 95% of the biosphere. Life originated in the oceans and they continue to support all life today by generating oxygen, absorbing carbon dioxide, recycling nutrients and regulating global climate and temperature. Oceans provide a substantial portion of the global population with food and livelihoods. Almost 80 percent of global trade by volume, and over 70 percent by value, is carried by sea and handled by ports worldwide. For developing countries, on a national basis, these percentages are typically higher.
World seaborne trade grew by 4% in 2011, to 10.7 billion tonnes by 2017 and container traffic is projected to triple by 2030. The ocean considered a source of wealth for millennia and conjoining to the economies around the world. There are many large cities and centers of commerce developed depends on access to the sea, and now some 38 percent (and growing) of the global population is expected to live within 100 kilometers of the coast. Submarine cables cross the ocean’s floor to carry 90 percent of the electronic traffic upon which global communications rely.
The ocean’s floor provided 30% of global consumption for oil and gas. By 2025 it is estimated that 34% of crude oil production will come from offshore fields. The estimated 1 to 1.4 million different species that live in the ocean support a growing commercial interest in marine genetic resources that is leading to the commercial development of pharmaceuticals, enzymes, and cosmetic products. The rate of patent applications related to marine genetic material increased at rates exceeding 17 percent per year. Around 350 million jobs worldwide are linked to fisheries. Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food sector and provides about 50% of fish for human consumption. Total fish production in 2016 reached an all-time high of 171 million tonnes, of which 88 percent was utilized for direct human consumption.
The marine and coastal environment also constitute a key resource for the important global tourism industry; supporting all aspects of the tourism development cycle from infrastructure and the familiar “sun, sand and sea” formula to the diverse and expanding domain of nature-based tourism. In 2018 there were a record 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNTWO), a rise of 6% over 2017 which was worth it was worth about $1.7 trillion or about 2% of total global GDP. The sea also offers vast potential for renewable “blue energy” production from wind, wave, tidal, thermal and biomass sources.
But a vast volume of those resources and opportunities are still unexplored. As the resources on the land are running out very fast the world must go for exploring and utilizing huge resources seashore and under the water for upholding the existence of humanity and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the time frame that include quality education, gender equality, good health, renewable energy, innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequalities, responsible consumption, climate action, peace and justice and partnerships etc.
The resources are limited, but the demands are endless. On the eve of the full-fledged 4th Industrial Revolution, our planet has become overburdened with severe environmental pollution and subsequent unfavorable climate change as an outcome of reckless consumption of natural resources, rapid urbanization, industrialization, deforestation. Biodiversity has been damaged substantially and the ecosystem has been broken down critically. Therefore, the natural remedy of many diseases has disappeared and at the same time, food safety is posing a big threat. So, acceleration in blue economic activities through the reasonable and logical use of those resources could save our planet, our humanity as well as all other creatures of this planet.
The writer is a banker and freelance column writer
