Bangladesh’s coral-rich island waning amid ineffective protected area

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Bangladesh’s only coral-rich St. Martin's Island has been on the verge of losing its enriched biodiversity and ecosystem mainly due to lax monitoring of the protection of the island and the marine area.

Wildlife expert Monirul H. Khan has been studying the biodiversity of Saint Martin's Island for a couple of years. He said he recently visited the island and witnessed the shocking picture of dying coral reefs.

“Saint Martin's Island is the only coral-rich island in Bangladesh and its condition continues to worsen. I recently visited the island and found out that most of the coral reefs are dead. The coral colony and population are declining fast,” he added.

A professor of zoology at Jahangirnagar University, Khan told Anadolu Agency that the “waste management system needs to be improved while the plastic pollution on the island should immediately be stopped as the existing situation of the island's biodiversity remains in a sorry state.”

The wildlife experts, on the eve of June 8 World Oceans Day, have called on authorities concerned to implement relevant policies in the marine protected area of the Bay of Bengal on Saint Martin's Island.

- Saint Martin's biodiversity under constant threat

The 7.3-kilometer- (4.5-mile-) long island has been experiencing a coral bleaching event between 2018 and 2021, according to a recent study by Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute.

During the peak tourist season, around 8,000 visitors come to St. Martin’s Island every day in 10 cruise ships, which is much higher than its capacity.

Another study -- titled Detection of Coral Reefs Degradation using Geospatial Techniques around Saint Martin's Island, Bay of Bengal -- said that in the past 38 years, the coral cover on the island has decreased from 1.32 square kilometers (0.5 square miles) to 0.39 sq km (0.15 sq mi).

The number of coral species has dropped from 141 to 41, it added.

Wildlife expert Khan said one of their recent studies has found that a marine protected area is needed to protect the biodiversity and ecosystem of the island. They also found that the declared area is comparatively suitable for the revival efforts.

“We already forwarded our findings and recommendation to the concerned government agency,” he added, stressing that they “are not equipped and determined in the implementation phase.”

The Environment Ministry in January declared Saint Martin's Island a marine protected area, while the ministry declared 1,743 sq km (673 sq mi) of sea area the Saint Martin's Marine Protected Area under the country’s Wildlife Act to protect its biodiversity, flora, and fauna.

The latest protected area is an addition to the previously declared 590 hectares of the ecologically critical area.

- Protected marine area hardly effective, say rights activists

Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, Cox’s Bazar chief of local environment rights organization Bangladesh Environment Movement, told Anadolu Agency that most parts of the total protected area on Saint Martin's Island -- except for Chhera Dwip located at the southern portion of the island -- are hardly monitored by the government.

"A number of tourists manage to visit the endangered coral-rich island skipping government restrictions during the restricted period.”

He believes the island is losing its glory and most of its rich biodiversity and ecosystem are now on the verge of destruction.

“The government earlier asked to suspend any construction activities at Saint Martin's but the influential people under the political umbrella remained unstoppable,” Chowdhury noted.

There are some 106 residential hotels, cottages, resorts, and restaurants on the island despite a court directive to remove those structures.

“If we fail to stop building illegal structures, the rush of tourists, and unplanned tourism, then we would soon lose the only coral-rich island in Bangladesh,” he warned.

- Gov't assures strict protection measures

Mohammad Sulaiman Haider, the planning head of the Department of Environment, also stressed the need for a marine protected area to revive the endangered biodiversity of the coral-rich island, including controlling the rush of tourists and further boosting the country’s blue economy.

“Saint Martin's Island is our natural resource and we are aware of (the need of) protecting it. A policy on tourism at St. Martin’s Island is in the final stage and the Prime Minister's Office is coordinating the whole procedure.”

“Once the major policy is approved by the government, there will be no scope for lax monitoring in the implementation phase of the Saint Martin's Island marine protected area,” he added.

According to the Environment Ministry, the protected area would prevent uncontrolled movement of water vessels, overfishing, dumping of waste and chemicals, and destruction of coral reefs and biodiversity.