SDG 14: LIFE BELOW WATER – CONSERVE AND SUSTAINABLY USE THE OCEANS,

SEAS AND MARINE RESOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

India and SDG 14 – Government Efforts[ CITATION Uni191 \l 1033 ] :

As is true for any other crisis, India is in the thick of the thins of this one too. With about
13.36% of the Indian population residing in the coastal districts spanning across the 7500 km
long coastline and with the sea level rising at an alarming rate of 1.3 mm/year on coasts – the
crisis is not in the future; it is right here. Fishing is an essential industry in India as it is the
second-largest producer of fish. Unfortunately, it also ranks 12th in the list of Top 20
countries most responsible for marine pollution.
There is perhaps some solace to be found in the fact that this crisis, unlike many others, has
not gone unnoticed. There have been policy directives and actions from the government and
initiatives from the industry and civil society as well.
The proposed policy of “Blue Revolution” while simultaneously tracking the levels of marine
pollution along the coastline has led to the formation of the Coastal Ocean Monitoring and
Prediction System. An oil spill management system is also ready. The Integrated National
Fisheries Plan 2016 aims to promote not just the livelihoods of the fishing communities but
also ensure the ecological integrity of marine environment. Achieving the real goals of blue
economy will require further cooperation not only between the community of coastal states
but also amongst the private actors, non-governmental organisations, scientific and local
communities nationally and internationally.
The Sagarmala Programme has been initiated keeping in viewport connectivity, and port
linked industrialisation and coastal community development sustainably.[ CITATION Gov19 \l
1033 ] This goes on to show that Indian goals and targets cannot be a direct imitation of the
international ones. They have toe modified to suit the India context. Working on these lines,
NITI Ayog in a paper with RIS has published sets of relevant national indicators for SDG 14
– tweaked to suit the federal requirements. [ CITATION Res19 \l 1033 ]

SDG 14 – Industry Collaboration:

Government is but one of the stakeholders in the current crisis. The Great Pacific Garbage
Patch in the Pacific Ocean, which has now become the size of France can find its roots to
widespread manufacture and usage of the plastics in consumer goods. Fortunately, many
global companies have recognised this and have begun taking steps to reduce the amount to
plastics released into the marine ecosystem.
For example, P&G’s Alliance to End Plastic Waste aims at creating solutions so that no
plastic packaging waste finds its way into the oceans[ CITATION PG19 \l 1033 ]. It is also
collaborating with organisations with similar aims – for example, the “Trash Free Seas
Alliance” in South East Asia. Other goals of reducing the supply chain footprint, reducing the
amount of virgin petroleum in plastic packaging and aiming for circular solutions based on
regeneration and restoration – all feed into the overarching sustainability goals of the
organisation. [CITATION PG17 \l 1033 ]