Tourists dropping trash in the world's largest mangrove forest, according to conservationists in Bangladesh, have seriously harmed the ecosystem, forcing the World Heritage site to impose a single-use plastic ban.
The Sundarbans forest, which straddles the Bangladeshi coastline, is home to some of the world's most endangered species, including the Bengal tiger and the Irrawaddy dolphin.
According to government estimates, approximately 200,000 tourists visit each year, in addition to seasonal visits by fishermen and wild honey harvesters who rely on the ecosystem's bounty.
Bangladesh Bans Plastics In World's Largest Mangrove Forest
OSWALDO RIVAS/AFP via Getty Images
Bangladesh's Minister of Environment Md. Late Monday, Shahab Uddin announced a single-use plastic ban for 6,500 square kilometers (2,500 square miles) of the forest, as per Phys.org.
According to the minister, single-use plastics have severely harmed the environment and biodiversity of the Sundarbans.
"They bring disposable water bottles, one-time use plastic food plates, soft-drink bottles and cans when they visit the forest," Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain, a government forest conservator, told AFP.
Bangladesh's Minister of Environment Md. Late Monday, Shahab Uddin announced a single-use plastic ban for 6,500 square kilometers (2,500 square miles) of the forest.
According to the minister, single-use plastics have severely harmed the environment and biodiversity of the Sundarbans.
"In the Sundarbans, the environment and biodiversity are at stake," Monirul Khan, a zoology professor at Bangladesh's state-run Jahangirnagar University, told AFP.
The gravity of plastic pollution is greater than meets the eye. These plastics are frequently consumed by wild animals.
UNESCO designated a portion of the Sundarbans as a World Heritage site in 1997.
Mangroves protect coastlines from erosion and extreme weather events, improve water quality by filtering pollutants, and serve as nursery grounds for a variety of marine creatures.
They can help combat climate change by sequestering millions of tons of carbon in their trees' leaves, trunks, roots, and soil each year.
The Sundarbans, which are located on the Bay of Bengal's delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers, also help buffer coastal communities in Bangladesh from cyclones that frequently strike the country during its annual monsoon.
Conservationists regularly raise the alarm about environmental threats to the Sundarbans, such as the construction of a coal-fired power station on its northern edge, which began operations last year.
According to Bangladesh Environment Movement general secretary Sharif Jamil, the plant continues to pose a significant threat to the ecosystem.
Plastic Waste Mismanagement Is Killing Our Environment
While these statistics paint a bleak picture of plastic waste mismanagement in Chattogram, the country's overall picture may be more concerning, as per The Daily Star.
According to the World Bank, Bangladesh was one of the top countries in the world in terms of plastic pollution in December 2021 due to insufficient plastic waste management.
In Dhaka alone, the annual per capita plastic consumption is 22.25kg.
This figure is more than three times higher than the national average for urban areas.
According to a report on the plastic industry by business consulting firm LightCastle Partners, Bangladesh ranks 10th in mismanaging plastic waste, with daily plastic waste in Dhaka increasing from 178 tonnes to a staggering 646 tonnes between 2005 and 2020.
The accumulation of plastic waste is a concerning trend because it can have serious environmental consequences.
According to Plastics Europe, a leading pan-European trade association, plastic is mostly made from "natural materials such as cellulose, coal, natural gas, salt, and crude oil through a polymerization or polycondensation process."
When these are exposed to the sun's heat, they can emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases.
This undoubtedly contributes to rising temperatures, which in turn can facilitate the production of more harmful gases, such as ethylene and methane, which can raise the temperature even further, creating a nightmare cycle of destruction.
Given that plastic is not naturally biodegradable, the only way forward for plastic waste management is to implement a circular economic model.
Only 37.2% of the 646 tonnes of plastic waste collected daily in Dhaka is recycled.
The remainder is disposed of in landfills, bodies of water, playgrounds, roads, and sea beaches, among other places.
And this discarded waste has an impact on the environment, affecting not only the country but the overall health of the planet and all of its inhabitants.
