MARITIME DOMAIN AWARENESS FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF BANGLADESH

Abstract

The Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) is an umbrella term which covers a wide range of subjects. Firstly it includes all area under the MD of a country. These area covers sea area, internal waters, coastal areas, and everything on above and below it which cannot be bounded by any physical structure. Therefore the events in Bangladesh MD can be directly influenced by the activities of the region and beyond. MDA also maritime affairs related to sea trade and commerce, manufacturing, industries and livelihood. The maritime resources, their efficient exploration, harnessing, safeguarding and preservation is also the integral part of MDA. Besides, maritime security and law enforcement against piracy, drug/human trafficking, poaching, environmental protection are also included in MDA. Therefore to understand the dynamics of the MDA one has to know what is there in the MD and how to tackle it. MDA is not limited to development of general awareness of the people rather it includes a number of systematic approach to address all aspect of MD which includes safety, security, economy, and environment. They are interdepend and can’t be separated from each other. For example the economic aspect is directly related to the safety and security of the maritime trade, resources and the environment for the inter generation sustainability. Again to ensure the MD security, surveillance, information sharing and rapid response to crisis is a must. These demand interagency, regional and global cooperation because one agency / country does not have all the assets. Specially to counter trans-border crimes like piracy, trafficking needs legal support and memorandum of understanding between the concern countries. To address the issues related to MD requires political will, government initiative, policy framework, infrastructure and credible security force. It also require cooperation amongst the stakeholders, positive mindset to share information and responsibilities. In addition to that it also requires strong infrastructure, fund and human resource. The economic development and the prosperity of Bangladesh lies in the Blue Economy which demand MDA. We all need to understand this and act to ensure it as early as possible.