Marine spatial planning for Bangladesh : learning from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia

Abstract

Bangladesh has an extensive maritime area in the Bay of Bengal (BoB), which has high prospects of Blue Economy benefits along with risk of marine pollution. In this context, Bangladesh needs a balanced approach in the exploration of ocean resources for economic benefits and to protect the marine environment. Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) may be a way forward to achieve the balance in the exploration of ocean resources and the protection of the marine environment. Despite of some inadequacies, MSP in the GBR has achieve good progress in Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) to implement a balanced approach for Sustainable Ocean Governance (SOG) in the Reef region. This experience of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) may be a lesson for Bangladesh to develop necessary legal and institutional arrangements for the development of MSP. This research analyses the legal and institutional regimes for MSP in the GBR to understand the adequacies for the implementation of MSP, and the current legal and institutional arrangements in Bangladesh for ocean governance to understand the regulatory frameworks for management of marine resources in the BoB. The research conducts a comparative analysis of the legal and institutional regimes for the governance and management of ocean space of Bangladesh and the GBR in order to explore the prospects and challenges for the development of MSP in Bangladesh. The research addresses the legal regimes for MSP under international and regional instruments in order to apply them to pre-judges the development of MSP for governance at the national level. The research concludes with recommendations for necessary law reforms and institutional changes for the development of MSP in Bangladesh to facilitate sustainable governance in the BoB. The research thus determines adequate legal and institutional arrangements for the development of MSP in Bangladesh to achieve sustainable governance in the BoB.

Date of Award	2020
Original language	English