Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100: Charting A Course For Sustainable Ocean Governance And Maritime Development

Author: M Khaled Iqbal, Wahid Hasan Kutubuddin
DOI: doi.org/10.70279/bmj-v5-i2-1021
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The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has approved the Delta Plan 2100 (BDP 2100) which is a holistic plan to integrate the activities of delta-related sectors across the country. BDP 2100 is a strategic planning document with long term strategies and multi-sectoral coordinated policy for the marine ecosystem and water resources development within the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) Delta in the context of climate change and other socio-economic factors. Ocean governance is an indispensable part of the BDP 2100, which can contribute to the overall implementation of various sectors of delta management. This study concentrates on reviewing the BDP 2100 to explore the relevant provisions for sustainable ocean governance and maritime development of Bangladesh. The study explores the challenges for implementing the BDP 2100 and deliberates on the necessary legal, policy and institutional arrangements to reduce different unplanned infrastructure in the coastal area through the formulation of Ocean Policy and Marine Spatial Planning (MSP). The study emphasizes the necessity for a robust budgetary mechanism and governance structure so as to achieve the set targets in time. Moreover, the study reveals that strong regional cooperation and formulation of an Integrated Regional Delta Plan is essential to get the maximum dividends. Finally, emphasizing on higher maritime education and taking a proactive approach to the UNESCO declared ‘Decade of Ocean Science 2021-2030” are few inevitable spinoffs of this study in order to implement the BDP 2100 for sustainable maritime development for Bangladesh.