Bangladesh has recently been selected as one of seven emerging ocean economies to pioneer the Ocean Centres Initiative — a global effort to foster safer and more sustainable ocean economies in the global south.
This selection follows a comprehensive 2023 scoping phase, which included analysis of strategies from the UN Global Compact Ocean Stewardship Coalition, academic research, benchmarking and expert interviews conducted across diverse national contexts, said a press release on Thursday.
Bangladesh is positioned to advance ocean sustainability, with potential in fisheries, offshore energy and port and shipping modernisation. However, structural and governance challenges – such as limited market competition, fragmented institutional responsibilities and weak environmental planning – continue to impede progress.
Climate risks, infrastructure deficits and safety concerns further complicate the landscape.
The Ocean Centres Initiative will address these challenges by focusing on four key priorities: building safety awareness in the fishing and aqua culture sector; integrating sustainability into port and shipping development; responsibly leveraging untapped marine resources; strengthening coordination among state entities and fostering public-private collaboration through finance and investment in ocean industry
By tackling these critical areas, the initiative aims to steer Bangladesh’s blue economy toward resilience, transparency and long-term sustainability.
Organisations interested in joining this transformative initiative can find detailed information on the Ocean Centres webpage www.oceancenrtres.com.
The Ocean Centres initiative was officially launched at a high-level side event of the United Nations Ocean Conference at Nice in France on June 10.
The event titled United by Ocean Centres — Global and Local Ocean Collaboration in Practice featured international experts, government leaders, and country leads, including Ocean Centres Bangladesh.
During the conference held in June 8–14, country leads from Ocean Centres Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya and the Philippines participated in workshops and spoke at the launch, with retired commodore Mohammad Abdur Razzak representing Ocean Centres Bangladesh at the conference.
