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India’s coastline is over 7,500 kilometres (over 4,600 miles) long, and nearly a fifth of the country’s population – about 250 million people – live along the coast. From mineral resources to food, tourism and maritime trade, the Indian Ocean is a lifeline, and its assets are worth billions of dollars.

But now the government is looking at an ambitious coastal development project to build ports, dams and inland waterways. How will this impact coastal communities and marine life? Will it end up choking the oceans, or can India adopt the Blue Economy and sustainably develop its marine resources?

As we celebrate World Environment Day and World Oceans Day this week, we ask our guests whether the Blue Economy is viable.

Presenter: Devina Gupta

Contributors: Nayantara Jain, executive director, ReefWatch Marine Conservation; Ganesh Nakhawa, sustainable fishery operator and founder, BluCatch; Puja Mitra, founder and director, Terra Conscious

Image: A fisherman pulls in his net at a beach in Chennai on November 22, 2018 (Credit: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images)