Downstream countries pay the price for pollution in marine areas

Downstream countries like Bangladesh have to bear the brunt of continuous pollution in the adjacent marine areas, speakers observed at a workshop.
Bangladesh is not on the top list of plastic producing and consuming countries but it is on the top list for marine plastic littering and has been accused for 2.5 per cent marine littering in the world which is very significant in amount, according to the environment ministry.
There is a recent UN resolution that mandated the United Nations Environment Programme to convene an International Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop and adopt a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastics.
The Department of Environment (DoE) organised the workshop on Sunday on reviewing the 3rd Meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC3).
The workshop was styled "Integrated Approach towards Sustainable Plastics Use and Marine Litter Prevention in Bangladesh".
Director General of the Department of Environment (DoE) Abdul Hamid chaired the workshop.
Country Representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization Zaki Uz Zaman also spoke at the event. INC Focal of Bangladesh and Deputy Secretary Md. Mazedul Islam and Deputy Director of DoE Abdullah Al Mamun presented the keynote paper.
In the keynote presentation, they said under these circumstances Bangladesh suggested including the definition of "downstream developing countries".
They also suggested a dedicated funding stream for the downstream developing countries and a significant exemption period for downstream developing countries to fulfill the targets on waste management.
Speakers also called for not burning plastics indiscriminately to avoid air pollution.
They observed that microplastics cause different diseases, so proper management of plastic is a must.
Third meeting of INC (INC-3) was held in Nairobi, Kenya.
Bangladeshi delegates at the meeting reiterated that downstream countries are compelled to manage the cumulative plastic loads coming from the upstream countries and zero draft didn't address that issue.
The Bangladeshi team stated that it is already proven that the intentional unintentional or accidental release of plastics through the international rivers of upstream countries eventually causes the devastating impact to the human health and ecosystems of downstream countries.
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