Implementation of ecosystem-based management in the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem

This study deals with the possibilities of implementing an ecosystem-based marine management in the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem, which lacks a collective system of ocean management and also an integrated framework... [ view full abstract ]

This study deals with the possibilities of implementing an ecosystem-based marine management in the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem, which lacks a collective system of ocean management and also an integrated framework (legal and institutional) to ensure cooperation at the scale of the Large Marine Ecosystem level. In order to implement ecosystem-based marine management, it requires to know in advance to what extent the Bay of Bengal States accept the legitimacy of the collective solutions to deal with ocean governance issues while feeling more ownership over their decisions. This idea is compatible with the notion of ‘subsidiarity’, which recognises that regional ocean issues can be better solved among regional States than global ones. At the centre of the current discourse around ecosystem-based marine management in the world the application of subsidiarity have yet to be explicated. Therefore, the aim of this study is to discuss Large Marine Ecosystem level commitment as a necessary precondition for ocean management in general, and ecosystem-based marine management in particular. In order to provide an account and an overview of the cooperation among Bay of Bengal regional States, an analysis of key documents published during 2005-2016 will be undertaken.