Tourism taking a toll on Chera Dwip

Detailed summary

We are alarmed by the unabated and environmentally harmful tourist activity in Chera Dwip on Saint Martin’s Island. The government’s 12-point guidelines include several…

We are alarmed by the unabated and environmentally harmful tourist activity in Chera Dwip on Saint Martin’s Island. The government’s 12-point guidelines include several restrictions to protect the island’s environment and biodiversity, including lighting fires or using lights on the beach at night, making excessive noise, organising barbecue parties, and entering Chera Dwip. However, with the decision to keep the island open to tourists from November 1 this year to March 15 next year, Department of Environment (DoE) staff and volunteers are struggling to enforce these restrictions.

This outcome, however, is hardly shocking. Last month, we asked in this column whether any evidence of ecological recovery or any credible assessment justified increasing the daily visitor limit by 75 percent and extending the tourism season. With the season now ongoing, it is clear that authorities are unprepared to protect the island’s biodiversity. Even with restrictions in place and Chera Dwip being cordoned off by rope barriers and red flags, tourists continue to visit the area every day. The DoE has very few volunteers to enforce restrictions, compared to the hordes of tourists being allowed to stay on the island.

We urge the government to consider reducing the tourism window for Saint Martin’s Island as well as revising the number of tourists allowed in daily. Environmentalists have claimed that previous tourism bans had shown positive changes in the island’s environment. Hotel and resort owners must also be held to account for not abiding by waste disposal rules. No amount of tourism revenue can make up for losses in the island’s biodiversity.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Daily Star. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.