::: Star Weekend Magazine :::

Cover Story =

Choking = Coastlines=20

Nader = Rahman=20

There are a few major tourist = locations=20 in Bangladesh, but without a doubt Cox's Bazar is the = most=20 frequented and well known. Its pristine beaches, quiet = serenity and laid back atmosphere make it an ideal = holiday=20 destination. Now, what people took most for granted, = its=20 unspoiled beaches, are being choked with mountains of = garbage=20 and marine waste. The once beautiful and untouched = Cox's Bazar=20 is now a filthy mess, to add to that the Department of = Environment (DOE) has listed it as an ecologically = critical=20 area (ECA). In essence it means double the trouble, = aside from=20 being an ECA it has a pollution problem which could, = and some=20 experts say already is, greatly affecting the = environment. But=20 with regard to coastal pollution in Bangladesh, Cox's = Bazar is=20 not the only problematic area, there is the whole = Cox's=20 Barzar-Teknaf peninsula, along with St. Martin, = Shonadia and=20 Kuakata. Cox's Bazar is just one case of a larger = problem, a=20 problem which people are trying to overcome through = various=20 programmes; this truly is the time to act before it's = too=20 late.

September 14=20 marked the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), a day = where=20 volunteers from around the world took to beaches and = waterways=20 to collect trash and any sort of polluting elements = they could=20 get their hands on. This year for the third year in a = row,=20 Bangladesh took part in the global event, it proved to = be the=20 largest event yet with close to 300 people = participating along=20 with Banglalink as the title sponsor. One might think = that an=20 isolated day like this once-a-year event can't achieve = much;=20 nothing could be further from the truth. One had to be = there=20 to see the volunteers - children of all ages- from the = first=20 grade right through to university students- sifting = through=20 the sand and picking up any and every piece of waste = on the=20 beach, to fully understand exactly what a day like = that can=20 do.

Getting = young people=20 involved in the clean up will ensure cleaner beaches = in the=20 future.

The day started at about 10:30 with = all the=20 students lined up in their sponsored T-shirts and = caps. It was=20 actually quite a sight, the volunteers were standing = according=20 to their height, therefore the beginning of the = procession=20 there were the smallest children, ready and raring to = go. The=20 smallest and youngest was Nilufer, she was in the = first grade=20 but even she knew what she was up for.

=93I'm here to clean the beach, we = can't keep=20 it dirty forever=94, she said. She understood the = enormity of=20 the task and the event as much as the next person, and = by=20 teaching the youth of today it ensures future = generations=20 don't make the same mistakes.

While the event may have been = sponsored by=20 Banglalink, the real organisers of the event were a = group by=20 the name of Kewkradong. In their own words they say=20 =93Kewkradong believes in creating and gathering local = enthusiasm towards voluntarism and conceptual = adventure/=20 humanitarian/ nature building tourism in Bangladesh.=20 Kewkradong shows professional attitude during handling = different projects, expedition planning, concept = development=20 and inter organization relationship.=94 Three years = ago it was=20 Muntasir Mamun of this organisation who brought the = topic of=20 coastal cleaning closer to the public by arranging=20 Bangladesh's first participation in the International = Coastal=20 Cleanup. He is currently Country Coordinator = Bangladesh, for=20 the ICC.

=93The idea of a coastal clean up = did not come=20 to me over night", he says. "I actually went to a = mountain=20 conservation meet in Japan in 2005, there they first = told me=20 of the ICC. I was told to get in touch with The Ocean=20 Conservancy in Washington if I wished to start the = project in=20 Bangladesh. The 2005 ICC was soon after my trip, so = just a=20 handful of us took part by cleaning as much of Cox's = Bazar as=20 we could. It was great fun, but I still had not = officially=20 contacted The Ocean Conservancy about specifically how = Bangladesh could join the rest of the world in the = ICC.=94 Even=20 if he did not get in touch with the ocean conservancy = and even=20 if Bangladesh did not take part in the ICC the matter = of=20 coastal pollution was and still remains a huge = problem. Mamun=20 simply took a step in the right direction, and tried = to link=20 it to the collective consciousness of the nation.

Bags full = of garbage=20 collected in one day at the beach.

=93In January 2006, I contacted the = Ocean=20 Conservancy and filled out their documents", says = Mamum. "They=20 soon sent me a parcel weighing 45 kg full of = documents! It was=20 unexpected to say the least. The package contained = explanatory=20 posters, brochures, data cards and certificates. But = to=20 receive the parcel I had to pay USD 400 out of my own = pocket=20 to customs=94, he says. Now he needed more volunteers, = the only=20 way he could do that was to offer them something as = well.=20 Rajshahi University contacted him about giving a = lecture on=20 mountain climbing, he said he would only accept if = they gave=20 him some students to help out with his coastal = cleaning=20 effort. The Geography and Environmental Sciences = Department=20 helped him out with six hours of service, cleaning the = banks=20 of the Padma.

His next effort would be to head up = Bangladesh's ICC mission. He says, =93For the 2006 ICC = the=20 weather was very bad. Cox's Bazar was right in the = middle of a=20 rather large storm. But through it all we managed to = hold a=20 successful event, about 100 of us worked with the = event last=20 year and it really was a lot of fun.=94 Aside from = being just=20 another event, in 2006 the locals became aware of the=20 situation and hazards of coastal pollution. So much so = that=20 the Assistant District Commissioner of Cox's Bazar, = Omar Faruk=20 helped out.

The movement was steadily gaining = ground, all=20 it needed now was large-scale awareness, and with = sponsorship=20 from Bangalink this year that is exactly what it got. = But=20 while the international coastal cleanup is a noble = cause, who=20 exactly are they benefiting? Mohammad Abdul Hannan, = wildlife=20 biodiversity conservation officer for the department = of=20 environment (DOE), answers, =93To most people the = cleaning of=20 the coast is simply a cosmetic effect, but the truth = of the=20 matter is that the wildlife is what benefits most.=94 = Hannan=20 works for the Coastal and Wetland Biodiversity = Management=20 Project, a project which is funded by the UNDP and = Global=20 Environment Facilities (GEF). Interestingly, the GEF = only=20 funds projects that are globally important.


Many animals and marine life get = trapped=20 in coastal waste, and die	Young volunteers line up for = the task=20 ahead

Hannan says, = =93Bangladesh suffers=20 from major pollution problems, they are not limited to = any one=20 area, but it would be a fair assumption that the = pollution by=20 the sea is possibly the most damaging. Most of the = debris=20 along our shorelines is marine debris while a large = amount of=20 the debris in Cox's Bazar is tourist related. The = multiple=20 effects of the pollution, moreover, are far-reaching = and=20 devastating. Many animals, for instance, such as sea = turtles=20 die after eating plastic waste such as helium balloons = left=20 around the beach. They do that because under-

water helium balloons resemble = jellyfish, their=20 staple diet.

While the statistics of animals = entangled in=20 any sort of waste are quite low in Bangladesh that = does not=20 necessarily mean the problem does not exist. In most = cases=20 fishermen and villagers simply do not report it, = therefore it=20 eludes the DOE statistics. But the problem of animals = being=20 trapped in coastal waste is very real and unless = Bangladesh's=20 coastline is cleared the number of incidents will = increase,=20 and in ecologically critical areas such as St. = Martin's,=20 Shonadia and the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf peninsula the = results on=20 the animal habitats could be catastrophic. Hannan says = =93The=20 scope of research into seeing how many animals die = because of=20 waste products is low, and that is a major problem if = we are=20 to assess the current situation correctly.=94


This year = close to 300=20 people participated in the International Coastal = Clean=20 Up Day 2007	Photo: David=20 Barikder

Hannan says =93For = animals such as=20 the sea turtle, marine debris has a major impact on = its=20 nesting habits. And a problem with its nesting habits = could=20 threaten the survival of the species. When the turtles = come=20 lay their eggs if they find any form of obstruction = such as=20 marine debris, a plastic cup or anything then they = immediately=20 stop digging their next nest. They will move on to a = new=20 place, if it happens again they will more often than = not forgo=20 nesting that year and head out to water. This scenario = may=20 sound far-fetched but with the levels of pollution in = Cox's=20 Bazar and the surrounding areas this has happened many = a time.=20 This is a huge problem and there has to be a concerted = effort=20 from everyone to reduce the amount of waste and = pollution on=20 the beaches of Bangladesh.=94

The pollution around the coast of = Bangladesh=20 currently affects migratory birds, sea turtles and = cetaceans=20 such as dolphins and whales. In 2004 there was a=20 much-publicised case of a dolphin trapped in old = fishing nets=20 in the Sunderbans. Situations like that need to be = avoided=20 especially since the Cox's Bazar area is an = ecologically=20 critical zone. Seagulls and migratory birds are also = victims=20 of the sea side garbage. They often pick up garbage = and eat it=20 and in some extreme cases get trapped in it. For one = to truly=20 see the effect of coastal pollution one must learn to = look=20 beyond the tourist locations of Cox's Bazar. Hannan = says =93the=20 situation is far worse in St. Martin's, there the = levels of=20 pollution have reached unmatched heights and because = it is an=20 island it has become a very tough job to clean that = area.=94


Hedayatul Islam = Helal	Md Abdul Hannan	Muntasir = Mamun
Photos: N.=20 Faruk

Hannan explains that = the nature of=20 garbage is different in different places. In Inani = beach, for=20 example, one will find mainly coconut husks and old = fishing=20 material as seaside garbage. In Shonar Para and = Kolatoli one=20 can find a lot of Styrofoam and all of that is related = to the=20 shrimp hatcheries in those areas. In Shonadia another = ECA, one=20 will mainly find fishing related debris such as, = sandals,=20 drums, nets and different kinds of plastic. And as = everyone=20 knows the Cox's Bazar area is full of garbage left by = careless=20 tourists.

"This information can be used = effectively to=20 clean the different types of garbage, and that is = exactly what=20 we tried on the ICC day" says Hannan. "That day we = (DOE) asked=20 all the shrimp hatcheries to clean up their own waste = on the=20 beaches and they did it. The point is now that they = have done=20 it once, we have to try and make them do it every day = of the=20 year. Individuals and industries must take charge of = their=20 waste. If everyone does their part, coastal pollution = no=20 longer be a problem.=94

The young = team of=20 workers who clean up the beach all year = round

To this argument Muntasir Mamun = adds =93One=20 interesting thing about the ICC is that we have data = cards to=20 fill out and there we must catalogue all the types of = garbage=20 we pick up. It is clear from those data cards that the = main=20 polluting item that we found on the beach was = cigarettes butts=20 and packets. They definitely accounted for most of the = garbage, followed by plastics such as chips and = biscuit=20 wrappers.=94 What he plans to do is collect this = information=20 over a period of a few years and then ask the = producers them=20 selves to clear away any pollution that they = individually=20 cause. For example British American Tobacco will be = obliged to=20 clean their own waste. If something along these lines = could be=20 worked out then at least the major tourist = destinations could=20 be kept pollution free and with the least amount of = hassle.=20 Large companies are quick to talk of corporate social=20 responsibility, with this one act many of them could = put there=20 money where there mouth is.

After it is all said and done one = really=20 needs round the year cleaning and that initiative has = already=20 been taken by Banglalink and Green World. Under the = leadership=20 of Hedaitul Islam Helal and with the sponsorship of=20 Banglalink, for the past two years, Cox's Bazar has = been=20 cleaned by a team of young boys. The project started = in 2005=20 and has been a great success so far. To understand how = well=20 the crew works one merely needs to think of the state = of the=20 beach before 2005. Helal says =93I pioneered the = programme and=20 since its start its motto has been quite simple, that = a clean=20 society can only grow a clean citizen. Helal says = =93The ideal=20 situation would be if people came and learned from my = boys=20 that littering was bad, then everyone would be = socially=20 responsible. I assure you if that happened then not = even my=20 team would be needed to clean the beach.=94 He sent in = a=20 proposal to Banglalink a few years ago, and it was all = quite=20 simple if they would fund him in keeping the beach = clean and=20 much to his surprise they jumped at the opportunity. = Helal=20 continues =93The Cox's Bazar Beach Cleaning Project is = a fairly=20 simple plan. Under the project 17 boys clean the beach = twice a=20 day and in return we pay for their food, lodging, = clothes and=20 medical expenses. Over and above that, we pay them Tk = 800 a=20 month. To help me there are two supporting staff and = one=20 teacher who educates them.=94

The average day for one of these = boys begins=20 at around 6:00 or 6:30 am when they first come onto = the beach.=20 They stay on the beach and clean it till 10:00. Then = they get=20 a break till 3:30 in the afternoon when they start = their=20 second shift which ends roughly at 5:00 or 5:30 pm. In = between=20 shifts they get time off and given basic lesson in = reading and=20 writing. Currently he has 17 youngsters between the = ages of 14=20 to 19 but seemingly almost every day dozens of = children ask if=20 they can join the squad. It is a problem Helal is = quite happy=20 to face. He also runs seasonal cleaning in Kuakata and = St.=20 Martin's but all on a smaller scale and only during = the=20 tourist season, but he hopes to expand. =93I hope to = spread the=20 message of cleanliness and protect our beaches as = well, these=20 boys working under me really understand the meaning of = sustainable living, now all we need are others to = follow.=94

The issue of coastal cleaning is = not one we=20 can shy away from. It has to be dealt with and dealt = with=20 fast. Bangladesh is choking its beaches up in three=20 ecologically critical areas. What is needed is a = little=20 education and a lot of hard work. Fishermen must be = taught not=20 to throw empty nets into the ocean and we must not = litter the=20 seaside. In Cox's Bazar the main people to blame are = the=20 tourists, without thinking they throw their trash away = not=20 understanding the consequences of their actions. A = seagull or=20 sea turtle may die because of an act as simple as = throwing=20 away a plastic cup on the beach. Some conscientious = people=20 have taken great pains to keep our beaches clean, but = there is=20 still a lot left to do. The time to act is now.