Cox’s Bazar Representative //

Saint Martin is the only coral island in the country. This island is located at the southernmost border of the country. One of the top tourist destinations in Bangladesh is Saint Martin Island. More than one and a half lakh people visit this island every year.

The island was officially declared an Ecologically Critical Area in 1999 to protect St. Martin’s biodiversity. Recently, an area of ​​1743 square kilometers in the Bay of Bengal centered on this island has been declared as St. Martin Marine Protective Area.

There is a possibility that the island will sink due to sea level rise. The pressure of more tourists on it is hastening the demise of St. Martin. Will Saint Martin, the beloved island of sea lovers in Bangladesh, sink soon? Administratively, Saint Martin is a union under Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar.

St. Martin’s Island is located in the estuary of the Nafna River in the middle of the Bay of Bengal, 9 km south of Teknaf and 4 km west of the Myanmar coast. About 5 thousand years ago it was a part of the mainland of Teknaf. But gradually it sank under the sea. Then about 450 years ago, the southern side of the present island arose.

After 100 years, the northern part of the island and the rest of the island in the next 100 years rose to the sea. Saint Martin was unique in the world in terms of biodiversity. But now the environment of this island is almost endangered.

Research shows that in 1980, St. Martin had about 141 species of coral. 101 species have become extinct in just 4 decades. Currently only 40 species survive on coral islands. In 1980, there was about 1.32 square kilometers of coral reef around this island.

Currently there is only 0.3.9 square kilometers. In just 40 years, one third of the coral is gone. According to an article published in the International Journal of Gaussian Science, St. Martin will be completely coral-free by 2945 if necessary measures are not taken. In 1961 the population of Saint Martin was only 750. Currently, the population of this island is more than 10 thousand. In less than two decades, Saint Martin has become the top tourist destination in Bangladesh. Around 1996 only 150-200 tourists came to St Martin every year.

At present, more than one and a half lakh people travel to this island every year. During the tourist season, about 10-15 thousand people come to visit this island every day. Because of that many hotels, motels, resorts have been built in Saint Martin. In 2012 there were only 17 hotels on the island. And currently the number of hotels, motels, and cottages is around 150. Trees are being cut freely to build these infrastructures. 40 years ago, the tree-covered area of ​​the island was 4.5 square kilometers. And currently the tree covered area is less than 3 square kilometers.

Not only that, the caybans and natural bushes are being destroyed to build hotels, motels, restaurants and shops along the beach. The amount of waste that tourists leave on the island, aa – most of it ends up directly in the sea. As a result, the sea around the island has become extremely polluted. That’s because the Director General of the Department of Environment said a few years ago, it won’t take long for Saint Martin, the country’s only coral island, to sink.

Why so much fuss about Saint Martin? To this question, General Secretary of Bangladesh Environment Movement (Bapa) Cox’s Bazar District Committee Karim Ullah Kalim and Organizing Secretary HM Nazrul said that Saint Martin is different from other hundred islands of Bangladesh. It is the only coral island in Bangladesh. If the environment is damaged, the island’s corals will begin to die.

Then the island will lose its vibrancy. Then the island will suffer a lot. Hundreds of studies have shown that islands cannot be pressurized. Nothing heavy can be brought onto the island again. But some businessmen do not accept it. About two hundred iron and brick structures were built on the island of St. Martin. Which weighs thousands of tons. All these bricks and iron have been taken from outside.

The island can no longer bear the load of thousands of tons of iron and concrete. If the weight increases like this, St. Martin will slowly disappear into the sea.

Let’s think about the only coral island of Bangladesh, Saint Martin, instead of money, a little life and nature.