Experts have called for a ban on single-use plastic items in the Sundarbans, one of the world's largest mangrove forests, and coastal areas.
From a human chain held on Sunday, they said single-use plastics are harmful to public health and the environment while research shows that at least 20 species of fish in the three main rivers of the Sundarbans area are infected with microplastics.
Consuming these fish will slowly damage the digestive system, kidneys and liver of a person. It can also cause infertility in women.
The program was organized on the occasion of World Environment Day on the banks of the Pasur River in Mongla to voice concerns over plastic pollution. The event was organized by Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa), Waterkeepers Bangladesh and Pashur River Waterkeepers. Bapa Convenor of Mongla district unit Md Noor Alam Sheikh presided over the human chain.
In March this year, Environment Minister Md Shahab Uddin announced a ban on single-use plastic covering 6,500 square kilometres (2,500 square miles) of the forest.
"Single-use plastics have severely damaged the environment and biodiversity of the Sundarbans," the minister had said.
Speakers at the human chain said that banning single-use plastics in the Sundarbans will not work if other measures are not taken alongside this. Single-use plastic must be stopped immediately in the rivers and the entire coastal area adjacent to the Sundarbans as the biodiversity of the Sundarbans is threatened by plastic pollution and industrial pollution, they added.
The speakers said that making profits through the production of single-use plastic products cannot be an act of social responsibility. Its production should be stopped immediately.
One of the causes of the rise of greenhouse gases is plastic. About 38 types of chemicals are used in making plastic. Among them, 12 to 18 types of chemicals are very harmful. Polythene and plastic do not dissipate from the environment. At some point, it gets mixed with our food causing serious damage to public health, the speakers added.
They also called for finding suitable alternatives to plastic and bringing an end to the use of single-use plastic-made products in the area.
The Sundarbans, located on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal, also help buffer coastal communities in Bangladesh from the cyclones that frequently strike the country during its annual monsoon.
Conservationists regularly sound the alarm over environmental threats to the Sundarbans, including the construction at its northern edge of a coal-fired power station that began operations last year.
