Saint Martin's is a small island in the Bay of Bengal. It is the only coral island of Bangladesh, located on the southernmost tip of the country. Many of us know it well how valuable this island is to us for its vast marine and land resources. No doubt, it has a great significance of biodiversity. The island is a good example of co-occurrence of corals, algae, seaweeds, grasses and mangroves.
There are nearly 10,000 people on this island of 12 square kilometres. In the tourist season (November-March), 5,000 to 10,000 people visit this island daily, and litter a huge amount of plastic and other non-biodegradable waste on the beach and in the water adjacent to the island. Littering of waste is taking a toll on the whole biodiversity cycle of the island. The government has already taken some steps in this regard. But the tourists should be more conscious about maintaining the beauty of the island by keeping it clean.
Fariha Tabassum Piya,
Student of Department of Management,
University of Dhaka, Dhaka,
f.tabassum36@gmail.com