Sustainable Development Goal No. 14 – Life Under Water

By: BM-A, Group 3 PGDM (BM) 2019-21, XLRI, Jamshedpur Aditya Sanket (B19003) Ambar Laad (B19005) Jayant Jain (B19022) Kshitij Gupta (B19025) Pranav J (B19033) Saransh Kejriwal (B19043)


Introduction
Water bodies have been subjected to overutilization, water pollution, warming, coastal erosion, rise in sea-levels, deoxygenation and acidification. SDG 14 comprises of seven targets, and three means of implementation, which aim to transform the way we exploit marine resources. The targets are extensions of commitments made under international frameworks to maintain and restore marine life to a threshold that can produce the maximum sustainable yield, formally known as the Johannesburg Declaration of Sustainable Development, adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002.
This goal focuses on human interaction with aquatic, marine and oceanic resources. The targets under the goal focus on the following:
  • Conservation and sustainable use
  • Capacity building
  • Effective governance of usage
The seven targets within SDG 14 are as follows:
  1. Prevention and reduction of marine pollution by 2025, including marine debris and nutrient pollution from land-based activities.
  2. Sustainably manage and conserve marine, coastal ecosystems by 2020 to avoid significant adverse impacts by strengthening their resilience, and take action to ensure their productivity.
  3. Minimise the impact of ocean acidification.
  4. Regulate fishing and end overfishing practices by 2020. Implement scientific plans to restore fish stocks to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield.
  5. Conserve at least 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020, consistent with international law and based on the available scientific information.
  6. Prohibit all forms of fisheries subsidies which add to overcapacity and overfishing by 2020, and eliminate subsidies that contribute to unreported or unregulated fishing. Recognising that appropriate and effective, special and differentiated treatment for developing countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organisation fisheries subsidies negotiation.
  7. Increase economic benefits to small, developing states and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources  through sustainable management of fisheries, pisciculture and tourism.

Relevance to the Indian Context 

India’s development interests and priorities seem to be going through a renewed phase of policy prescriptions directed by the new political environment in the country. The diversity of issues to be addressed, challenges to coordinated, options to monitor and partnerships to be created across multiple strata of the Indian society, emerging dimensions of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy and effectiveness of resource deployment form the core of issues that India need to be addressed to instigate debates related to the adoption and subsequent implementation of SDGs at national level. To support the initiation and prioritisation of such action, the following considerations are highly relevant:
Dealing with data and information – One of the critical needs to assess progress in implementing SDG 14 is to collate data and information related to the agreed targets and indicators. The diversity of targets broadens the scope of the information required, thus a wide range of stakeholders would need to be involved, including civil society organisations. Current experiences from India on such consolidated reporting indicate that either data is not available and/or is not being assessed appropriately by the concerned agencies.
Achieving national development as a sum-total of state level development – SDG14 coverage in India needs to be measured using metrics available at state and national levels. The goal can be achieved if there is collaboration and consolidation of actions at state levels.
Financing development – It is important to ensure appropriate and timely deployment of finances. The amount of money spent annually in support of biodiversity conservation actions in India is to the tune of Rs. 11,000-15,000 crores – both as direct and indirect support. However, the impact of this investment is hardly felt since the investments aren’t dissipated in a timely manner for prioritised action.  The role and relevance of private sector funding as well as resources raised through civil society groups is yet to be fully assessed in India.
Business Implications & Responses
The Ministry of Earth Sciences is the focal point of the country when it comes to providing inputs on regional science based issues for policy making. India is represented by the Ministry of External Affairs at international meetings and negotiations. There is a need for enhanced cooperation between these Ministries along with other ministries including the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Rural Development, as well as their state-level counterparts to effectively realise the targets prescribed by SDG14. The implementation of SDG14, be it in India or globally, cannot be taken as a stand-alone motion. It would need to be implemented in a constructive synergy with other sustainable development goals, so as to strike a right balance which is ecologically constructive and economically viable. Thus, countries need to focus on several other SDGs to achieve SDG14 on oceans and seas. From the context of business, SDG14 would have to establish catalysis with SDG8 (on economic growth) and SDG9 (on infrastructure).
Life Below Water and Economic Growth – While industrial growth has had a severe impact of marine habitat and quality of water in river bodies, practices around sustainable consumption of oceanic and marine resources can directly contribute to promoting economic growth by creating new opportunities for employment. Implementation of sustainable growth practices in maritime sectors such as fisheries and aquaculture can support employment and economic growth. Building fish capacity and collaborating over marine technology will help create the strengthened professional skills and competences necessary for achieving the SDG14 targets, and will also support youth employment, education and training, job creation and innovation, and enable sustained long-term economic growth in fisheries.
Oceans are essential for survival, as well as for the economy and employment. From a business standpoint, they provide space for business development and are a voluminous source of natural resources. More than 30% of mineral oil is extracted from the ocean, and international shipping routes are the most important transport lanes for high-volume transit of raw materials and products. Oceanic and marine activities are estimated to generate global revenue in the range of USD 3–5 trillion per year. It is estimated that achieving sustainable fisheries would generate an annual revenue of USD 3.5 trillion. Deep-sea mineral mining is an emerging economic activity that may generate new income sources, and create jobs in the domestic private sector. However, appropriate policies for their sustainable extraction must drafted and adopted well beforehand, in order to get the most future-proof practices in place right at the start.

Life Below Water and Infrastructure – Sustainable use of marine and coastal ecosystem resources for the development of marine and maritime activities and equal access to trade options can support industrialisation efforts and boost innovation in island states and coastal regions. Similarly, industrialisation and R&D may modify the infrastructural footprint, so as to foster conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. A balance must be found between ocean utilization and restoration measures. Alongside restoration, industrial infrastructure should be redesigned, so as to redirect industrial pollutants away from water bodies, rather than utilising them as a sink.

Analysis and Recommendations

India has had a proactive focus on oceans and marine resource management. India has over 100 institutions focused on marine and oceanic issues. The challenge lies in the lack of coordination and cooperation among many of these institutions and programmes. There is no single dataset that captures exhaustive information on marine resource availability and concerns arising from its usage. Data collation and assimilation would be a major challenge for India. The assessment of the global targets in the Indian context indicate that even though all of the targets and indicators may be relevant for India, considerable efforts would be needed to collate the information and data necessary to align with the targets. Given the dearth of relevant data to estimate progress on the seven SDG14 targets, India would need to look at the option of creating a special unit within the Statistics and Programme Implementation Department of the Government that may be mandated to work on identifying gaps in the data, suggesting options and indicators for measuring progress in alignment with the global indicators, and create a network of ministries, and institutions to generate data and assess the same.
A national framework on SDGs is needed to channel investments, finances, expertise and outreach, it will be very important to design differential approaches to deliver the actions for impactful results. The role of people-centric approaches to sustainable development action can only be strengthened using multiple interventions at multiple levels. The tax-to-GDP ratio is substantially lower in India than the average for BRICS countries. There is a considerable scope for boosting monetary resources by growing the tax base dedicated to marine conservation.
India has the largest population of fishing communities, both organized as well as rural, spread over three thousand villages. Over 1.4cr people depend on fisheries for livelihood. To ensure sustainable development of the fishing industry, along with an emphasis on livelihood sustenance and resource conservation, some of the measures that can be taken include establishment of a restricted fishing zones to ensure a sustained growth of fish populations in low-yield areas, awareness programmes for fishing communities in the unorganized sector, modernization and upgradation of formal fishing centres as well as banning of mechanized fishing.
In order to achieve inclusive results in sustainable development it is important to forge long term partnerships with private sector and civil society groups in India. Specific and  predictable guidelines should be made available under the newly enacted Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) law to ensure part of the proceeds from the revenue collections should be earmarked for a specially created trust fund aimed to support SDG implementation at local levels. Leveraging technology and iterative improvements in industrial infrastructure are important aspects  in terms of how humans interact with water bodies, be it for improving fishing gear or minimising marine pollution from land and sea-based sources in order to contribute to sustainable ecological growth.
It is important to inform and facilitate effective participation of all states in deciding on implementation of SDG14, especially in relation to using the targets. States in India offer too broad a platform for effective and speedy realisation of the SDG14 targets, given that each state faces different demographic challenges of its own. To ensure that the states in India work harmoniously, both in spite of, and because of the differences they offer, it would be appropriate to consolidate the Indian institutes working on marine and oceanic concerns to create a strong oversight about best practices followed in the country in this regard.

Firm in Focus – Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)

Water is a critical resource for manufacturing and usage of HUL products. Their targets to meet consumer needs must be constrained by the quality and quantity of water available. Since 2008, HUL has reduced its water usage in manufacturing processes by 55%, and undertaken endeavours like freshwater abstraction, rainwater harvesting and increase in condensate recovery, so as to reduce its intake from riverine sources. While their initiatives chiefly fall under the gamut of SDG12 – Responsible consumption and production, alongside SDG6 – Clean Water and Sanitization, the benefits of the same percolate towards SDG14 as well.

References
CICIN-SAIN, B. (2014). GOAL-14 Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. UN Chronicle, 51(4), 32–33. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=102781288&site=ehost-live
Ris.org.in. (2019). India and Sustainable Development Goals: The Way Forward | RIS Work Programme On Sustainable Development Goals. [online] Available at: http://ris.org.in/sdg/india-and-sustainable-development-goals-way-forward [Accessed 16 Oct. 2019].
Jones, P.J.S., W. Qiu, and E.M. De Santo. 2011. Governing Marine Protected Areas – Getting the Balance Right.Technical Report, United Nations Environment Programme.
HUL. (2019). Water use. [online] Unilever global company website. Available at: https://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/reducing-environmental-impact/water-use/ [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].

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