An Ecosystem-Based Marine Spatial Planning Approach for Sustainable Natural Resources Management in the Bangladesh Delta

Despite the establishment of maritime boundaries with Myanmar (2012) and India (2014), which secured sovereign rights over approximately 118,813 km² of the Bay of Bengal, marine space is still managed on a sector-by-sector basis, and no marine spatial plan has been prepared. This study identifies significant ecological, economic, and cultural areas within Bangladesh’s maritime zone, and proposes a framework for the blue economy and develops an ecosystem-based model of marine spatial planning (MSP). Secondary spatial and statistical data from government agencies, research institutions, and peer-reviewed literature were combined with NOAA-20 VIIRS ocean colour imagery in a GIS geodatabase. The ArcGIS-based AquaSpace tool then supported the identification of sites, scenario analysis, and conflict screening. The mapping covered marine protected areas, ecologically sensitive areas, fishing grounds, Hilsa sanctuaries, ports, shipping routes, ship-recycling yards and 26 offshore hydrocarbon blocks (15 in deep water and 11 in shallow water), as well as coastal tourism sites. Conflict hotspots arose between nearshore artisanal fishing and shipping and between offshore gas exploration and Hilsa sanctuaries and sensitive habitats. The proposed framework incorporates MSP into an Integrated Coast and Ocean Management policy and plan, while the spatial model allocates space for conservation, fisheries, mariculture, ports, energy, research and security. The reliance on secondary data and the absence of stakeholder validation limit the findings. However, the model offers a transparent starting point for Bangladesh’s first national marine plan. As a general recommendation, planners and policymakers in coastal states with limited data should begin MSP by pooling existing sectoral data in a shared geodatabase, protecting ecologically sensitive areas first, separating conflicting uses in space, and refining the zones with stakeholders as new data emerge, so that blue growth is pursued within ecological limits.

Keywords: Marine Spatial Planning; Blue Economy; Ecosystem-Based Management; Bay of Bengal; Geographic Information System; Bangladesh.