We are faced with another long-term crisis following the accident in the river near the Sundarbans. The oil spill caused by the callousness of the people operating the oil tanker and the vessel which hit it has put us to the test, resulting in hundreds of fingers being pointed at our policy masters.
Yet our government leaders appear unmoved. Rubbing salt in the wound, our shipping minister tells us that the devastating effect is not as serious as we feared.
He assures us that no great damage will be caused due to this spill. He further informs us that his ministry is in fact not considering a permanent ban on regular river traffic along the Sundarbans route.
The messages are clear: There’s nothing to worry about regarding the latest spillover, and be ready to witness further such accidents in the future.
Over 97% of all water on Earth is saltwater, and most of the remaining 3% is frozen in the polar ice-caps. The atmosphere, rivers, lakes, and underground stores hold less than 1% of all the freshwater, and this tiny amount has to provide the freshwater needed to support the Earth’s population. Freshwater is a precious resource, and the increasing pollution of our rivers and lakes is a cause for alarm.
Do we need to learn anew that spilled oil is a serious threat to freshwater reserve and marine ecology? It affects surface resources and a wide range of subsurface organisms which are linked in a complex food chain, which includes human food resources.
Bangladesh is lucky to have large, deep rivers, and hundreds of waterways. The thriving trade of the region is made possible by its rivers, its agriculture is indebted to its water bodies.
Yet we go on with the mindless felling of trees and destroying our rivers (not to mention the killing of various rare species of animals in our forests). It now appears to be a national habit.
No law or good words can stop us. In fact, authority figures in turn come running to defend the actions of those harming our environment and economy.
What harm will the current oil spill do to our marine life? Various freshwater and marine ecologies that exist in nature have different sensitivities to the harmful effects of oil contamination, as well as different degrees of recuperative abilities.
Spilled oil can harm the environment in several ways, including the physical damage that directly impacts wildlife (coating birds or mammals with a layer of oil), and the toxicity of the oil itself, which can poison exposed organisms.
Although some organisms may be seriously injured or killed very soon after contact with the spilled oil, other effects are more subtle and often longer lasting.
Freshwater bodies are important to human health and the environment. They are used for producing drinking water, and frequently serve as nesting grounds and food sources for various freshwater organisms.
All types of freshwater organisms are susceptible to the deadly effects of spilled oil, including mammals, aquatic birds, fish, insects, micro-organisms, and vegetation. In addition, the effects of spilled oil on freshwater micro-organisms, invertebrates, and algae tend to move up the food chain and affect other species.
The outcome of the oil spill will cause damage to the smallest of living organisms in and around rivers and lakes. Worms, insects, shellfish, all have their foods poisoned in the river beds. Marshes and swamps will be seriously affected with little water movement. The variety of life in and around the rivers has different sensitivities to oil spills.
In open water, oil can be toxic to the amphibians, reptiles, fish, waterfowl, and other animals that make water their home. We already witnessed the severity of the spill when we found birds and ducks smeared in the toxic matter.
Their wings are rendered paralysed, and they eventually freeze to death. It is already killing the plants and animals that depend on the stream and forests for food and living.
More will die from sickness and starvation. This is a mass-killing caused by the mere callousness and high-handed attitude of humans. When will we realise that we cannot survive, let alone prosper, by committing such heinous crimes?
Shouldn’t we be talking about the rights of nature and wildlife now? Human rights do not permit us to play foul with the lives of nature and the animals. They have their right to life just as much as we do.
We are busy cleaning the surface of the water, but thousands of water and land organisms are dying slow deaths, in pain and agony. We haven’t thought of rescuing them. They cannot survive without our help. What are we doing to help them stay alive?
This accident has caused us permanent damage. Natural wealth will dry up, food resources will be lost, thousands of water and land species will face an early extinction, and river water will be rendered unusable for a long, long time. It will be wholesale catastrophe.
