Home ›› 16 Apr 2022 ›› Editorial
Oceans are central to our lives, but many of our impacts on the oceans are highly unsustainable, and patterns of resource exploitation at sea are deeply inequitable. SDG Goal 14 aims at conserving and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources. Careful management of the oceans is a crucial feature of a sustainable future. However, currently, there is a continuous deterioration of coastal waters owing to pollution, and ocean acidification is harming the functioning of ecosystems and biodiversity. Sea pollution is also negatively impacting small-scale fisheries.
Marine biodiversity is critical to people’s health and our planet. Marine protected areas need to be effectively managed and well-resourced. Regulations need to be put in place to reduce overfishing, marine pollution, and ocean acidification. Oceans also absorb about 30 per cent of the carbon dioxide produced by humans. We have seen a 26 per cent rise in ocean acidification since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
The SDGs aim to sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems from pollution and address the impacts of ocean acidification. Enhancing conservation and the sustainable use of ocean-based resources through international law will also help mitigate some of our oceans’ challenges.
According to an agency report, Bangladesh has announced five new commitments to the “7th Our Ocean Conference” in Palau. Palau and the United States co-hosted the conference on April 13-14. Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen informed the conference about the country’s new commitments. The five new commitments include the National Plan of Action to eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and demark a new Marine Protected Area in Saint Martin’s Island. The other three commitments are ensuring safe ship recycling by 2023, formulating Solid Waste Management Rules 2021, and harnessing marine resources sustainably under Blue Economy for inclusive development.
As is well known, Bangladesh is a party to several international conventions and treaties to protect the environment and biodiversity. Under the obligations of these treaties and agreements, Bangladesh has vowed to protect its marine environment. Despite all this, one of Bangladesh’s biggest challenges is environmental degradation. This is not only depleting Bangladesh’s resources but is also adversely affecting human life. To combat marine pollution, Bangladesh ratified or signed International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness; Response and Cooperation (London, 1990); Basel Convention on the Control of Trans boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (Basel; 1989); United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea, 1982; International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties (Brussels, 1969); and International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil 1973 (MARPOL) as modified by the protocol of 1978. But there is no comprehensive national legislation for enforcement of these conventions.
Sea pollution continues unabated in Bangladesh. Bangladesh throws all sorts of waste into the sea, including plastic bags, bottles, sewage, and infectious hospital waste. The rapidly expanding ship-breaking industry is the main source of discharging heavy toxic impurities into the sea. Bangladesh’s coastal areas have several industrial areas, but these are deficient in proper waste management systems. The hazardous industrial waste eventually finds its way into the sea. The fish and other marine life swallow small particles of metals, plastic, and toxic substances. Completing the food chain, humans eat these fish, and the toxic substances can severely damage their immune systems.
Saving our oceans must remain a priority. Bangladesh is facing an existential threat from environmental degradation. It is not the government’s responsibility alone to tackle these issues. The citizens, too, need to play their role in taking care of the sea. Bangladesh can take responsibility at the individual level and play a part by not throwing away waste at the coast and into the sea. They must bring the best out of themselves to preserve the natural environment.
Bangladesh must not allow untreated waste to be dumped into the sea. Industrial units must install proper waste treatment plants. International standards should be followed for the waste that is to be dumped into the sea. The government should encourage the construction of treatment plants and punish non-compliant industries with heavy penalties. The money generated by this initiative can be used for environmentally friendly projects.
