Key Highlights Economic growth should not come at the cost of the environment and nature. Aquaculture has the potential to transform the lives of rural communities. Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) is the flagship scheme launched by the Government of India in 2020 to fund the growth of aquaculture in India. Sustainable development is a crucial aim to be fulfilled by all developing sectors to achieve long-term growth and infrastructure development. Science and Technology are the pillars of the Underwater domain awareness framework that can be used to achieve sustainability. Shrimps have shown derogatory effects on the regions where they are cultivated and hence, adequate measures and planning are required for sustainable expansion. The seafood and aquaculture The seafood industry is a flourishing industry with ever-increasing demand due to rising awareness regarding fish and associated marine creatures as a safer and healthy source of vital nutrients rather than synthetic supplements. Thus, the seafood industry has become a lucrative business for various nations, to contribute to economic growth. In case one wonders, how the various seafood-centric delicacies they enjoy reach their plate, then they have to understand that there is a long and complex marine products supply chain in the game. The first step in this supply chain involves the mass-scale cultivation of marine creatures for human consumption and as raw material for secondary industries. Yes, one read it right! These creatures are not fished from their natural habitat but are specially cultivated for their intrinsic value and revenues. This mass-scale cultivation of sea animals or marine creatures is what is described as aquaculture or aqua cultivation, just like agriculture which describes the cultivation of crops. The growing aquaculture industry is serving various purposes towards self-reliance for the Indian economy and its citizens. Aquaculture has also become a source of livelihood for many farmers in rural areas and thus contributes to social harmony as well as the upliftment of the rural section of society. Various processing industries are developed around aquaculture to processing the raw produce from aquaculture to create products with high market value and thus generate employment for many. Fig: Image showing three important aspects, that marine development can fulfill and how the economy and environment can go together if expansion is pivoted strategically. Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/05/startups-seaweed-farming-ocean-planet-climate/ All these facts look very promising for the future of India as a global leader in the seafood industry in terms of the global trade value and the revenue generated. The more the profits, the better will be the lifestyle for the farmers, the increasing income will provide leisure time to them and therefore, will boost their morale and strength to work more. “Thus, the rapid expansion of aquaculture is a self-sustaining industry and a win-win situation for all three, the people, the environment, and the government. Is something not fitting right into this equation? ” What is not right with the expansion? It is mentioned that it is a win-win situation for the people, the environment, and the government, but is marine cultivation supporting the environment? The broader view of the industry may trick an outsider to believe that the industry supports the environment because it deals with marine resources, animals, and aquatic plants, which doesn’t harm the environment in the general case, also it should be increasing the marine population and diversity and hence promotes environmental sustainability, but there is a bigger picture of the sustainable footprint of this industry which is usually overlooked when not enough attention is given to understand the effects of the expansion of aquaculture. Sustainability in the context of Aquaculture For the aquaculture industry, sustainable goals target the formation of objectives that achieves the growth of the industry in the manner that harnessing the potential of marine resources now does not deprive the upcoming generations of the natural habitats and vast resources we have. For example, overfishing of various marine animals has led to their extinction and to prevent such scenarios from happening again, a sustainable framework should be developed. India too has large regions under Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) where such rare flora and fauna grow and flourish. The EEZs may be hampered or harnessed by local people for their economic benefits if enough attention is not given to them.  This sustainable aquaculture framework is intended to encompass the blue economy and sustainable growth objectives of the much bigger concept of the Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) framework. The UDA framework in aquaculture aims to educate people regarding sustainable aquaculture, engage rural people in the community and bring social harmony by providing a livelihood source and ensuring timely dissemination of the knowledge about the schemes and policies for their benefit. Real-life examples and case studies The article discusses examples of real-life case studies on how detrimental can the expansion of aquaculture be, for the environment, and people depending on it for their livelihood if done recklessly without any planning and precautionary measures. The article makes some baffling revelations associated with the expansion of the Shrimp aquaculture industry, from the case studies held in the coastal areas of Thailand, and Bangladesh. We also discuss the marine phytoplankton species, seaweeds, whose aquaculture can not only benefit in economic terms but also environmental terms. Thailand, the country in the so-called heart of southeast Asia region, has also been a mass producer of shrimp. Studies conducted in the areas of flourishing or established shrimp farms revealed that the vanishing of the mangrove forests in adjacent areas can be attributed to the increasing land cover under shrimp cultivation. The ever-increasing area under shrimp production to target high global export requirements has led to the mangrove cover being halved since 1975. The mangroves are a very vital environmental ecosystem, as they support a large number of flora and fauna species, residing on the land, as well as near to the waters. It is of the utmost importance to protect these zones, to maintain environmental balance. On the other hand, the condition of Bangladesh is much worse, because the people adapted

Key Highlights Groundwater governing authorities and policies CGWB assessment of the GW Potential sources of Groundwater contamination Disintegrated use of GW Misallocation of groundwater in agriculture in India Digital interventions in GW Management and UDA Introduction With a fourth of the global withdrawal, India is the greatest groundwater user. About 48% of the water used in Indian cities comes from groundwater. In India, there are more than 4,400 statutory towns and cities, and there are already 40 Cr people living there. By 2050, that number could rise to 70 Crores. “By 2050, an estimated 3.1 billion people may experience seasonal water shortages and nearly a billion may experience perennial water shortages as a result of uncontrolled groundwater use and growing population”. Even though there has been good infrastructural development, there will still be problems with water and food security, which will increase poverty in the cities. Despite the resource’s high value, 29% of groundwater blocks are overused, critical, or semi-critical, and the situation is getting worse quickly (2004 nationwide assessment.) Aquifers are also running dry in the most densely populated and economically prosperous regions. Groundwater resources will be severely strained by climate change. The viability of agriculture, long-term food security, livelihoods, and economic growth will all be seriously impacted by this. Over a fifth of the nation’s harvest will reportedly be in jeopardy. The extent of landholdings, population density, the amount of water used by crops, the behavior of water users, groundwater regulation and management, electricity subsidies for pumping irrigation water, and economic policies all play a role in groundwater exploitation. GW Governing authorities The chart above depicts disintegrated regulations for groundwater resources and quality in India. The two heads represent the two major regulations being set up by different ministries for governing the quantity and quality of GW resources as well as enforcing the laws on groundwater exploitation. Ministry of Jal Shakti upholds several departments from which the Central Ground Water Board and Central Water Commission are associated with groundwater resource assessment. Through the annual reports of CGWB regular groundwater qualities are being made available to the public. Ironically, CGWB is not responsible for stringent actions like penalties on the units illegally withdrawing groundwater. Either the Municipal corporation, the pollution control board, or the Jal board must be involved in providing NOC to various units dealing with groundwater. There have been some historic cases in which thousands of illegal borewells operating in the megacities were closed. The question is why are these tube-wells dug in the first place? There is a clear indication of cities not being able to extract water from surface water sources like rivers due to polluted water in the rivers, plus groundwater is considered a property by who-so-ever has dug a borewell in his/her piece of land. The matter of groundwater flow is least considered by the authorities while granting NOC and the individual before digging a well for their interests. Similar NOCs have been granted to the National Highway Authority of India in Uttarakhand to make highways by carving through mountains. Now, if you drive on those large roadways, you may encounter a stream of water at various locations and they are constantly prone to accidents. Originally, these streams led to springs, but because mountains were cut without sufficient research, springs now go dry during most seasons because the original stream is no longer going where it was intended to. Increased bottling facilities in hill towns have also contributed to the drying up of springs because people are now paying for access to the free water that was once available to locals. CGWB assessment report Out of the total 6965 assessment units (Blocks/ Districts/ Mandals/ Talukas/Firkas) in the country, 1114 units in various States (16 %) have been categorized as ‘Over-Exploited’ indicating groundwater extraction exceeding the annual extractable groundwater resources (availability). The Categorization Map of Assessment units of GWRA-2020 is given in the map below: Figure 1: Categorization of ground water assessment units Table 1: Comparative status of level of ground water development in India in the past 20 years As shown in the table above, the number of overexploited areas has dramatically expanded over the past 20 years. The valuable source of fresh water, groundwater, is heavily overused as a result of inefficient and haphazard irrigation practices. As can be seen on the map, significant areas of Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are notable regions that are being overexploited. Groundwater contamination When man-made substances like chemicals, oil, road salts, and gasoline end up in the groundwater, they cause it to become contaminated and dangerous for human use. Surface-level materials from the land can permeate the soil and end up in the groundwater. Pesticides and fertilizers, for instance, have the potential to contaminate groundwater over time. Additionally, discarded motor oil, hazardous compounds from mining sites, and road salt can leak into the groundwater. In addition, dangerous compounds from underground storage tanks and leaking landfills as well as untreated septic tank waste may contaminate groundwater. Source: www.groundwater.org Agriculture & GW Agriculture consumes 78% of the freshwater available in India. According to a report from 2014, by the Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation, 70% of Indian agriculture is rain-fed. However, the sea receives 65% of its total annual rainfall. Due to subsidies for water and power use, groundwater extraction has significantly expanded. Because of the government’s water-saving initiatives, sugarcane is now being grown in areas where it was never intended to. Lower production and a smaller contribution to the nation’s GDP are the results of this. Even after accounting for land productivity and sugar recovery rate, the ICRIER analysis shows that states like Bihar and eastern UP should be growing more sugarcane than Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu from the perspective of irrigation water productivity. According to the 2011 census, 22.5 million Indian families already use external water sources. “A family member, typically a woman, must travel and wait for water outside the home for an average of 30 minutes each day, according to

Key Highlights The demand for dredging is exponentially increasing and it has substantial upcoming opportunities in the areas of offshore resource exploration, waterfront development, fishing harbour and navy apart from traditional requirements in port and waterways management. As dredging gains importance, its downsides also come into highlight making it imperative to consider sustainable dredging Understanding the basic process, development of strong education and training framework as well as exploring other green alternatives to dredging are the key aspects for the growth of dredging industry under sustainable blue economy. Heading Dredging is the most popular method of removing the unwanted deposits from water pathway and is used for maintenance of ports, harbour and national waterways. It has a key importance in expansion of ports and regularization of marine traffic. It creates space for construction of bridges, dams and is also used for extracting intoxicants and pollutants from the bottom of water. The demand for dredging is ever increasing and it has opportunities in offshore resource exploration, fishing harbour, waterfront development as well as meeting the needs of the navy. “According to the report by Indian Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways in “Dredging Guidelines for Major Ports, 2021”, during 2017-18 and 2018-19, a total of about 159.36 million cum of material was dredged from across all the major ports of the country. It is forecasted that in next 10 years the net quantity to be dredged will be close to 3 billion cum owing to the substantial project pipeline. ” This illustrates the great economic potential of dredging and why it requires careful attention to maximize economic well-being. While dredging is very crucial for progress of any country, it is equally important to study its downsides and identify solutions to tackle them. The lack of indigenously studying our tropical waters along with usage of imported western technology directly without tuning it for our needs has further intensified its harmful effects. Dredging widens the river shoreline significantly causing disturbances to the habitats along the shorelines as well as disappearance of the aquatic life. It alters the water turbidity causing the transfer of unwanted organisms and existing contaminants to spread further into the water bodies. Loosening of soil causes contaminants which were previously held fast in the ground to find their way into the water and spread across larger area. It also facilitates soil erosion. While all these negatives do not weigh much against the vital role played by dredging in economic development like expanding port systems for international trade and commerce, these negatives do add up over decades and given the precarious condition faced by marine world currently, they will cause debilitating effects in the times to come. “Thus, it becomes imperative to include dredging as a part of sustainable blue economy under UDA. This incorporates surveying the sediment composition of target place and studying the mechanism of dredging, understanding the loopholes in the process, and selecting the most suitable method ensuring all possible measures of safety for the marine environment. Sediment transport survey becomes an integral part of the process as it lays the foundation for future decisions.” For instance, use of right dredgers is a crucial decision to be taken during the process. The hopper dredgers are known to be a major cause of turbidness during the suction process. So, using it in places where toxic contaminants are fixed in soil will present a major threat of pollution. Understanding the Process of Dredging Knowing the dredging process is the first step for developing a good framework for sustainable dredging. Dredging is the process of removing sediments and debris from the bottom of water bodies using special devices called ‘dredgers. Dredger is lowered to the bottom of water body where usually a rotating cutter-bar loosens the sediment. It is then sucked in using a submersible pump and dumped at the disposal site using disposal barges or dump scows. Figure 1. Mechanical Dredger Operation. Source: https://frtr.gov/matrix/Environmental-Dredging/ The efficiency of cargo transport via water increases with ship size, however, natural harbours have limitation of depth making dredging an inevitable process in port business. Dredging is of two types: Maintenance and Capital dredging. The process of removing silt periodically to maintain the operational depth is termed as Maintenance Dredging. The study of sediment transport is crucial in deciding the rate of sediment depositing over time and the frequency of dredging operation. Capital dredging takes place when navigation channels, basins etc. are required to be further deepened and widened by cutting and removing soil and rock strata. It is a one-time activity and expenditure and leads to higher amount of maintenance dredging to maintain that depth.   Dredged sand has high selling value in construction industry, hefty profit is also made by selling the dredged sand to countries like Maldives and Singapore which are thriving on beach tourism. Thus, it is no surprise that this natural resource is of crucial importance and many people resort to illegal methods without following rules and regulations to gain high profit margin. Cases of rampant illegal dredging have come up in regions around Thane creek in Mumbai, from Som river in Dungarpur district in Rajasthan and many more across the country. All these lead to excessive amount of dredging without following guidelines and hence magnifying the harmful effects caused by it to the environment. “Development of a strong framework in sustainable dredging processes will help keeping the illegal businesses in check along with curbing the enormous amount of resource exploitation that goes unsupervised.” Developing a Framework for Education and Training in Dredging Dredging had been a more of practical experience domain rather than education and training. However, with technological advancements and rising awareness of need for sensitization towards marine environment, it has become imperative that a formal approach of training is introduced in the dredging industry. Also, with rising cost and complexity of the instruments, consequence of ignorance is too serious and not acceptable to companies. In the past decade, there has been some interest in formalizing training

Key Highlights People, Economy, and Nature are the three inseparable components and the policy makers need to find the right balance Ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the subsequent collapse of the supply chain and energy crisis has impacted the entire global economy The UDA framework, by design, encourages pooling of resources and synergizing of efforts across the stakeholders UDA Framework builds efficiency in resource utilization and optimizes the governance mechanism The developing nations are struggling to prioritize the socio-economic requirements and thus, not able to invest on long term sustainable development goals Heading The global community is going through a massive churn and there is necessity to view the current strategic challenges from a nuanced perspective. The so-called rush for economic growth has brought us to a point of massive sustainability concern and more importantly climate change risk. Massive infrastructure investments could come to knots, in the face of extreme climate events. Corporates have to recognize that for the long-term wellbeing of their businesses, aspirations of the people involved and the nature have to be aligned. People, Economy, and Nature are the three inseparable components and the policy makers need to find the right balance. The Indo-Pacific Region has emerged as the most critical strategic space among the global powers. The Indo-Pacific strategic space is the tropical waters of the Indian and the Pacific Ocean. The region is also marked by unique political, economic, and ecological realities. The political reality pertains to the pre-modern states with governance mechanisms, still evolving. The extra-regional powers can influence the domestic politics and keep these nations dependent on them. The developing nations are struggling to prioritize the socio-economic requirements and thus, not able to invest on long term sustainable development goals. The tropical waters are known for their rich biodiversity and massive undersea mineral reserves. The ongoing electric vehicle transition and the corresponding battery requirement, has pushed up the demand for rare earth elements. “The undersea domain in the tropical region is known for their abundance in rare earth minerals and poly-metallic modules. The vast resource potential and the weak governance mechanism, is a recipe for disaster. The dependence on the extra-regional powers, further complicates the sustainable growth model.” The demographic distribution in the region is another factor that merits attention, while formalizing the future course of action. The region has the highest population density, and the population is young & aspirational. However, most of these young people are not appropriately skilled and aware, thus end up being exploited and are unable to achieve their full potential. Many misguided youths get trapped in unlawful activities and become a security and sustainability threat for the region and their nation. The volatile political situation also gives rise to security concerns, both internally and externally. The governments, thus end up spending huge budget on security forces, rather than building long term mechanisms for achieving sustainable development goals. The new global order, seems to be tilting away from the globalized world. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the subsequent collapse of the supply chain and energy crisis has impacted the entire global economy. It has also created sharp divide among the global powers, to trigger heightened competition and confrontation on varied political and economic dimensions. The global commons have become a theatre for competition and confrontation, with weaponization of basic resources like food, energy, water, climate and more, becoming the norm. “The biggest danger that many of us fail to understand is that the perpetrators could themselves become the victims. The United Nations (UN) declared Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are an urgent call for action, both for the developed and the developing world. The seventeen SDGs, are a well-articulated framework to address the dynamics of people, economy, and nature. However, the specific issues of the underwater domain, both in the marine as well as freshwater systems, do not get addressed comprehensively. Given that 75% of universe is covered underwater (including the ice cover), the Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA), deserves far more attention. It may be important to acknowledge that the UDA requires specialized expertise of acoustic capacity and capability. ” The UDA framework, by design, encourages pooling of resources and synergizing of efforts across the stakeholders and thus builds efficiency in resource utilization and optimizes the governance mechanism. The fragmentation across the stakeholders within the nations and the region can be optimally handled with the effective implementation of the UDA framework. Considering the SDGs and their realization through the UDA framework is discussed in the succeeding paragraphs. SDG-1 (No Poverty)  :  The sustainable blue economy has unimaginable growth potential, and the opportunities it is likely to provide for the next generation will have massive impact on the poverty alleviation. The GDP growth as a result, will be instrumental in ensuring no poverty across the globe. SDG-2 (Zero Hunger)  : The global community is increasingly looking towards the blue oceans for food security. The biomass from the oceans and other freshwater systems is a great source of food for humans and the animals on land. SDG-3 (Good Health & Well Being)  : The pharma the wellness industry are highly dependent of the oceans and the other underwater resources for their raw material. The quantity and quality that is available underwater, has massive potential. SDG-4 (Quality Education) :  The education system must bring real world sense into the next generation. The 75% of the earth is underwater and we have very little understanding of the deep ocean and other underwater systems. SDG-5 (Gender Equality)  :  The enhanced prosperity and good quality of education will bring gender equality in good measure. The traditional practices among the coastal & riverine communities will give way to more digital transformation with higher deployment of science & technology tools, operated both by men and women in equal measure. SDG-6 (Clean Water & Sanitation) :  The enhanced governance mechanism in the underwater domain, will bring effective management of the freshwater resources and ensure clean water and sanitation. Enhanced freshwater management, driven

Key Highlights Water, a shared resource, has varied users that lead to multidimensional issues associated with its quality and quantity. India, despite using only 4% of the available global freshwater, has over 1.63 crore people lacking access to clean water and sanitation. Amidst the water shortage, companies with high water consumption can experience disruption in their manufacturing, supply chains and finances. Forward going corporations have taken charge of building a sustainable ecosystem by focusing on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) pillars. Further, by leveraging the Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) framework, corporations can identify human activities’ impact and mitigate them to drive a sustainable change. Heading As doctors say drinking 7-8 liters is essential for mankind’s health, however, will leaky taps and long showers help us to maintain this habit? How long is it before we start paying for water or guard it in locks? Are we taking water, as a resource, for granted? Are we ready to pay the price for our actions? Water, a shared resource, has multiple users as well as its issues are multidimensional ranging from quality, quantity, and is dynamic through space and time (varies across geographical regions). India is the second most populated country with 138 crore people, using one quarter of available global freshwater. However, 16.3 crore of them lack access to clean water, 21 crore lack access to sanitation and 21% communicable diseases are linked to unsafe water as per World Bank reports, thereby increasing the economic burden. India, like any other nation, faces mismanagement of water, climatic change vagaries, lack of technology, corruption, and political pressure to end the water crisis. Further, available water resources are facing a breakpoint as following: Surface water: It is getting depleted as well as polluted owing to poor management and lack of regulation. Groundwater: It is being replenished due to excessive pumping supplying to communities and industries. However, climate change has exacerbated the stress with droughts and floods. Our gluttonous desires have taken a toll on water as a commodity. Water crisis seems too daunting for the sustenance of people’s lives and the terrestrial ecosystem. Is not it time to wake up and look around what is happening? Corporates contribution towards water crisis Ever since the days of industrialization, nature is constantly burning to meet the increasing demands of the population. The environmental and economic impacts of industry’s inefficiencies are becoming real and horrifying. “As the Government of India bolsters micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) industries, the corporate world gains significant power hence their impact on the economic landscape of the nation is revolutionizing. But, with great power, corporations should also act responsibly for community and planet benefits.” Industries like agriculture, pharmaceuticals, power generation, mining, food and beverage, textile are highly water dependent, while others are indirectly dependent on it for cooling, heating, transport and so on. A surge in water consumption with rapid industrialization and urbanization has been exacerbated with climatic changes. While water is becoming scarce, companies with high water consumption can experience manufacturing, supply chain, distribution, and financial turbulence. Water risks are spanning across industries ranging from physical, reputational, and regulatory. So, let us understand how corporate actions are driving water scarcity: The major driver for water stress is urbanization, as more people rise, food demand shall rise too resulting in increased water demand in the agriculture industry. climate change with frequent droughts and floods would exacerbate the stress. Government would prioritize food bowls as a result corporations’ water dependent operations would be stranded with financial losses. Availability of low-cost water resources coupled with its exorbitant usage and poor management in industries like agriculture, power generation underpins a horrific water crisis for the future. Industries that are highly dependent on clean water do not have a control over their operational runoffs leading to clean water wastage, why is it so? This could be attributed to the lack of operational regulation. Corporates invade smaller communities by setting up factories and using local people’s available water resources. For example: Coca Cola, which uses sugar in soda, relies on the agricultural industry for gallons of water for their production process. But the company in India had faced legal battles with residents in India due to their setup in local hallways hence had to shut down several factories. Another gigantic issue that requires intervention is that water bodies are being polluted owing to unregulated discharge of low-quality wastewater by Industries. Moreover, as per reports “India is facing an acute water crisis with 70% households receiving contaminated water.” Henceforth, ensuring safe access to high quality water becomes the utmost priority more than ever. Such inefficiencies are bound to impact water’s availability whilst wrecking industries supply chain and production process. Corporates gaining sustainable momentum An array of increasing industry activities is creating underwater noise affecting the water’s acoustic ecosystem with bilateral effects on human health and economy. According to (Carbon Disclosure Project) CDP’s report, the water crisis is an imminent threat to the business economy. It is imperative for industries to take sustainable actions and recover ecological flow of water for the environment as well as local communities that share common watersheds with them. Forward going corporations have taken charge of building a sustainable ecosystem using Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) pillars. Lately, the positive shift towards sustainability has gained recognition post CSR law enforcement by the Government in alignment with UNESCO’s sustainable development goals (SDG). Hence, companies’ water risks exposure and sustainability measures are evaluated through ESG metrics. Currently, water metrics reported by companies are as follows: water footprint (consumption by company, water intensity), water risks and total water withdrawal (from groundwater, surface water, aquifers, etc.). Certain companies demonstrating steps to drive water sustainability such as: As per Lupin Limited’s Integrated 2021-2022 report, the Indian pharmaceutical company reported a Zero Liquid discharge at 50% of Indian sites, thereby managing antibiotic releases from their operations. Further, they reduce their water risks through installation of water recycling plants, adoption of water efficient mechanisms along with raising awareness among