Book Review

Maritime Management

Marine knowledge has little to do with our daily life, or this is what many of us usually perceive of the subject. Though our world revolves around water, which takes up one third of the earth's surface, its effect on life remains grossly underrated in Bangladesh. Criss-crossed with rivers, this alluvial plain has a lot to gain by exploring and managing marine infrastructures. This is what a book on this subject by Commodore Mohammad Khurshed Alam meditates through the well-structured and much detailed chapters.

Alam tells us that 90 percent of world trade is done using the marine routes. His book Bangladesh's Maritime Challenges in the 21st Century opens a whole new chapter on the management of maritime affairs, one that comprises of both river and sea routes, as well as port activities.

He worked with the Bangladesh Navy and other maritime-related organisations for over 34 years. Maritime issues of the country have often been perceived in isolation, contends Alam. There were efforts to tackle the subject without understanding their collective impact on national economy, trade and commerce. He believes that there is also a great despair and pessimism over the utter neglect of marine affairs by decision makers and policy planners of our "nodi matrik desh".

"We have failed to keep the natural waterways operational for their cost-effective and environmental-friendly use at the behest of politically rewarding road construction and rising fuel import bill," says Alam. Policy makers in Bangladesh have hardly ever taken into cognizance the fact of total dependence on maritime commerce, national shipping, infrastructures best available for low-cost river and sea bound trades.

People in general, the business communities in particular, have yet to wake up to the scale of business done through the waterways. This is probably due to the fact that over the centuries there has been little attention paid by local rulers in building the requisite maritime infrastructure. In the last 35 years of our independence, river routes have remained a neglected issue. Even the issue of getting 350nm of Continental Shelf in the sea area under the realm of the UN Law of the Sea 1982 has hardly been debated in public.

For the first time, a book is published to make people aware of all this. Bangladesh's Maritime Challenges in the 21st Century is a thorough examination and reflection on maritime knowledge. It is now available in the market to inform the unwitting businessmen and general people alike of the importance of water management and maritime strategy. The book has been published by "Pathak Shamabesh". This is, in fact, a unique volume for readers interested in looking at the total gamut of maritime issues of Bangladesh. And the writer attempts to examine the maritime challenges and responsibilities of Bangladesh from the national, international and regional perspectives focussing on the maritime heritage and capabilities and the total dependence of our contemporary trade and commerce on river routes and sea lanes of the Bay of Bengal.

The writer brought to light the health of the national carrier, BSC, launch accidents. He emphasises the importance of having trained personnel in this sector while attempting to explain the general issues affecting the shipping trade, rules and regulations and the investment climate in maritime sector. He even taps into the fishery resources of the country in chapter three. It provides an overview of the prospect and problems of marine fishing and extracting mineral resources from beaches.

Alam also focuses on the maritime boundary issues with Myanmar and India and the sovereignty issue of South Talpatty, illustrating them with diagrams. It also emphasises how we can claim the extended continental shelf of 350nm from our coastline.

Pollution, piracy, drug and arms trafficking, information technology, global climate change and natural disasters like flood and marine pollution, all these are explored with the academic zeal in the fifth chapter. The writer points out that the existing warning system of the cyclones is not at all compatible with the realities on the ground. In chapter six Alam dwells on the birth of the Bangladesh Navy, role of the Indian navy and that of the super powers with special elaboration on the role of Navy Commandoes during the 1971 war of liberation.

The book proposes a vision of collaboration among countries in the region. It harps on the possibilities created by collaboration. He believes if the governments of Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia including Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan come together to have a platform for regional cooperation in the maritime fields a new era may begin. The book also espouses the idea that cooperation during natural disasters and establishing direct communication links among the Navies of the region may change the existing scenario. It ends with a suggestion that a national maritime policy be drawn to brace ourselves to face the future challenges.
--SWM Desk
The book is available at Pathak Shamabesh.
Tel: 9662766, E-mail: [email protected]

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