2022 - UDA Digest

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Blue Economy ESG and Climate Risk Geopolitics and IR

Blue Bonds can accelerate sustainable ways for undersea exploration

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March 31, 2022
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Blue Bonds can accelerate sustainable ways for undersea exploration Brief Overview Blue Economy is the seventh-largest economy in the world by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and is valued at USD 3 trillion annually. It currently supports 3 billion people worldwide. In recent years, the Ocean Economy or ‘Blue Economy’ has been a key proponent in safeguarding the world’s water and ocean resources. The World Bank views the blue economy as a comprehensive concept, encapsulating multiple aspects of sustainability, from lowering pollution to sustainable fisheries. It has two facets, (a) it provides opportunities for growth and development as well and (b) it provides protection for threatened and vulnerable spaces. The United Nations (UN) has declared 2021 to 2030 as the decade of oceans science for sustainable development, in an effort to reverse the declining ocean health. The development of blue bonds has been instrumental in enabling countries to transition towards a blue economy. It allows countries to raise funds required to implement tools and mechanisms to shift current economic practices to those with positive economic, climate and environmental benefits. “While ocean has a vital role in supporting sustainable development through sustainable development goals (SDG) 14, sustaining life below water is amongst key goals with the lowest amount of capital invested.” Understanding blue Bond and Blue Economy Understanding A debt instrument, blue bonds can allow countries to mobilize capital towards projects directly impacting water and ocean related issues while advocating for economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. It helps in committing funds towards sustainability and oceans. Blue bond issuers commit to investing the proceeds from the bond towards projects. This helps in contributing towards sustainable development and oceanic health. The accomplishment of the SDGs lies at the core of sustainable finance. The innovation of sustainable financial mechanisms, like blue bonds, facilitates issuer’s participation towards all of the interlinked SDGs in support of the blue economy, incentivizing ocean stewardship. Sustainable development signifies environmentally sound and inclusive economic development undertaken without depleting natural resources that society is dependent on in the long term. Balancing sustainable development’s economic, environmental and social dimensions with regard to oceans is a core element of the blue economy. The transition to environmentally responsible practices is an important dimension of the blue economy. “An ideal blue economy is found on the ‘triple bottom line’ decision making, incorporating economic, social and environmental needs for optimum results.” People, Economy and Nature A sustainable blue economy unites stakeholders to achieve a common goal, effective protection, equitable prosperity and sustainable production. It could simultaneously deliver in three ways. Firstly, safeguard biodiversity by effectively protecting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Secondly, help sustainably power and feed a planet of ten billion people through sustainable production and last but not the least, equitable prosperity through the redistribution of benefits and creation of better and more equitable jobs. “Effective management of the ocean would increase production capacity, simultaneously increasing energy and food production without negatively impacting the marine ecosystems. The blue economy presents vast untapped potential which can aid India in diversifying its economy, generating greater output from efficient utilization of marine resources.” The ocean can produce over six times its current food production with a lowered environmental footprint, if managed effectively and efficiently. Ocean health can be restored through sustainable production based on regenerative practices such as ecosystem-based fisheries and fully protected areas. This would result in a triple win for people, nature and the economy, creating a world with greater prosperity. Triple-win policies are the future of development, which would synergize the strands of economic growth, environmental sustainability and social development. India is amongst many countries implementing triple-win policies. It has adopted several laws to ensure sustainable development, addressing inequity and protecting the vulnerable. These include the national food security legislation and laws to protect the right to information and education. These laws reduce food insecurity through conservation of water, fertility, soil and biodiversity. Blue growth is a strategy to sustain economic growth and create jobs required to reduce poverty in the face of climate crisis and worsening constraints on resources. However, to create a sustainable blue economy, private and public actors must set consistent, measurable and clear targets and goals, communicate progression towards goals and effectively govern marine space and resource usage. It is also important to develop guidelines and standards to support sustainable blue economy. Examples of successful sustainable economies include the Philippines where the triple objective of ocean protection, food security and prosperity were met by the aid of their four hundred fishing communities. The blue economy offers the opportunity to strengthen connectivity with neighboring nations and helps in meeting national socio-economic objectives. This would ultimately help in improving the standard of living of coastal communities and increase ecological resilience. It strengthens the Indian government’s efforts to achieve SDGs and sustainable marine resource usage by 2030. Future potential The Blue Economy was also highlighted as one of the ten core dimensions of economic growth in India’s “Vision of New India by 2030”. A subset of the national economy, India’s blue economy consists of a network of economic resources and man-made infrastructure in marine and onshore coastal zones, aiding in the production of goods and services that have clear ties with environmental sustainability and economic growth “As a result, the draft blue economy policy recommends the government to raise capital for blue growth through blue and green bond markets.” Blue Bond issuances in the past has focused on investments within water related infrastructures as well as marine restoration and conservation. By establishing a broader eligibility framework and criteria, blue bonds can finance more business opportunities and would positively impact ocean related projects by supporting sustainable development. The blue use of proceeds can be assigned to sustainability projects such as shipping, ports, fisheries and aquaculture that operate directly inside or near the oceans and seas. “Blue Bond issuances in the past has focused on investments within water related infrastructures as well as marine restoration and conservation. By establishing a broader eligibility framework

ESG and Climate Risk Science and Technology

Time to realise the potential of Brahmaputra river

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March 25, 2022
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Time to realise the potential of Brahmaputra river In case of human beings, it is often said that “with great power comes great responsibility”, and in similar way for rivers, it can be said that with large volume of water comes huge sediments. The line generally holds true for many of the rivers in the world and the Brahmaputra River is one of them. Along with large amount of water that it carries, it also is one of the most sediment laden rivers in the world. However, one cannot deny the benefits that it brings with itself and this is the reason why despite such a massive sedimentation problem, the river is seen as a huge opportunity for economic and social welfare. The Brahmaputra, which means the son of Brahma, also known as Yarlung Zangbo in China and Jamuna in Bangladesh, originates from the great Chemayungdung glacier in the Kailas range of the Himalayas, a little south of the Lake Konggyu Tsho at an elevation of about 5,150 m. It travels 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) from its Himalayan source to its confluence along with the Ganges (Ganga) River, where the two rivers’ combined waters get poured into Bay of Bengal. This majestic river flows for 720 kilometers in the Assam Valley. Many tributaries from both the north and south pay their respects to the master river here. Subansiri, Kameng, Belsiri, Dhansiri (north), Nyera Ama, Manas — Mora—Manas, Champaman, Gangadhar, Raidah, Dharla, and Tista are the primary streams joining with the Brahmaputra from the north. Prior to the devastating floods of 1787, the Tista was a tributary of the Ganga, but it diverged eastwards to join the Brahmaputra. The Dibru, Burhi Dihing, Noa Dihing, Dikhu, Dhansiri (south), and Kalang rivers all flow into the main river from the south. The amount of water that the Brahmaputra contains can be put to good use such as that for development of the region and the people who live along its banks. The Brahmaputra River basin is home to a diverse and distinct ecosystem. The entire northeastern region is a known biodiversity hotspot at a worldwide scale. The entire forest cover of the Brahmaputra basin in Indian territory is 1,14,894 sq km or 54% of the total basin area. The Brahmaputra and its tributaries have an abundance of aquatic species. “We should also consider the case of the Brahmaputra flood plains’ ‘beel,’ or wetlands, which, according to experts, function as “ecotonal zones” and “play an important role in the dynamics of the Brahmaputra ecosystem, as these are natural feeding and breeding grounds for a number of fish species and other aquatic fauna.” Despite this, the river’s true potential in terms of hydropower generation and inland waterway transit is yet to be achieved. The Brahmaputra Basin is underdeveloped in comparison to many other river basins. The basin’s overall hydropower potential is estimated to reach 40,550 MW (Megawatt). On the main stem of the Tsangpo River near Zangmu, Tibet (China), a 510 MW run-of-the-river hydropower project has begun. “The Ministry of Power, Government of India, has identified 226 possible locations for huge multi-purpose dams on northeast India’s rivers, most of which are in the Brahmaputra basin. The northeastern rivers of India are expected to generate around 99,256 MW of hydropower over the next fifty years. ” Several dam projects such as the Upper Subansiri (2,500 MW), Upper Siang (11,000 MW), Middle Siang (750 MW), Lower Siang (1,700 MW), Kameng (600 MW) and Ranganadi (450 MW) were reported to be at various stages of planning and development. By 2030, the total live storage capacity might be over 32,000 MCM, with a capacity built of around 29,000 MW. Subsequently, Central Electricity Authority projections, in 2001, had identified 168 hydropower projects for a total capacity of 63,328 MW in the Northeast. “The inland waterway transportation, which is regarded as one of the most cost-effective and most eco-friendly mediums of transport, has been a neglected area in India for a long time now” On the main stem of the Tsangpo River near Zangmu, Tibet (China), a 510 MW run-of-the-river hydropower project has begun. The IWAI is working to provide necessary navigational aids which will allow seamless travel at all hours of the day and night. It has put uploading and unloading terminals at crucial sites like Dhubri and Pandu, as well as temporary facilities in Jogighopa, Silghat, Neamati, and Dibrugarh. Pandu (Guwahati) is being built as a multimodal transportation hub that will serve the entire Northeast region. A permanent port in Dhubri, built at a cost of around Rs. 46 crores, is now fully functional. It is suggested that the existing Inland Water Transport (IWT) terminal in Jogighopa be expanded to a bulk cargo handling facility for items such as Meghalaya coal, with rail connectivity up to the terminal. Coal from Meghalaya, fly ash from Farakka to various destinations in the Northeast, limestone for cement plants, petroleum products from Numaligarh refinery, bitumen from Haldia, food grains from Kolkata, fertilisers, building material, and bamboo are all potential freight movements along NW2. Project cargo and machineries could be another big cargo, arising from the ambitious power projects which are projected on several tributaries of the Brahmaputra River, particularly in Arunachal Pradesh. “The Assam Inland Water Transport Project, for which the Government of India, the Government of Assam, and the World Bank had signed a USD 88 million loan agreement to help modernize Assam’s passenger ferry sector (which runs on its rivers, including the mighty Brahmaputra) is one of the major projects in this regard. ” The project intends to strengthen passenger ferry infrastructure and service, as well as inland water transport institutional capability and framework in Assam. This project has a lot of potentials to help India realize the true potential of inland water transport. The expected date of completion is by the end of 2024. Apart from this, the ‘Security And Growth for All in the Region’ (SAGAR) initiative was bolstered by Prime Minister of Narendra Modi

Maritime Security Science and Technology

Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) Framework for effective implementation of Marine Forensic & for bolstering Maritime crime investigation in India

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March 9, 2022
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Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) Framework for effective implementation of Marine Forensic & for bolstering Maritime crime investigation in India Marine Forensics can be defined as the branch of Forensic Science which helps in the Investigation of criminal cases pertaining to marine life and environment. It can also be referred to as a scientific study of incidents or accidents which encapsulates water bodies including oceans, streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, swimming pools, dams, and other water reservoirs.The word “Forensic” is derived from the Latin word ”Forensis”, which means connected with courts of law or connected with a forum or a subject of discussion and debate. Thus, Forensic Science can be defined as a specialized branch of Science and Technology which is helpful in investigation of crime and administration of justice science. It is not a single branch but an amalgamation of different branches of science and technology and is called “Forensic Sciences” History of Forensic Science dates back to pre-historic times. Depiction of human hands in cave paintings indicated that man, even in those times, was aware that if he applies his handprint near the painting, he can keep the painting separate from others. The presence of thumb impressions on potsherds, which were recovered from excavations of Indus valley civilizations (5000-6000 years of old), had indicated that man could apply his thumb impressions on earthen pots to ensure the identity that he created them. In China and Assyria from the articles of 7thcentury B.C., human hands and partial feet impressions have been noticed indicating that these could be applied to keep the authenticity of their articles. From then onwards, the science and technology developed and so did Forensic Science. There have been tremendous scientific developments in the field of Forensic Science in 20thcentury, especially in spheres such as fingerprints, footprints, biology, documents, DNA, toxicology, ballistics, physics, chemistry, and serology. In the 21stcentury, several other branches have emerged. Mentions can be of Forensic Psychology, Cyber-Forensics, Digital Forensics, Sports Forensics. Marine Forensics is also an emerging new branch of Forensic Sciences. Marine Forensic is applied to law enforcement for the protection of fishes, marine mammals, and other endangered species of aquatics or marine animals. Industrialization and urbanization have polluted our water resources as industrial and urban wastes are being disposed-off in rivers, streams, and sea. Under the Wild Life Protection Act of 1972 in India, the land and marine animals need to be provided with special care and for the detection of related crimes Forensic Biology, Forensic Serology, DNA Analysis, Toxicology, and osteology play an important role in the investigation. The maritime taphonomy (paleontology) also confuses the investigations sometimes. Thus, the differentiation between fossilized specimens and recent specimens of bones needs to be ascertained by the Marine Forensic experts/scientists. Sometimes certain articles are recovered from the sea which cannot be identified by ordinary means. Experts in various fields of Forensic Science identify such substances. Furthermore, some unidentified materials such as narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, explosives, firearms, ammunition, fake currency, and precious metals like gold and silver need to be examined and identified too. This can be done by utilizing the tools and technology of Forensic Science. Moreover, cases come to light when the dead bodies are recovered from sea/oceans. Whether the marine creature died by drowning or by animal bites or the person was killed by some weapon of offense and then thrown in sea has to be investigated. Such bodies need to be identified which can be done by using Forensic tools like somatoscopy, fingerprinting, DNA fingerprinting body and foot morphology, etc. The cases of human trafficking are of frequent occurrence all over the world due to multiple reasons and then people have to be identified by Forensic techniques and their documents, such as passports and visas, have to be identified by Forensic means. Forensic Science finds out what the case was all about and why different object/articles were lying in a particular arrangement in that situation. It also finds out corpus delicti and modus operandi crimes which are of utmost help in the investigation of cases such as that of plastic dumping, oils spillage, polluting sea/ocean of environment. Sometimes scientific investigation is also required for identifying machinery, equipment, and the parts of ships, ferries, boats, and submarines which are required during practice in Maritime Forensics. Investigation of the boundary disputes in oceans and investigation of piracy cases are very difficult and time-consuming. The problem is that underwater Forensic investigation in sea and oceans are because to water currents, turbulence, depths, property rights of ships and vessels. The brokerage/dents due to rolling down hits and accidents or otherwise has to be carried out forensically and various parts have to be salvaged. Soft tissue or soft parts of fauna and flora cannot be expected to remain intact and preserved after a long time. Thus, injuries or bite marks by sea animals have to be identified by Forensic experts to find out whether these marks are antemortem or post mortem in nature. Results and discussions A large number of cases of drowning, dry drowning, homicides, suicides come to light where human dead bodies are recovered from Marine Environment. Forensic investigations are certainly required in such cases for coastal policing by scientific means, therefore, community policing and forensic practices are needs of the hour. Furthermore, artificial intelligence and digital forensics have to be used for various investigations in sea/ocean for security purpose detection, surveillance, forensic acoustic and for interpretation of various suspicious messages, data and tools. Technologies are of great importance in marine environment for finding out the source/place of origin. Spilled oil samples from the sea/ocean, recovered NDPS substances, chemical analysis such as fractional distillation and C12/C13methods of dating can help in fixing-up place of origin of such substances. Conclusion Forensic facilities are urgently required by the Indian Navy and coast guards for the above-stated purposes and for safeguarding for security of the nation. The long stretches of coast line and land borders in India are sometimes flanked by other countries for their vested interest who

ESG and Climate Risk Maritime Security

Kshirsagar Manthan

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March 9, 2022
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KSHIRSAGAR MANTHAN : Indian Ocean: An Ocean of Decision By Maj Gen VS Ranade (Retd) India has been a seafaring nation earlier than medieval times. The Chola Kings and Vijayanagar Kingdoms have been known to have sea trade routes to Southeast Asian countries of Java, Sumatra, and Cambodia. The religious and cultural connect is quite evident in the historical finds and records. The cross-pollination of cultures is there in the historical narrative of the people and the countries. History does record Indian Naval vessels in the Indian Ocean supporting the trade routes and naval battles, thus, adding to the importance of Naval power as an instrument of power in nation-building. India holds over 3000 km of coastline with rich marine culture and suitable ports for commerce, economic and maritime defence. The Indian Ocean, combined with the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian sea, adds to the importance of the Naval power in India. The Indian Naval power in the olden times was primarily an escort for trading ships and means of naval diplomacy and seeking forays into new lands. However, it was Shivaji, in the medieval period, who first actually understood the strategic importance of sea power and the defence of the coastal areas. He developed a formidable naval arm and weaponised it with the construction of two Naval Forts- Sindhudurg and Jinjira and later on Vijay Durg. He had a formidable Naval presence on the western coast and was capable of defending the coast from Britishers and Portuguese invaders/traders. The Indian Ocean had always been important in Indian history and today it’s the ocean that holds the power. Today, it accounts for major shipping lanes and the flow of essential trade which includes oil through the three choke points. The first chokepoint is the Malacca strait between Malaysia, Singapore, and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, which connects Southeast Asia and the western Pacific to the Indian Ocean. The second is the Strait of Hormuz, which is the only sea passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the wider Indian Ocean. The third is the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which flows between Eritrea and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Indian ocean has become a major battleground with the world powers due to its strategic location and economic importance. “The Indian Ocean and its adjoining sea corridors and straits are the incontestable, important strategic chokepoints of global maritime trade. Aside from being a major conduit for international trade, it is also an intersection of global trade, connecting Northern Atlantic and the Asia Pacific on one end and bearing the huge commercial traffic of international energy, all through the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia, up until the Gulf of Oman – connecting the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb, on the other.” Geostrategic Construct The Indian Ocean is the new strategic power pivot in the global world order. Analysing Mackinder’s Heartland Theory, which professes the heartland as the world Island and identifies Eurasia as the pivot. The heartland theory was conceived as a grand strategy for the British empire, but in today’s geopolitical equation it is Central Asia which assumes the role of heartland and also includes Middle East. The Indian Ocean and the seas along the Middle East are an integral part of the “World Island”. The importance of the latter may be observed in the words of Saul Cohen (1963) who claims, “there are, strictly speaking, only two geostrategic regions today: 1) the Trade-Dependent Maritime World, and 2) The Eurasian Continental World. Projecting our views into the future, we anticipate the eventual emergence of a third geostrategic region – the Indian Ocean”ii. The theory gets refined over a period wherein the ‘Heartland’ gets redefined to include the Indian Ocean in today’s geostrategic equation. The powers to be are vying to gain access and control of the region to safeguard the economic interests and to prevent any hegemonistic designs of any nation. Today’s energy routes and oil movements through these waters make them strategic passageways and qualify as Mackinder’s second pivot area, the first being traditional Central Asia. The Indian Ocean has evolved as the economic battlefield for the powers to be and more importantly for the US, China, Japan, India, and Australia. The Littoral countries of the Indian oceanic region play a vital role in being the bases for these powers. The island territories in the ocean have become watch towers and monitoring outposts. Geopolitically seen the Indian Ocean has become the new world Island in the Mackinderian definition and goes with the famous words of Hartford Mackinder, he who controls the world Island controls the world1. Therefore, in contemporary global politics, supremacy over sea routes is a prerequisite to acquiring supremacy overland routes, as was originally propounded by Mackinder. “The islands in the Indian Ocean also work significantly to shape the security architecture of the IOR. These islands play a vital role along the sea lanes of communication (SLOC) by giving easy access to navy’s continued presence and allowing them to patrol and secure SLOCs during the time of peace and war. The Indian Ocean acts as an intersection for the transport of oil from the Middle East. This is also the reason why external powers are trying to strengthen their footholds, making it a region for them to showcase their vigour and potentiality.” Kshirasagar Kshirasagar means the ocean of milk and the Indian Ocean qualifies to be the one. Ocean is full of economic potential – Milk conveying prosperity. The importance of the Indian Ocean as a major transit area for international trade is evident in the fact that half of the world’s container ships, one-third of the world’s bulk cargo traffic, and two-third of the world’s oil shipments cross its waters annually. The Indian Ocean is churning with economic activities, power play, and a race for control. It’s a virtual battleground akin to the mythological Samudra Manthan2. There are no Gods or demons

ESG and Climate Risk Geopolitics and IR Maritime Security

Bio-mimicry for Underwater Domain Awareness

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March 1, 2022
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Bio-mimicry for Underwater Domain Awareness The U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs office, in a press statement, has stated that USS Connecticut (SSN 22) a Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine collided with an “unknown object” while submerged in the waters of the Asia Pacific region. At least 11 crew members sustained injuries that “ranged from moderate to minor, including scrapes and bruises”. It is not surprising that the location of the incident has not been disclosed keeping in mind the strategic nature of nuclear submarine operations and the concomitant secrecy and purpose attached to such deployments. However, by some accounts the incident took place in the South China Sea and the submarine limped back to Guam for repairs and investigations into the incident. There are numerous issues related to the incident that range from safety and security of nuclear platforms, operational constraints and in particular about knowledge of the underwater domain which remains underexplored due to lack of technology and investments made by States. At another level, the incident attracted reactions from China and the Chinese Foreign Ministry not only conveyed “serious concern” over the incident and urged the US to “clarify in detail the situation of the accident, including the location, the intention of the sailing, details of the accident, such as what exactly it collided with, whether it caused a nuclear leak, and whether it damaged the local marine environment,” “Our knowledge of the oceans, particularly of the underwater domain, is limited.” Be that as it may, what does emerge from the incident is that our knowledge of the oceans, particularly of the underwater domain, is limited. Although the US Navy may have the most comprehensive charts and knowledge of the underwater domain for submarine operations, yet the incident did take place. Underwater Data The last few years have seen a resurgence in the recognition of the importance of seafloor mapping with a strong emphasis on collection of data. It involves a number of unmanned underwater technologies and platforms that use multi-beam transmissions to collect higher resolution data. For instance, the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project plan to survey the ocean floor across the globe by 2030. The Project commenced in 2017 and that time, “only six percent of the seabed was mapped to a modern standard. The GEBCO digital map, which is freely available for all, now covers more than 20% of the seabed but we still have a monumental task ahead, one that can only be achieved through global cooperation”. The enormity of the Project can be gauged from the fact that “a single survey ship would take about 350 years to adequately map most of the seabed deeper than 200 meters, and it would take another 620 years to map the shallower areas”. Similarly, the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE challenge aims to discover the Mysteries of the Deep Sea and would accelerate innovation for the rapid and unmanned exploration of the seafloor. It also aims to “advance deep-sea technologies for autonomous, fast, high-resolution ocean exploration” and “accelerate innovation for the rapid and unmanned exploration of the uncharted deep sea; catalyze markets in deep ocean exploration and discovery, sustainable resource development, and protection; illuminate the most mysterious part of the planet; and ignite the public imagination”. Biomemetics Humankind has mimicked nature, both life-form and non-living, and learnt to jump, crawl, roll, swim and more recently fly. Apparently, Leonardo da Vinci designed something like an aircraft to enable humans to fly by flapping large artificial wings. He was obviously inspired by bats, birds, and insects; but it was finally the Wright brothers who built and fly a motor-operated airplane. Scientists and technology experts are now exploring the science of biomimetic or bio-mimicry, or bio-inspiration which can be broken down to read as ‘bio for life’ and ‘mimesis for imitation’. It involves mimicking life-form and building innovative objects/machines and looking at the nature in fine detail, making an engineering design of the object, exploiting it to solve/create solutions for human problems. It is inherently interdisciplinary and is based on “principles from engineering, chemistry and biology” that are creatively put to use for the “synthesis of materials, synthetic systems or machines that have functions that mimic biological processes”. As far as materials used for bio-mimicry are concerned, these can be natural or synthetic, but should be able to naturally interact with any portion or section of a biological system. The goal is to create products through replication of life on earth i.e., on land or under the sea. Militaries are inspired by nature and have used domesticated animals, wild animals, birds, fish and mammals to perform a number of activities such as delivery of messages (pigeon), mine detection (dolphins), bats (to carry incendiary bombs) and dogs (detecting explosives), etc. They have also explored the possibility of imitating life-form to build tools of warfare. Militaries are inspired by nature and have used domesticated animals, wild animals, birds, fish and mammals to perform a number of activities such as delivery of messages (pigeon), mine detection (dolphins), bats (to carry incendiary bombs) and dogs (detecting explosives), etc. Besides they have also explored the possibility of imitating life-form to build tools of warfare. For instance, a submarine derives its hull-form from Sunfish. It is the heaviest bony fish with ‘exact same body density’ as seawater which gives it ‘neutral buoyancy’ at any depth. Furthermore, it has no ‘gas-filled swim bladder’ that helps it to ‘withstand volume changes from pressure in deep water’. Similarly, sound waves are used for communication purposes underwater for detecting underwater objects/obstructions/enemy submarine. This is inspired by dolphins that use sound waves to communicate with other members of the family. Likewise, bats make sounds, listen to echoes, and then see outlines of objects which is the principle used in depth measuring derives which use sound energy underwater. Underwater Droning Drones are well known for their operations in the air and locust swarms are being mimicked for ‘swarm droning’. Swarm drones can be easily launched and controlled from remote and inaccessible locations. Their role may not be limited to non-kinetic missions such as ‘eyes in the sky’; instead, they

Science and Technology

Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) Framework: A New Perspective for Young India

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March 1, 2022
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Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) Framework: A New Perspective for Young India India is striving to be at the forefront of global affairs and at the heart of this mission are the commonly overlooked contemporary challenges which have the potential to open up opportunities for the youth. The underwater domain of the Indian Ocean Region is a largely unexplored sector that poses significant geopolitical challenges and could offer appreciable prospects for India’s youth to shape their future. Historically, India was a global power with substantial maritime capabilities with its seafarers and traders, traveling far and wide for economic, cultural and civilizational expansion. This prosperity attracted the Mughals and the Europeans to invade India, plunder its resources and capabilities, and leave the country in a state of strategic disarray. Decades have gone by post-independence however, until the beginning of the 21st Century, India continued to ignore its 7,500 km coastline and the vast undersea resources. “The underwater domain of the Indian Ocean Region is a largely unexplored sector that poses significant geopolitical challenges and could offer appreciable prospects for India’s youth to shape their future.” The international community has shifted its focus towards the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) for multiple strategic reasons since the IOR has become a major shipping route and this has led to a massive military build-up from extra-regional powers in the region, making IOR a conflict zone. These extra-regional powers are meddling with the nations in the region and the fragmented regional dynamics are encouraging political volatility, causing non-state actors to actively indulge in activities that destabilize peace and harmony in the region. It is becoming a vicious cycle which is detrimental to the prosperity of the region. The aspirational India needs to develop a tactical focus towards the maritime resources that are getting undermined due to the geo-political disorder and negligence towards strategic capacity building. The gap in recognition of India’s maritime potential can be bridged by overcoming sea blindness in academia. Over the years, academia has developed a holistic ecosystem that proves to be a safe space for innovation and collaboration of enthusiasts from different fields. Our undersea domain is largely unexplored and encouraging academia to spearhead initiatives that maximize our maritime capabilities will be instrumental to capacity building. This will also give academia an insight into the industry requirements and enable development of specialized courses that identify the unique skills required to tackle various maritime hurdles. Additionally, this will boost research opportunities for young scientists. Figure-1 Career Prospects in the Maritime Sector Another source of inspiration for academia to prioritize maritime focused curriculums is the announcement of the “Security and Growth for All in the Region” (SAGAR) vision by the Prime Minister in 2015, along with several mega projects initiated by the government, which could translate to numerous job opportunities in the logistics sector, cyber (to support logistics), high end data science & robotics, civil engineering for building infrastructure, ship design, shipbuilding & ship repair, maritime security & safety, operational research and management and many more domains. While the SAGAR vision has fostered career prospects in the maritime sector, the industry remains unsatisfied with the employability of the younger generation. Academia needs to recognize the future needs of the nation and upskilling has to be complemented with knowledge-based learning. The young India needs to be appropriately skilled in terms of policy, technology & innovation, and human resource development to be able to channelize their energy towards the growth of India’s maritime dominance. “The young India needs to be appropriately skilled in terms of policy, technology & innovation, and human resource development to be able to channelize their energy towards the growth of India’s maritime dominance.” Figure 2 The UDA Framework The Underwater Domain Awareness Framework, which encourages pooling of resources and synergizing of efforts across stakeholders to ensure safe, secure and sustainable growth for all, in concurrence with appropriate support from academia and judicious policy formulation can uplift the youth of India in realizing their role towards the multidisciplinary scope of India’s maritime capacity building. Dr. (Cdr.) Arnab Das, Aarohi Kapadia About Author Dr. (Cdr.) Arnab Das Director, Maritime Research Center, Pune Aarohi Kapadia Ms. Aarohi is a medical technology enthusiast and a student of Biomedical Engineering. With a passion for writing & research, she thrives on innovation. Currently, she is an intern at Maritime Research Center, Pune and is working on the effects of the changing underwater ecosystem on the health of human divers.

Science and Technology

Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) Framework for Sediment Management

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March 1, 2022
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Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) Framework for Sediment Management Sediment management refers to the holistic management of sediment supply from rivers to coast taking into account the full range of human activities as well as sediment trapping by dams. Siltation and soil erosion is a natural process required to maintain a balance between source and sink. However, interference from anthropogenic activities causes disbalance in the process leading to significant increase in siltation rate. Water reservoirs, inland navigation systems, harbour basins, fisheries and ground water sources are the most effected from accumulating sediments. Suspended sediment affects light penetration and degree to which it is blocked is known as turbidity. With increasing turbidity, visibility or clarity decreases due to scattering of sunlight by the suspended particles making it difficult for visual feeding animals and suppressing the growth of algae and macrophytes. Rapid siltation also increases soil salinity and sediment deposits are known to cover the spawning sites of fish which interferes with their life cycle. In inland waterways, sediment deposits, in form of deltas, causes channel logging. Many rivers change their course due to sedimentation making them difficult to navigate. In water reservoirs storage loss is a major issue. In India, 0.95% of gross reservoir storage is lost annually to sediment deposition. Additionally, blockage of tunnels and spillways as well as damage of turbines and equipment from erosion are other problems faced by reservoirs due to siltation. Harbour basins also regularly deal with coastal erosion. A common practice for siltation management in coastal regions is marine dredging. However, lack of dumping sites and expensive equipment pose limitations and need to be tackled professionally. With 5,202 large dams and many more small dams and barrages, 111 Inland National Waterways worth 20,275 kms spread across 24 states and a total coastline length of 7516.6 km, India’s involvement in hydro projects is huge and the above mentioned problems scale up significantly causing enormous costs to the national economy. Therefore, it is critical to develop a framework for sediment management arises which could be employed before every water based project. “Sediment management refers to the holistic management of sediment supply from rivers to coast taking into account the full range of human activities as well as sediment trapping by dams.” Data Collection & Analysis: Understanding the sediment structure of an area is important before deploying any measures to deal with the problem. The first step is collection of data pertaining to bathymetry, sediment type, seabed morphology and geochemistry. This can be done through in-situ data sampling during field surveys, aerial photography and ROV Surveys. However unfavourable topographic conditions and land cover often make conduction of complete field surveys difficult. In such scenarios, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) analysis could be used which provides 3D visualization of earth’s terrain generated from remotely sensed data that is collected by satellites, planes or drones. Satellite remote sensing provides a quick method for monitoring sedimentation in lakes/reservoirs however it fails to provide very precise information which could be deployed for effective desiltation processes. Acoustic methods like echo signal analysis, seabed acoustic imaging and sonar are upcoming alternatives for sediment mapping due to their ability of providing information in detail and better management of fluctuations. “Understanding the sediment structure of an area is important and the first step is collection of data pertaining to bathymetry, sediment type, seabed morphology and geochemistry.” Figure 1: Sediment types in Indian Offshore territory; a compilation of 63 maps covering EEZ & 143 maps covering TW by GSI The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India is divided into three: West coast, East coast and the Andaman region; demarcated by sedimentological characteristics. Since the major rivers draining into the eastern coast provide huge terrigenous input, it is highly rich in sediment whereas western coast has sparse sediment deposits. The Andaman region is covered with volcanic ridges having very thin sediment deposits. India has shown a positive progress in terms of bathymetric measurements through marine surveys in EEZ. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) did 19,81,478 km2 of seabed Mapping out of 20,14,500 km2 in EEZ from 1983 to 2014 through over 700 cruises. Operation strategy included marine surveys at closer intervals & systematic ocean bottom probing. The data collected from various sources needs to be converted into a uniform standard through the process of Harmonization. Further processing with GIS provides new openings for more quantitative use of geomorphological mapping. The Challenges: The random behaviour and substantial diurnal as well as seasonal fluctuations of tropical littoral waters present a lot of challenges during data collection, analysis, framework formulation and implementation. This has led to a lack of understanding of underwater medium and gaps in data coverage. Sub-Optimal Sonar Performance: Sonar is a potential tool for bed sediment classification as it is inexpensive, easy to use, light weight and have lower power demands providing opportunities for use in a wide range of rivers. However, the efficiency of sonar sensors is reduced in the shallow tropical waters due to proximity to the boundaries which causes multiple interferences & reflections of the traversing acoustic signal resulting in its modification. This does not happen in deep sea waters since interactions of signal with surfaces and aquatic life are minimal there. Surface fluctuations, temperature and salinity variations also influence acoustic propagation. Composition of ocean bed is also essential to be known since it affects the reflection of acoustic waves. For example, sandy bottom will absorb the noise and we will not get any reflected signal. Marine life tends to live closer to the shore in warm littoral waters. Sounds created by them also adds to the background noise and degrade the signal. Lack of Dredging Framework: With rapid growth of global shipping fleet, there is an increasing need to expand the Indian ports and make deeper channels as well as berths to attract larger cargos so that greater revenue can be generated. This requires efficient dredging on a large scale. However, a number of challenges come in the way of optimizing the dredging system.

Science and Technology

Way Ahead for the Underwater Radiated Noise Management

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March 1, 2022
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Way Ahead for the Underwater Radiated Noise Management Underwater Radiated Noise (URN) is increasingly becoming a serious environmental concern across the globe, and the international community is aggressively getting into means and measures to contain this problem. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – 14 (UN-SDG – 14), clearly highlights the need to contain noise underwater. Shipping noise is recorded to be increasing at an alarming rate of 3.3 dB per decade. It is doubling every decade, as per recordings underwater since 1950, published by Donald Ross. Analytical efforts by G V Frisk have also given similar figures. Shipping noise is the single ubiquitous source of low frequency noise in the ocean. The low frequency means minimal attenuation while propagating underwater, so the impact of URN is over an extended range (over a few thousand kilometres). Since shipping is directly coupled to economic growth, measures to contain shipping traffic are socio-economically and politically unviable. URN management has been a very critical requirement for naval platforms, due to the acoustic stealth requirements. While acoustic stealth measures have progressed significantly among advanced navies, the classified nature of such measures has ensured that these are not available in open source. Another aspect that merits attention is the aspect of cost. Military platforms prioritise the effectiveness of the stealth measures and cost is not a very major limiting factor. Right from the design stage to construction and operations, acoustic stealth is a major consideration for naval platforms. However, commercial merchant shipping can ill afford such high costs and thus, the solutions need to be viable on all fronts. “URN management has been a very critical requirement for naval platforms, due to the acoustic stealth requirements.” URN generation has three main components as per the Source-Path-Receiver model: Source: The noise control measures on-board the platform to contain the noise being emitted from the hull on the platform. The machinery on-board needs to be individually effective in containing noise, then the transmission path from the seat of the equipment to the hull and also the structural aspects that will mitigate the noise transmission. All these aspects require attention to achieve success. Path: The underwater medium fluctuations are extremely sensitive to the acoustic propagation conditions in the specific region based on the local parameters. The tropical waters have very unique acoustic propagation characteristics and modify the source signal, prior to being recorded at the receiver. The overall impact of noise on the marine species needs to account for the medium impact. The acoustic propagation in the tropical waters could degrade upto 60% and thus, the propagation characteristics are critical in our analysis of the impact. Receiver: Marine mammals have specific auditory systems and each specific species has a unique characteristic. The signal originating from the hull of the platform travels through the underwater medium and is received at a distant location by the marine species. The receiver sensitivity may vary in amplitude, frequency and phase, affecting the ability to get an exact assessment of the impact. Species specific impact assessment is important. The true assessment of the impact on the marine species will involve a comprehensive source-path-receiver analysis. The regulatory provision must be able to account for the diversity in the impact across specific species and also the underwater medium distortions in signal propagation. The standards promulgated by the western nations in the temperate and polar regions may be too stringent for us, given the tropical conditions in the IOR. “It is highly recommended that we in India evolve our own URN standards and then have our own plans and timelines for implementation.” It is highly recommended that we in India evolve our own URN standards and then have our own plans and timelines for implementation. Our ship operators and ship builders need to understand the importance of URN management and participate in the URN management process. Regulatory framework and monitoring mechanism needs to be formulated with deeper understanding of our unique conditions on all the three fronts – socio-economic, political and technological. Accepting the West-driven formulation and being in a denial mode will be detrimental to our strategic interest. URN management has three stages to contain the noise being emitted from the hull of the platform: Design Stage: The noise control measures need to be adopted right at the design stage by the ship designer and the ship owner. This will involve choosing the right machinery and the effective structural design to minimise the noise on-board. This can mean high costs to the owner. Construction Stage: The implementation of the design by the shipyard is another very critical factor. The best of designs, if not implemented well, could mean high URN at the hull of the ship. Even repair of the ships can mean high URN post refits. Operation Stage: Noise control measures can be implemented during the operation stage as well. The propeller cavitation is the single most important noise source on-board. However, the cavitation inception is the key inflection point, where the URN suddenly increases exponentially. Some major machinery on-board could also have certain deformities, resulting in high noise during operations. Thus, noise control measures could be realized at the hands of ship operators as well. URN management needs to be undertaken to manage the acoustic habitat degradation and, more importantly, to comply with the SDG-14 requirements. URN management can be undertaken across all the three stages of design, construction and operations. A nuanced strategy can be evolved based on the deeper understanding of the entire URN generation and management process. The parameters for URN management formulation need to be cost, effectiveness and efficiency. URN management could be a very significant opportunity for young India given our demographic advantage. The significant maritime push by the Government of India can be aligned to the sustainable growth of the shipping industry in the country and the region. “URN management could be a very significant opportunity for young India given our demographic advantage.” It may be categorically stated that the effective noise control measures will also mean efficient ship operations in terms

Geopolitics and IR

Indo-Pacific strategic space and Geo-economics

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March 1, 2022
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Indo-Pacific Strategic Space and Geo-Economics Dr (Cdr) Arnab Das offers a new perspective based on the Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) Framework in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) The 1970s saw a new international order and US foreign policy faced unprecedented challenges in coping with the changed geopolitical scenario. Economies could no longer be independent of the geopolitical realities and thus came the term International Political Economy (IPE). The founders of IPE recognized the importance of the economy in the analysis of an international order, in view of the perception that the nation-state as a global actor was in relative decline. The creation of GATT and IMF reflect the increasing economic interdependence, since protectionist practices gave rise to liberal competition. In other words, the interstate disputes started focussing on technical rather that security issues. It is interesting to note that such an increase in interdependence was an intensifying factor for international conflicts as well. “It is clearly seen that a security centric approach has far less relevance in the international system today, and economics has become a more critical instrument of global power play.” Experts differ on what IPE stands for, as there are multiple links between economics and international relations. Though the relationship among disciplinary groups is one of power, the term geo-economics pertains to the dialogue between political and economic imperatives of the international system, given the IPE framework. Thus, the broad understanding of geo-economics is the use of economic instruments to promote and defend national interests, as well as to generate beneficial geopolitical results. It is clearly seen that a security centric approach has far less relevance in the international system today, and economics has become a more critical instrument of global power play. The strategic discourse has decisively shifted to the maritime domain in the 21st century, and increasingly more and more nations have started joining the Indo-Pacific Strategic Space. Every global power is maintaining its strategic presence in the Indo-Pacific region and more and more assets are being deployed both militarily and otherwise. The formation of QUAD (The Quadrilateral Security Group) is a reflection of this power struggle in the region to dominate the maritime space. The switching between economic sanctions and military action is a reflection of the complexity of the geo-economic power game. Thus, geo-economics needs to be a matter of deep research and strategic interaction among the policy makers at the national, regional and global level. “Geo-economics needs to be a matter of deep research and strategic interaction among the policy makers at the national, regional and global level.” The Indo-Pacific Strategic Space has some unique characteristics that need to be analysed before looking at the geo-economic dimensions. The region comprises the tropical littoral waters of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Tropical littoral waters have specific challenges of sonar performance for any acoustic survey deployments. The degradation of performance is of the order of 70%, making most of the hardware imported from the West near redundant in these waters. The socio-economic realities of the region make it extremely difficult for the leadership to prioritise Science & Technology (S&T) over several other budgetary requirements. Indigenous capacity and capability is a causality, whereas the local site specific R&D is the only way forward. The political volatility ensures fragmented geopolitics within the region and also among the stakeholders within nations. Extra-regional powers are able to meddle in the domestic politics to ensure poor governance. The worst outcome of this chaos is that the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has maximum spending on military hardware, whereas nations in the region are still struggling with basic socio-economic necessities. In the absence of field experimental R&D efforts to develop indigenous acoustic software, the hardware has minimal efficacy due to severe medium distortions. “Indigenous capacity and capability is a causality, whereas the local site specific R&D is the only way forward.” Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) is the key for enhanced maritime governance. The MDA effort globally got a major boost post the 9/11 incident, when US policy makers made it a part of their strategic vision. Massive infrastructure investments and capacity building were undertaken to enhance the MDA. In the IOR, post the 26/11 terrorist attacks, the MDA efforts led by the Indian Navy became a major priority area. However, the MDA effort had two critical limitations. The first is that being an event driven formulation, it lacked comprehensive and sustained capacity and capability building. The second, and more important, limitation was that it remained a security centric formulation with minimal participation by the other stakeholders. The defence budget alone can never drive such a massive strategic exercise with enormous resource requirement. The MDA effort, even in the US, has been criticised for its focus on the surface; the underwater component of the MDA is highly inadequate. “The underlying requirement for all the stakeholders is to be aware of the developments in the undersea domain, make sense of these developments, and then respond effectively and efficiently to them before they take the shape of an event.” The Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) Framework proposed by the Maritime Research Centre (MRC) encourages pooling of resources and synergizing of efforts across all the four stakeholders: maritime security, blue economy, marine environment & disaster management, and science & technology. The S&T driven UDA framework with significant emphasis on local site specific field experimental R&D is the only way forward in the tropical littoral waters. Fig. 1 presents a comprehensive perspective of the UDA framework. The underlying requirement for all the stakeholders is to be aware of the developments in the undersea domain, make sense of these developments, and then respond effectively and efficiently to them before they take the shape of an event. Figure-1 Comprehensive Perspective of Undersea Domain Awareness The UDA needs to be comprehensively understood in its horizontal and vertical construct. The horizontal construct would be the resource availability in terms of technology, infrastructure, capability and capacity specific to the stakeholders or otherwise. The stakeholders represented by the four faces

Blue Economy Geopolitics and IR

BLUE BONDS: Blue Bond Instruments and their Importance in the Indian Context

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March 1, 2022
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BLUE BONDS: Blue Bond Instruments and their Importance in the Indian Context Introduction Water is the basic survival unit of our planet and humankind. About 71% of the Earth’s surface is ocean, and billions of people depend on the oceans for their livelihood, health, sanitation, agriculture, food, manufacturing, construction etc. Maritime transport remains an essential part of economies of numerous nations as 80% of global trade, by volume, is carried out via sea. Oceans being a significant wealth generator, estimated at an annual value of $1.5 trillion per year, have given rise to blue economies across the world. The term “Blue Bonds” as enablers of Blue Economy was first introduced by Gunter Pauli in 2010. Blue economy has the potential to contribute in a larger extent to the national economy of India. First, let us understand the term “Blue Economy”. Blue economy has the potential to contribute in a larger extent to the national economy of India. India, being a peninsular country, with its numerous rivers encompasses water bodies which have immense potential, as albeit with their own challenges. Blue economy comprises of the blue waters, man-made infrastructure in oceans, seas and rivers, and, onshore as well as offshore industries where water plays an important role. Industries such as renewable energy, aquaculture, seabed activities, marine biotechnology such as fisheries, tourism and maritime transport, all fall under the banner of blue economy. According to the research cited by Andrew Hudson, Head of the Water and Ocean Governance Program at the UN Development Program (UNDP), the global contribution of the blue economy is estimated to be about $3.6 trillion a year. The burden on global water bodies can be felt through climate change impacts which are seriously altering the biodiversity of the oceans. These adverse effects on the oceans have generated interest in the mechanisms to counter them, such as issuance of blue bonds.The concept of Blue Bonds is similar to that of Green Bonds. Their main aim is to financially support preservation and protection of the oceans, marine life, climate changes and further help in contributing to nation’s economy. Since this process requires a huge amount of capital, a special mechanism of Blue Bond is created for funding, which helps to reduce the cost of capital for investors. Blue bonds are the debt instruments which are issued by national government or the development banks. The money raised from these bonds is used to undertake activities which help to enhance marine resources. Operating Blue Bonds In India, organizations such as The Nature Conservancy Centre (TNC) – a global initiative working for protection and conservation of the lands and waters through regional branches or local affiliates – helps bring together the stakeholders such as World Bank, investors, the coastal nations and public donations to develop scientific sustainable solutions. “Blue Bonds play a vital role to identify and tackle the sustainability challenge.” Blue bonds can have a financial framework that can be easily administered. The world, being impacted by social, economic and geopolitical challenges, until now has not deemed sustainability of oceans as a critical challenge. In this case, blue bonds play a vital role to identify and tackle the sustainability challenge, as they are equipped with a better revenue model wherein, they rely for financial investment through government aides, which is less as compared to the revenue generated through the project itself. Despite Having a Future Full of Possibilities in India, Blue Bonds Also Face a Few Challenges The financial support taken for any blue economy project eventually has to be repaid along with an interest amount. So, the income generated from such kind of projects is through levying charges to the beneficiary. However, the sea being a very vast water body has some remote regions where pollution is rampant which makes it difficult to identify the beneficiaries and polluters. Another major challenge is the accurate estimation of the investment needs of state governments and communities vis-à-vis the investment readiness of entrepreneurs, angel investors and businesses. They are also not systematically networked to further an integrated agenda for the development of the blue bonds. According to Andrew Hudson, Head of the Water and Ocean Governance Program at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the money earned by levying fines and charges on the polluters, goes into trust fund. Then this money is used for conservation of protected marine areas and promotion pisciculture and other activities. In this way blue bonds start creating wealth that helps in maintaining the health of our oceans. Blue Bonds: Scaling The Opportunity The World-Wide Fund (WWF) estimate the value of the ocean assets at $24 trillion and an annual value addition of about $2.4 trillion. Investment in blue bonds enables financial savings for the government which can be further invested in the protection of natural resources, biodiversity and livelihoods. Further, the investors who provide the original seeds of funding for these projects realize the incredible leverage on their philanthropic investment. Blue bonds are a huge opportunity as they truly fit into the current scenario related to our country’s sustainability journey in terms of climate change, loss of coral reefs, extinction of aquatic animals and so on. At present we are in an era where ocean conservation goals and interventions of various governments will soon have a great impact on world’s blue economy sectors and biodiversity of oceans. As the coastal areas are growing small day-by-day, the opportunity window will remain irreversible until ocean degradation starts. The Maritime Research Center (MRC), Pune is working with various universities, Academic and Advisory bodies, the coastal communities and stakeholders of the Indian Ocean Region to create awareness and research repositories, improve marine area management and create new marine protected areas, and collaborate for blue bond related initiatives. Blue Bonds: Transformative Game Changer for India’s Blue Economy “Blue Bond issuance can also stimulate interest among public and private investors.” The need for funding sustainable maritime activities is growing year on year. The scale of the problem relating to climate change challenges has