With the resolution of maritime boundary disputes with Myanmar in 2012 and India in 2014, Bangladesh has gained sovereign rights over more than 118,813 square kilometers of sea area, including an exclusive economic zone extending 200 nautical miles and a further 345 nautical miles. This “sea victory” has enhanced Bangladesh’s international significance, but it also highlights a growing concern: marine and coastal pollution, which poses serious threats to human health and biodiversity. The marine environment of Bangladesh, rich in flora, fauna, hydrocarbons, and fish stocks, faces pollution from both land-based and sea-based sources, including municipal and industrial waste, shipbreaking activities, and agricultural runoff.
Plastic pollution, in particular, has emerged as a critical issue, endangering marine life such as dolphins, whales, and porpoises, which are increasingly suffering from the effects of excessive plastic waste. Despite the severity of the problem, Bangladesh’s efforts to understand and address environmental and public health challenges related to marine pollution remain limited. The textile and dyeing industries, for instance, discharge millions of cubic meters of wastewater annually, polluting 20 percent of the country’s freshwater, while shipbreaking yards contribute significantly to marine oil pollution.
Bangladesh is ranked 10th globally for unmanaged plastic waste, yet research and national management strategies to tackle this issue are lacking. Studies on plastic pollution are few, with only 24 published between 2006 and 2019, and a scant focus on the impact of plastic waste on freshwater and marine environments. The Department of Pollution Control reports that major rivers in Bangladesh discharge billions of tons of trash and silt into the Bay of Bengal, contributing to large-scale marine pollution, which accounts for 75 percent or more of the total marine pollution in the country.
The impact of marine pollution in Bangladesh, including the degradation of marine and coastal resources, threatens the country’s economic development and access to the ocean economy. To address these challenges, it is essential to revise, enhance, and amend existing laws and regulations to meet global demands for marine protection. Bangladesh must foster national public opinion on environmental conservation and collaborate with stakeholders to safeguard the marine environment, reduce pollution, and address the major threats to human health and biodiversity.