‘The South Asian Seas Programme (SASP) is one of eighteen such programmes’ (SACEP n.d.) in the world and its primary objective is the protection of a common body of water in the Indian Ocean. The Action Plan for the South Asian Seas Programme (SASP) was formally adopted by five South Asian countries including Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka at a Meeting of Plenipotentiaries of the concerned countries held in New Delhi on 24 March 1995 (SACEP n.d.). 

‘The action plan is based on the region’s environmental challenges as well as its socioeconomic and political situation and it assist the member countries in protecting the marine environment of the region. It may cover issues ranging from chemical wastes and coastal development to the conservation of marine species and ecosystems’ (Adler 2003). The South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) serves as the secretariat of SASP (SACEP n.d.). 

‘The coastal region of South Asia is rich in biological wealth and support multitude of economic activities. Yet it is also an area of multiple vulnerabilities, including climate change induced disasters, and anthropogenic activities such as land and sea-based pollution. A total of some 525 million tonnes a year of crude oil pass into or through the Region – about 25 per cent of total world movement of crude oil by sea. Additional maritime oil spill risks arise from non-tanker shipping, carriage of refined products, offshore explorations and production operations. Several major oil pollution incidents have been reported from the region’[1] (SACEP, IMO and Norad 2014) like the Tasman Spirit oil spill at Karachi port-Pakistan in early 2005. The future breadbasket, to feed the ever-increasing population of the world, lies in the marine waters.

‘The South Asian Seas Region can be categorised into two distinct geographical groups: mainland and island nations. While Maldives and Sri Lanka are island nations, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan are situated on the Asian mainland. The region has some of the largest and biologically rich marine ecosystems like Gulf of Mannar, Atolls of Maldives and Mangroves of Sundarbans’ (UNEP n.d.).

‘The presence of perennial rivers like Brahmaputra, Ganges, Godavari, Indus, Kelani, Magna, etc. have contributed to large network of backwaters, estuaries, salt marshes and mangroves. It is also the habitat for endangered marine turtles like Green and Olive Ridley turtles. Some of the largest coastal lagoons of the world like Chilka Lake in India and Puttalam lagoon in Sri Lanka are located in the South Asian Seas region. The region has one of the world’s finest coral ecosystems, with the atolls constituting the entire country of Maldives. The Lakshadweep and Nicobar group of islands of India and a few regions of Sri Lanka have fringing reefs’ (UNEP n.d.).

‘The coastal areas of South Asian region are characterised by the location of some of the largest population concentrations in the world (Karachi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Dhaka). The entire population of the Maldives can be considered as coastal, while in Sri Lanka more than 32% of population is found in the coastal belt’ (SACEP n.d.). 

‘The overall objective of the South Asian Seas Action Plan (SASAP) is to protect and manage the marine environment and related coastal ecosystems of the region in an environmentally sound and sustainable manner’ (UNEP 2003, p.25). The specific objectives are:

• Establish and enhance ‘consultations and technical co-operation among states within the region’;
• Highlight the ‘economic and social importance of the resources of the marine and coastal environment’;
• Establish ‘a regional co-operative network of activities concerning subjects/projects of mutual interest for the whole region’ (UNEP 2003, p. 25). 

The Action Plan, in addition to specifying the needs under the main components of Environmental Assessment, Environmental Management, Environmental Legislation & Institutional and Financial Arrangements also identifies priority activities for implementation. These priority activities are in the following four specific areas:

·         Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). 

• Protection of Marine and coastal Environment from Land based activities. 
• Human Resources Development through strengthening Regional Centres of Excellence. 
• Development of national and regional oil and chemical spill contingency plans (UNEP 2003, p. 25). 

References:

Adler, E. 2003, ‘A World of Neighbours: UNEP’s Regional Seas Programme’, United Nations Environment Programme, , accessed 20 Nov. 2015.

SACEP, IMO, Norad 2014, ‘Report on the First Meeting of Competent National Authorities’, South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) in partnership with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), 26-28 February, Colombo, Sri Lanka,

, accessed 20 November 2015. 

SACEP n.d. ‘South Asian Sea Programme-SASP’, South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme, , accessed 20 November 2015. 

UNEP n.d. ‘South Asian Seas’, United Nations Environment Programme,                              <http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/programmes/nonunep/southasian/default.asp>, accessed 20 November 2015. 

UNEP 2003, ‘South Asian Seas Region’, United Nations Environment Programme, , accessed 20 Nov. 2015.