Saint Martin’s Island is a popular tourist place with its natural beauty, seaweed, and colorful coral. The unique ecological condition is favorable for the growth of coral and seaweed. Tourism started in August and end in April every year.
A huge amount of tourist influx occurred in the month of November to March. Almost 3500 tourists visit St. Martin’s Island every day during this peak season. Ships and engine boats carry this amount of tourist from Teknaf.
As a result, the environment of the sea and Island is being degraded day by day. Tourist polluting the marine environment by throwing non-biodegradable products (e.g. plastic materials, cane, etc.) into the sea.
The ship also discharging oil and waste materials into the sea. These activities contribute a lot to the pollution of marine ecology.
Beach pollution is also mentionable phenomenon due to haphazard tourism. Three types of impacts (economic, social and environmental) of tourism have been identified by scientists. The impacts of messy tourism can be positive, negative or both at the same time.
The gigantic amount of tourist is above the carrying capacity of the Island. The wastage products from tourists and local people discharged into the seawater. Moreover, hotels along the sandy beach use lighting that disturbs turtles in laying an egg.
Tourist activities (e.g. collection of coral and shells, throwing plastic materials, etc.) on the beach also contaminate the beach environment. The roaming and bathing on the rock destroy the coral ecology and uproot the seaweed.
Overall, the ecological condition and marine diversity are being degraded gradually.
Sustainable tourism is important for the development within an economic and social context, sustainability and effective management.
The tourism industry is started in the early 1950‟s and now this industry is making total revenues of almost US $1,000 billion and provides direct employment of over 70 million people. Thailand made 54 USD bn in Dec 2017 as tourism revenue, which was 46 USD bn in 2015.
This country earns 53778 USD mn in 2017 from tourism. India adds 2367 USD mn in August 2018 from tourism. While Bangladesh made 175 USD mn in 2016 from tourism.
Small islands considerably rely on tourism since tourism has greater economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts on their livelihood.
Due to haphazard tourism pollution is increasing at an alarming rate. The ecosystem of the beach and coastal area is being degraded day by day. Also the biodiversity of the Island is in a decreasing trend.
Naturally occurring seaweed is being uprooted, fishes are being found dead, turtles are not coming to the beach to lay an egg, and the turtle is being found dead in regular interval.
Turtle is also being bite by the dog. Corals are other important elements of the Island ecosystem. Due to plastic pollution and oil pollution, their number is decreasing from time to time.
Coral bleaching is now common phenomena in the Island. The most devastating issue is that fishes found in the Island are now being contaminated with heavy metals.
Bangladesh has two sea beach (one is the world largest sea beach) but our income from tourism is very poor. Though tourism is getting popularity to local people but our tourism authority unable to promote foreign tourist.
This mainly due to the environment of the beach and existing facilities. We can follow Thailand, India, Australia to enhance the tourism facilities and their tourist environment.
We should not ban tourism, we should promote tourism in a sustainable manner. But tourism should be promoted in a sustainable way and without disturbing the environment.
The environment should be the 1st priority, otherwise, we will lose our distinct Island in the forthcoming future. For the proper and meaningful management of the Island, long-term effective measures should be adopted.
The Article is produced by: Md. Simul Bhuyan, Md. Shafiqul Islam (Faculty of Marine Sciences and Fisheries, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh) and Abu Sayeed Muhammad Sharif (Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh)
Email: simulbhuyan@gmail.com
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are the author’s own. Therefore, the Bengal Discover Authority won’t take any legal or any other responsibility for the content or accuracy of the author’s opinion for the articles published herein.
