NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Theme : Important Geophysical phenomena
Paper : GS -1
At the fourth BIMSTEC summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the opening of the Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies (CBS) at Nalanda University.
The Bay has long been a major commerce hub for the Indian Ocean. About half the world's container traffic passes through this region, and its ports handle approximately one third of world trade, thus becoming the “economic highway of the world.”
TABLE OF CONTENT
- Context
- Significance of Bay of Bengal
- BoB as hot bed for Cyclonic Storms
- Issues at Bay of Bengal
- Case study: Information Fusion Centre (IFC) for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)
- Objectives of IFC- IOR
- Illicit, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUUF)
- Road Ahead
1. Rediscovering the Bay of Bengal.
Theme : Important Geophysical phenomena
Paper : GS -1
Context :
At the fourth BIMSTEC summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the opening of the Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies (CBS) at Nalanda University.
Significance of Bay of Bengal :
- The Bay has long been a major commerce hub for the Indian Ocean. About half the world's container traffic passes through this region, and its ports handle approximately one third of world trade, thus becoming the “economic highway of the world.”
- It created a conduit between the East and the West in terms for trade and culture. An Indo-Pacific orientation and the realignment of global economic and military power towards Asia have had a considerable impact on the Bay region.
- The key sea lanes of communication in this area are lifelines for global economic security and are crucial to the energy security that powers the economies of many countries in the region.
- Non-traditional dangers including terrorism and climate change have become more prevalent.
- The Bay also provides an opportunity for greater regional cooperation in the environmentally friendly exploration of marine and energy resources.
- The Bay has a biodiverse marine environment and is home to many rare and endangered marine species and mangroves, which are essential to the survival of the ecology and the fishing sector
BoB as hot bed for Cyclonic Storms :
- The vast low pressure created by the warm water of the ocean.
- The Bay of Bengal shaped like a trough makes it more hospitable for storms to gain force.
- The high sea surface temperature makes matters more worse in the Bay triggering the intensity of the storms.
- The Bay of Bengal also gets more rainfall with sluggish winds and warm air currents around it that keep temperatures relatively high all year.
- The constant inflow of fresh warm water from the perennial rivers like Brahmaputra, Ganga makes it further impossible to mix with the cooler water below.
- Lack of landmass between the Pacific Ocean and the Bay of Bengal tend cyclonic winds to move into the coastal areas causing heavy rainfall.
- The absence of air movements from north-western India towards the Bay in the post-monsoon phase is also another reason for the chances of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal.
Issues at Bay of Bengal :
- The region’s maritime environment has changed as a result of major powers expanding their economic and geopolitical influence. Political and cultural engagement, together with economic competition, have taken on new dimensions.
- Problems such as population growth, altered land use, excessive resource exploitation, salinisation, sea level rise, and climate change are exerting significant strain on the Bay’s environment.
- Operational discharge from small and medium feeder ships, shipping collisions, unintentional oil spills, industrial waste, pollution, and the accumulation of non-biodegradable plastic litter are all contributing to the deterioration of the Bay. A dead zone has formed as a result, and the mangrove trees that protect the shore from the fury of nature are under more threat than ever.
Case study: Information Fusion Centre (IFC) for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) :
- The IFC has been established at the Indian Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram, Haryana.
- IFC is the single point center linking all the coastal radar chains to generate a seamless real-time picture of the nearly 7,500-km coastline.
- All countries that have signed white shipping information exchange agreements with India can now position liaison officers at the IFC. Countries like the USA, UK have posted their officers in IFC-IOR.
Objectives of IFC- IOR :
- Sharing of White Shipping Information (movement of cargo ships) among countries
- Maritime domain awareness in real time
- Tackiling threats from non-state actors like maritime terrorism, piracy, arms-running, human trafficking.
- Tackling threats from state actors (eg, territorial expansionism of some States) and promoting a rules based international order.
- All members of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) are expected to be part of IFC eventually. The IONS, launched in 2008, seeks to increase maritime cooperation in IOR.
- A similar information exchange and analysis centre could be done for the Bay, ie, IFC- BoB; or the mandates of IFC-IOR could be expanded to cover BoB region as well.
Illicit, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUUF) :
- Littoral countries around the Bay also need to address non-traditional threats and foster group efforts to reduce IUUF. Standardizing and harmonizing data reporting remains a challenge. Furthermore, regional marine entities should strive to balance opportunities and goals on a national, regional, and international scale.
Road Ahead :
- For a better knowledge of challenges, and strategies to overcome them for the sustainable development of the region, more focused and interdisciplinary study is required on these issues.
- By founding the CBS, Nalanda University has already started its journey and given the nation a unique interdisciplinary research centre devoted to Bay-focused teaching, research, and capacity building.
- A few concerns that need immediate attention include expanding cooperation in maritime safety, maritime connectivity and the ease of maritime transit.