Tourists who are threatening the biodiversity of St Martin’s Island now will not even consider visiting there in a few years due to its decaying nature day by day, experts have said at a seminar.
They said no matter how challenging the task is, if the only coral island of the country is not protected with strict measures, it will not only have disastrous results from an environmental point of view but also badly affect the tourism economy.
The remarks were made at a roundtable on the scope of Marine Protected Area (MPA) management and exploring further opportunities in Bangladesh. The roundtable was organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bangladesh on Wednesday.
At present, Bangladesh has two designated MPAs centered on Nijhum Dwip and the Swatch of No Ground while St Martin’s Island has been waiting for a couple of years now to be declared MPA for manifold reasons.
Dhaka University Prof M Shahidul Islam projected a grim future for the island at the event.
“The island is being pushed to its death due to the unregulated manner in which St Martin’s is being managed right now. We talk about adopting a tourist caring policy, abolishing night stay facilities. However, in reality, St Martin’s has become a hub of systematic environmental disaster. We need to push these tourists to a different zone from here.”
Captain M Minarul Haque, director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Maritime Research and Development (BIMRAD), emphasized the inclusion of shrimp and fishing areas in the MPA.
“Declaring MPA is a conflicting approach to the reality of livelihood of the people of that area. I can say from my experience that it breaks our heart to push back the destitute fishermen. They don’t want to harm wildlife, but such declarations simply don't work if people on the ground do not comply,” he said.
There is no specific marine policy in Bangladesh to initiate the system, which is why a lack of collaboration among agencies is quite evident. However, the speakers opined that a separate ministry was needed to control the whole dynamics of marine operation in Bangladesh.
According to the Global Biodiversity Framework Target 3, at least 30% of the world's land and marine areas are to be conserved and equitably managed. In Bangladesh, only a 4,254 square kilometre area, nearly 3.8%, is exclusively dedicated to marine life protection.
The speakers also suggested enacting an exclusive policy regarding St Martin’s Island due to its distinctive nature compared to other coastal areas while keeping sustainable tourism planning on the cards.
The National Framework for Establishing and Managing MPA in Bangladesh, formulated by the government and IUCN, has recommended several other areas, with the potential to be declared as MPAs.
Saint Martin's Island, the only coral island in the southernmost part of the mainland of Bangladesh, comprises nine kilometres south of Teknaf in Cox's Bazar, at the estuary of the Naf River.
With an area of only three square kilometres, the island hosts around 4,000 inhabitants.
Scientists have recorded 182 species of wildlife on the island till now. Of these, 4 species are amphibians, 28 reptiles, 130 birds and 20 mammals, according to Banglapedia.