Occupation of the coast – Blue economy in India

The Blue Economy involves economic activity that engages with the various components of the oceans. The study is divided into three chapters.

Chapter one titled ‘Regulate’ studies the laws pertaining to the coastal lands and the ocean resources in tandem since they govern the space (land), the resource (ocean) and the access (land to ocean) vital to the fishing communities.

Chapter two titled ‘Restructure’ investigates current government policies and financial practices of the government’s current flagship programme, the Sagarmala programme.

Chapter three brings together a series of contributions on the environmental and livelihood aspects of the Blue Economy. They look at the economic processes that are transforming the historical and symbiotic relationship of the fishing communities with the coast. The research report largely touches upon key challenges in both coastal and marine policies today.

This research was carried out in early 2017 keeping in view the 20th anniversary of the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP) that took place in Delhi from the 15th to 21st  November 2017. The report was officially launched during the forum and has been supported by Heinrich Böll Foundation, New Delhi.