Rethinking Sustainable Coastal and Marine Tourism Development Aparup Chowdhury, Ph.D Chairman Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (Govt. Tourism Organization)

Coastal & Marine Tourism • Marine tourism, as defined by Orams (Marine tourism: Development, impacts and management. Routledge; 1999, p. 9) includes ‘those recreational activities that involve travel away from one’s place of residence and which have as their host or focus the marine environment’.

• The marine environment has long been one of the most attractive settings for tourism.

• Coastal and Marine Tourism includes a wide spectrum of activities, such as - scuba diving and snorkeling; - wind surfing; - fishing; - observing marine mammals and birds; - cruise ship and ferry industry; - all beach activities; and -sea kayaking, sailing, motor yachting, maritime events; -visits to fishing villages and lighthouses, maritime museums and many more.

Some Glimpses of Coastal and Marine Attractions of Bangladesh

Some Significant Information • Ours is an ocean planet: 70% of it is covered by the sea; • Projected coastal population by 2025 : 6 billion; • 87% of global fishermen are in Asia & the Pacific which is 38 million; • 80% Marine pollution originates from land based sources; • 61% of the world’s total economic output comes from areas within 100 kilometers from the coast;

• Contribution to Global Economic Benefits: - Marine tourism : $161 billion - Marine fisheries : $80 billion - Aquaculture : $57 billion (Source: World Bank)

• Coastal and marine environments are the most productive ecosystems in the world. • They also are most susceptible because of climate change. • They are connected to, may impinge negative consequence to physio-chemical parameters as well as to the existing resource base and future potentials. • The conservation of coastal and marine ecosystem and resources is closely interlinked. • It also often conflicting with the activities of other sectors such as (1) fisheries, (2) forestry, (3) environment, (4) land, (5) tourism, (6) industry, (7) energy and mineral resources, (8) education and research, (9) climate change and disasters and (10) global governance.

Bangladesh Coastal and Marine Resources • Bangladesh is located at the head of the Bay of Bengal and the country has a long coastline of approximately 710 km. • The Bay of Bengal has the continental shelf up to 50 m depth with an area of about 37,000 km2. • The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Bangladesh lies from the base line to 200 nautical miles seaward. • The Coastal Zone Policy, 2005 considers three indicators for determining the landward boundaries of the coastal zone of Bangladesh, which are: - influence of tidal waters, - salinity intrusion, and - cyclones/storm surges Ref.: Ministry of Water Resources

Contd. • In recent years, Bangladesh coastal areas received international attention due to its high potential for exploration of both onshore and offshore natural gas. • The coastal zone also contains several ecosystems that have important conservation values. • The Sundarbans : The single largest mangrove forest, a UNESCO world heritage site • St. Martin’s Island : A rare coral ecosystems rich island. • These ecosystems are not only biodiversity hotspots, but they also provide the ecological foundation for an important common property resource: the fisheries resources of Bay of Bengal.

• Bangladesh endows a wealthy reserve of both living and non-living resources in its coastal and maritime jurisdiction also in the High Seas, which is governed by UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). • Country’s 710 km long coast line extending from the tip of St. Martin’s Island and 121,000 km2 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are characterized with significant ecological and economic importance and potential. • Taking into account major river inlets and estuaries, coastal waters and the shallow shelf sea constitute about 20% and 35% respectively, the rest (45%) lying in deeper waters (Chowdhury 2014).

Conservation of Coastal and Marine Resources and Its Relation with Tourism

Zone of Opportunities: Important Ecosystem & Biodiversity Hotspots of Bangladesh 1. Deep See Habitats, 2. Coral Reefs, 3. Sea Grass Beds, 4. Mangroves, 5. Sandy Beaches, 6. Sand Dunes, 7. Inter-tidal & sub-tidal wetlands and mudflats, 8. Flood plain, 9. Salt Marshes, 10. Estuaries and Peninsula, 11. Tropical hill forests

Contd.

• Non-traditional activities; Diving, Sailing, Boating, Surfing and Deep Sea Fishing and Angling and other marine recreational activities already exist. • If promoted, sustainable practice in tourism will help thrive the industry, fight against poverty and environmental degradation. • Bangladesh has the enormous potentials of developing coastal tourism while creating local employment scope in the form of CBT. • The coastal towns in Bangladesh e.g. Cox’s Bazar, Kuakata, Chittagong and the Sundarbans attracts both local and foreign tourists due to their aesthetically pleasing landscapes and seascapes with good air and water quality; and opportunities to see diverse wildlife.

Contd. • Internal displacement of indigenous community like Rakhayne because of uncontrolled tourism. • The St. Martin’s Island is under threat with the increase of human habitat and expanding cruise ship tourism. • Cox’s Bazar is also witnessing an unplanned tourism growth resulting in multiple problems – visitors management and waste management.

SDG and Bangladesh Strategy and Policy adopted

Environment

Tourism

Bangladesh’s Policy Guidelines • The Bangladesh Parjatan (Tourism) Corporation Order, 1972; • The National Tourism Policy, 2010; • The Bangladesh Tourism Board Act, 2010; • The Bangladesh Tourism Protected Areas and Special • The Bangladesh Tourism Protected Areas and Special • Tourism Zone Rules, 2011 • Bangladesh’s National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS).

Private sector Initiatives • To pursue the efforts of cleaner waterways and oceans in Bangladesh, Coca-Cola has teamed up with Kewkradong Bangladesh, which is the country coordinator for International Coastal Cleanup and Ocean Conservancy USA. • This was the fifth year of collaboration and the volunteers drawn from both organizations worked in November at St. Martin’s Island to help clean up the environment. • In the last four years in Bangladesh, 2000 volunteers of both the organizations collected nearly 4000 kilograms of marine debris. • They collected 1300 kilograms trash this year.

Coca-Cola, volunteers help clean up St Martin's seashore

Way Forward • There is no alternative to implement the SDG’s strategies to achieve the target and goals. • Sustainable tourism development initiatives will contribute to the SDGs like coastal and marine tourism resources sustainability, moreover, environmental sustainability • Finally, our aim should be to highlight tourism as a change vector along the road to the Green Economy by the UNEP benefitting particularly developing countries.

Contd. • Public and Private sector collaborations should also be stressed. • Unbridled mass tourism needs to be discouraged. • Eco-tourism, Community based tourism, Green tourism to be encouraged. • Coordination among all the govt. departments for sustainability of coastal and marine tourism resources are sine-quo-non. • Awareness programs for different stakeholders, tour operators, tourist guides, boatmen, ship operators, etc need to be continued for a longer period.

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