Both the Bangladesh and Indian governments must put their heads together and seek international assistance to clear the massive oil spill off the coast of the Sunderbans, a unique transboundary mangrove forest and a UNESCO world heritage site.
The Sunderbans’ ecosystem is already vulnerable which makes expeditious cooperation between the two countries to clear the toxic liquid an urgent necessity. Failure to act immediately will destroy the unique ecosystem of the deltaic region that draws thousands of tourists.
There is no reason why Bangladesh and India cannot work on protecting the Sunderbans’ sensitive ecosystem. Two years ago, scientists from Bangladesh, Britain and India resolved to study the impact of climate change on the livelihoods of those living in the islands covered by dense foliage and sundari trees, making them the largest mangrove forest in the world.
More than two-thirds of the forest lies in Bangladesh and the rest in India. The Sunderbans is a vast complex intertidal and estuarine areas in India and Bangladesh where the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers converge on Bengal basin, reminding us of Amitava Ghosh’s novel The Hungry Tide.
While the use of the forest for timber, pulpwood and firewood is heavy, the Sunderbans continues to support a diverse fauna, including the last population of the royal Bengal tigers that inhabit the mangroves, and marine life.
The harmful effects of industrial pollution and continuing deforestation threaten the Sunderbans. At the same time, the effect of expanding agriculture, which involves clearing the mangrove forests for irrigation canals, is taking its toll on the fragile ecosystem.
In these circumstances, a massive oil spill can potentially destroy the biodiversity of the mangroves which provide a range of benefits to local communities living in close proximity of the forests.
The oil spill, spread over an area of 80 square kilometres along the Sela river in Bangladesh, is approximately 100 kilometres from Kolkata.
While Indian officials do not appear to be worried over the slick spreading into Indian waters, the oil spill, which resulted from a collision between two ships on Tuesday, is spreading fast off Bangladesh’s portion of the Sunderbans. It could potentially wipe out the sanctuary for the Irrawady and Gangetic dolphins.