BLUE ECONOMY PAKISTAN’S PERSPECTIVE
Pakistan’s blue economic growth is heavily dependent on aquatic life, agriculture, biotechnology, energy, health and recreational sectors.
To maximize the benefit, there is a need to explore the potential of maritime sectors through regional and international collaboration through inviting participation at PIMEC.
Pakistan has an amazing array of maritime potential, but that is something we have been hearing of for decades, without seeing much tangible results. However, those tangible results could very well be achieved in the near future through joint ventures with the expertise of international exhibitors from mature countries.
One of the recent Blue Economy related endeavors was offshore oil and gas exploration efforts started by Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) (a GOP entity) with international partners at KEKRA-1 Site.
There is also potential to greatly develop the fishing industry in Pakistan with investment by the government as well as international collaboration in the boat building and ancillary industries.
Apart from having an enormous potential for fossil fuel extraction, the coastline and the ocean itself also has potential for renewable energy production, including wind power, solar power, and hydropower.
BLUE ECONOMY PAKISTAN’S PERSPECTIVE
The present potential, which could be explored with the collaboration of the mature countries and through the platform of PIMEC for sustainable growth estimated for
Coastal tourism only contributes around $0.3 billion despite having a $4 billion potential.
Fisheries including crabs and shrimps with a potential resource worth of more than $2 billion annually.
Pakistan's mangrove area being the sixth largest in the world holds an annual value of about $20 million which can be extracted from mangrove dependent industry.
The Shipbreaking industry of Pakistan namely Gadani used to be one of the largest shipbreaking industries in the world during the 1970s but now it is placed at number third after India and Bangladesh. If this industry is revived back and utilized to its full potential, it can have the capacity to contribute more than $10 million to GDP annually.
ESTABLISHED SECTORS OF BLUE ECONOMY
It has been recognized in the international community that there are six established sectors in the blue economy, which include
